DAWN

MELISSA'S POV

I was pouring the coffee into the mugs when I heard his footsteps from upstairs. I turned, just in time to see him heading to the kitchen, his hair slightly messy from sleep.

He smiled when he saw me, and my breath caught in my throat at how handsome he looked. My cheeks flashed pink as I recalled the steamy night we had shared the previous night. His touches were too sweet to resist, especially since I had craved them for so long.

He had been away for almost a week on a business trip, and while he was away, we couldn't communicate much. Although that's quite unusual, I would guess he was only busy with work.

I had received great news in his absence and I was more than excited to break it to him but his phone was mostly out of reach, so I had to keep it to myself and wait for him to return.

He came back last night and I've been finding it hard to keep it to myself. My heart swelled with pride and joy as I envisioned his reaction.

I will break it to him at breakfast today.

“Good morning,” he greeted and planted a kiss on my cheeks, his voice deep yet gentle.

Pulling back slightly to look at him, I responded with a warm smile, “Good morning”.

“Smells amazing,” he complimented, pulling a chair across to dig into his meal. “But you didn’t have to go through all that trouble.”

“It’s no trouble,” I countered, trying as much as possible to compose myself.

I could feel my heart racing, the words I’d been holding onto for weeks now, dancing melodiously on my tongue, ready to come out anytime soon.

“Actually….” I began, breaking the silence that had enveloped between the clinging of cutlery on the plates. “I have something I need to tell you.” I finally let out, taking a few more bites of the pancake.

His eyes widened slightly in curiosity and said, “That’s funny because I also have something I want to tell you too.”

I blinked, caught off guard by his words. He had something to tell me? My mind raced, trying to guess what it could be. Maybe it was something about work, or perhaps he had planned a surprise for us. The possibilities were endless, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever it was, it would only add to the joy I was already feeling. I gestured, smiling up at him. “You go first then.”

He smiled, and his masculine handsome face instantly turned into a cute boyish grin. I stared back at him with an identical look, in anticipation of hearing the news he bore. What could have possibly caused his eyes to gleam with such joy?

“Lisa,” he called out, using the nickname he had given me, the one that always made me feel so special. “Guess who I met this week.”

I tilted my head, intrigued but also puzzled. “Who?”

“Wendy,” without a flinch, he answered, his voice filled with a kind of awe that made my stomach flip.

The name hit me like a punch to the gut, the smile on my face slowly fading.

“Wendy? Is it the Wendy I have in mind? His ex-girlfriend? The woman who had disappeared from his life years ago, leaving behind nothing but heartache and unanswered questions?” I inwardly asked.

My mind struggled to keep up, to process what he was saying. I feigned a smile and repeated the name he had mentioned earlier.

“Wendy?” I asked, nervousness evident in my voice.

“Yes, my girlfriend, she’s back,” he answered, his eyes gleaming with something I couldn’t quite spot.

“Oh…ummm…” I found myself stuttering, finding it hard to make up a sentence. I couldn't decipher if this was supposed to be good or bad news.

But why is he referring to her as his girlfriend, when he has me, his wife?

Before I could figure out what to say, he let out the words I'd dreaded to hear for the past three years. The very words, I for once hoped I would never hear for the rest of my life.

“We can finally go our separate ways, let’s get divorced,” he effortlessly said, taking one more bite from the pancake before him.

Tears suddenly welled up in my eyes, his words echoed in my head, each one irritating than the last. I was frozen, unable to move, think, or breathe. It took me a moment to realize my eyes was deeply focused on his. I immediately averted my gaze and tried speaking, but no words came out.

The room suddenly felt dark, my gaze weary from the spinning going on in my head.

Divorce? The word, repeated itself in my ears, loud enough to irritate my senses. It was as if my world and everything I'd built in it was falling apart.

“What do you mean?” I finally gathered my thoughts and asked. I was so sure I hadn’t heard him right.

This is Listowell Gordon, my Listowell, the man who had just held me in his arms, who had made love to me last night like he couldn’t bear to be apart from me. The same man who was sitting across from me now, looking at me with eyes that were full of happiness.

But how could this be? How could he be happy about this?

“I—” My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. “Divorce?”

He nodded, squeezing my hands, still smiling as if he hadn’t just shattered my world. “ We can finally move on with our lives”.

My chest churned in pain at his words. It was as if my heart was being pierced with a thousand pins. Move on? After all these years? After everything we’ve been through? Why do we have to divorce just because she's back? How did those words freely come out of his lips? Isn't she the one supposed to move on?

I felt the tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. I couldn’t cry, not now, not in front of him. Not when he was looking at me like this was something to celebrate.