Page 105 of The Marriage Mistake

What the hell. What the actual hell.

I blinked, staring at the off-white speaker, wondering if I was hallucinating. I probably should have eaten lunch. Maybe my blood sugar was low.

I jumped when the buzzer sounded again. “Yes?” I repeated into the intercom.

“Ember. Please. I just want to talk to you.”

Letting him in was a terrible idea. Why was he here? He’d get his money and his divorce. There was no reason for us to speak. He wanted to sweet-talk me somehow. Make me fall for his games all over again. Why? Did he get off on it?

Yet I still watched as my finger hovered over the button to open the building’s front door. I felt the soft rubber under my fingertip, listened to the blood rush in my ears.

He was here. He’d walk up the steps and knock on the door, and I’d see him right here outside my apartment one last time.

Even though I knew it was a bad idea, I still pressed the button anyway. There was a buzz, and I heard the faint click of the entrance door closing downstairs. The sound traveled up the old stairwell, echoing on all those hard surfaces. Soon, I’d hear Jack’s footsteps.

Because he was here. At my home.

I set my empty mug on the kitchen counter and glanced up at the small mirror I’d set by the front door. My hair was frizzy and my face was bare. I wore leggings and a sweatshirt. I didn’t look great. Did it matter?

The sound of his footsteps reached me through my front door. I stood there, staring at the barrier between us, waiting for the knock.

I still flinched when it came.

My heart took off as my mouth turned dry. I waited a breath, wiped my damp palms on my leggings, and opened the door.

I hadn’t imagined it; he really was as beautiful as I’d remembered. He stood on my doorstep wearing a dark jacket branded with the Marswood Security logo over a pair of black jeans. His hair was a mess, as if he’d spent the day running his fingers through it. His cheeks were slightly reddened, maybe from the wind outside.

And his eyes were a haunted, tortured blue.

“Ember.”

I swallowed. Stepped aside. Inhaled through my clenched teeth as he walked into my space and took up all the available oxygen.

Letting him in had been a mistake. I should’ve learned my lesson the first time.

I watched his gaze sweep over my home and felt a wave of shame. Yes, this was where I lived. These were all my possessions. Yes, you were right to toss me aside.

But when Jack looked at me, I didn’t see any of that in his gaze. I saw pain.

He exhaled. We watched each other.

Finally, he said, “You look good.”

That snapped me out of my stupor. I blinked, straightening. I knew I didn’t look good. I looked like I’d spent the past three weeks steeped in my own misery. I wasn’t going to fall for this all over again.

I straightened. “You got the notification from my lawyer,” I guessed. “All we need is your bank account information, and you’ll get the money within a couple of weeks. The estate is settled.”

His eyes turned wary. He leaned against the edge of the kitchen counter, his big hands curling around the edge. My apartment felt tiny with him in it. I wanted him to leave. His presence had made an itchy feeling crawl under my skin, and I wanted it to stop.

“I got the emails,” he confirmed. “You want to divorce me.” That, he said through clenched teeth.

“That was the plan,” I forced out. My heart had sped up, and the hammering of my pulse was making me dizzy.

“Ember—”

“Why are you here? You want an apology? I’m truly sorry to have put you and Darby through that. I will regret it until my dying day.”

His jaw clenched. “You’ll regret it?”