Chapter 36

Erin’s POV

When I woke up the next morning, I didn’t like the way I felt.

My heart ached terribly.

I shouldn’t have left things off with Gavin the way I have.

Having that dream last night really messed with my mind.

I looked over at my phone that sat on my bedside table, and I saw that there were no missed calls or texts. He must have been so upset with me.

I couldn’t imagine what was running through his mind.

I ignored the nagging feeling in my chest and made my way out of bed, grabbing my robe that hung on the wall nearby my bed. wrapping it around my body I made my way out of the room and into the living room.

Henry wasn’t home.

I frowned and glanced around the seemingly untouched room.

Where was he?

I thought about calling him, but then I thought against it.

He probably didn’t want to hear from me anyways. I decided to make something quick for breakfast; I had some time before I needed to be at work.

I grabbed a frosted pop tart out of the cabinet and placed it in the toaster.

It was true that my father was the one who forced me to end things with Gavin. My dream reminded me exactly why I did it. I turned my entire life upside down, breaking the heart of the only man I ever loved. If I hadn’t done it, he wouldn’t have been able to get into the college of his dreams and he wouldn’t be where he was today.

“What is your excuse now, though?” Emily asked, thoughtfully. “Your father is no longer an issue. So, why do you keep denying Gavin?”

“It’s not about my father anymore,” I tell her in return.

The toaster dinged, indicating that my pop-tart was ready.

It smelled delicious.

I nearly burned my fingers getting it on a plate though. I made myself a hot cup of tea before sitting down at the table.

“It’s because of Jessie, right?” Emily asked, lowering her tone so she was only a mere echo in the back of my mind. “You don’t wish to marry your mate without her being present.”

“It’s not about Jessie either,” I shot back, but even I didn’t believe my words.

The thought of walking down the aisle to my mate didn’t feel right when Jessie wasn’t here to be my maid of honor. We’ve always talked about being each other’s maid of honor and now that was a dream that would never come true.

The thought hurt more than anything.

It was my own fault that she wasn’t here. I could never forgive myself.

“You can’t keep punishing yourself,” Emily breathed. “It’s not healthy and you are only hurting yourself.”

I had to tune out my wolf.

“There was a time that Gavin was your best friend too… don’t you remember?” Emily reminded me. “You could tell him anything without judgment. He cared for both you and Jessie and he wasn’t here when Jessie died. You could have used him, I’m sure.”

She was right; Gavin, Jessie, Tyler, and I were four best friends. I’m sure that Tyler and Gavin are still close, and it hurts that I’m no longer a part of that group.

I wondered what Tyler was up to nowadays.

The last time I saw Tyler was at Jessie’s funeral; the funeral that Gavin didn’t bother to show up to.

I suppose I was the one to blame for that too.

Once I finished my pop-tart, I dressed in my uniform for work, pulling my hair into its usual bun before leaving.

It was a quiet day, thankfully.

Kelsey was helping some of the other waitresses clean the store before the morning rush when I arrived.

“Good morning, Erin,” Kelsey said from across the restaurant.

I got some strange looks from my coworkers; they didn’t bother to greet me, and I didn’t greet them either.

It’s not like we were friends.

I smiled at Kelsey and greeted her though; I went toward the backroom and shoved some of my belongings in the lockers, momentarily glancing at my phone.

A jab of disappointment hit my chest when I saw there were still no messages.

I was admittedly worried about Henry; it was strange that he didn’t return home last night without a word to me.

“Is it really Henry you are worried about?” Emily breathed in my ear.

Of course, I was worried about Henry. He was my husband and even though our marriage isn’t legally documented, I still loved him.

“You already admitted to loving him a brother,” Emily reminded me. “Face it, you don’t feel the same love for Henry as you do for Gavin.”

That might have been true, but I would never admit that out loud. I shook the thought out of my head and shoved my phone into my locker.

I had to stop looking at it.

I went into the restaurant just in time for the first customer to arrive. After that, we had a steady stream of customers for most of the morning.

During the downtime, I did what I usually did and cleaned my station. Once I heard the door chime go off, I paused and looked up.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn’t expecting Susanna to walk into the restaurant with my husband.

“Can we get a table?” Susanna asked, batting her long lashes at me.

I was completely frozen; unable to move or speak.

What the hell was going on?

Henry looked at me with guilt on his face before giving me his usual dazzling smile.

“Hey babe,” he said to me, walking toward me like everything was normal.

He kissed the side of my cheek gently, placing his hand on my lower back as he did so.

“What’s going on?” I managed to ask, prying my eyes away from Susanna to look up at Henry.

“I was just taking Susanna to lunch,” he explained. “She’s a client of mine and we have some business to discuss.”

Susanna, who was completely oblivious, flipped her long hair behind her shoulder and curled her lip up at me.

He had never once mentioned taking Susanna on as a client.

“This certainly wasn’t my first choice for dining. But it’ll do,” she muttered. “Can we get a table, or not?”

They were both staring at me like this was completely normal. I shoved the unease I felt into my stomach and grabbed a couple of menus.

“This way,” I told them.

They followed me to the far side of the restaurant and seated in a booth near the window.

“Can I get you drinks?” I asked, trying to sound casual, but I knew I was failing miserably.

“I’ll take a chardonnay,” Susanna said, without even looking at me.

“You shouldn’t be drinking,” Henry said in a low tone, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, right,” she muttered. “Do you have any water, not from a tap?”

“Yes,” I answered, looking curiously between the two of them.

Why shouldn’t she be drinking? I wanted to ask but refrained from doing so.

“I’ll take an iced tea,” Henry giving me another dazzling smile.

He just seemed so normal, and this was anything but normal.

I nodded and went to grab them their drinks.

“Are you okay?” Kelsey asked as I joined her at the counter. “Is that your husband? What’s he doing with Miss Susanna?”

“Apparently she’s his client,” I muttered, pouring their beverages into cups. “He never even told me about it.”

I tried not to sound too bitter, but Kelsey could easily read the aggravation on my face.

I turned away and went back to the table Susanna and her husband sat at.

Neither of them noticed me when I approached though. They were speaking in a low tone for only their ears, and I couldn’t help but listen to what they were saying, but their next set of words made my heart fall deep into my stomach.

“I want full custody of our child,” Susanna said. “If anything were to happen to Gavin and my relationship, I want custody of our unborn child.”

Crash!