Dear Wife, I Hate You (by Josephine Mbanefo) novel Chapter 37

Lilith’s Pov

It was actually so nice being in Nolan’s office. Everything about it screamed calm and expensive. I don’t know -he’s just so…. nice. So, so nice. The kind of nice that makes you forget he can also be scary when he wants to be. And honestly, if he wasn’t my brother–in–law, I might’ve said I kind of like him. But I can’t go there.

Then, after a while, he stood up and said, “That’s it. We should start going home.”

I nodded. “Okay, definitely.”

I was actually happy I stepped out today. The air outside felt different. Fresh. Free. It was better than sitting in that big house, being haunted by silence.

We stood up and started walking out. I could feel eyes on me. I wasn’t sure if they were judging me or just curious… or maybe admiring me. I didn’t know what to believe, so I just kept walking beside Nolan.

When we stepped outside, Nolan asked, “Do you want to go anywhere else? Or straight home?”

I smiled a bit. “Nah, I don’t have anywhere to be. Let’s just go home.”

We got into the car, and the driver took off. The ride was quiet but not awkward. Just calm. When we reached the house–Killian’s house–the driver dropped me off first. I turned to Nolan and said, “Bye. Thanks for today.”

He gave a small nod, and then the driver took him back to his own mansion.

When I got inside, the loneliness hit me again. The house was quiet, just like always. I didn’t want to sit around and think too much, so I decided to call Zoey. I hadn’t heard from her all day.

She picked up on the third ring, her voice all raspy like she just woke up.

“What happened?” I asked.

She groaned. “I overslept. I was supposed to go with Nolan to see that guy we planned with, but… yeah. I just woke up. I think he left without me.”

I blinked. That was weird. Nolan had told me Zoey had somewhere to be today. So why is she saying she’s still at the mansion? I didn’t want to overthink it, though. Maybe he just wanted alone time. Or maybe he’s a hopeless romantic who didn’t want his new romance disturbed.

So I just said, “Aww, that’s sweet.”

Zoey laughed a little and said she’d come by the house later to see me. Since Nolan already left and she had no meetings or anything to do, she figured she’d stop by.

I told her, “Cool. I’ll be expecting you.”

After I dropped my phone, I stared at the screen for a while. My thumb hovered over Mom’s contact.

Should I call her?

She hadn’t called me since the wedding. Not even a text. It stung more than I wanted to admit. I almost pressed the dial button… almost. But I didn’t. I just sat there, thinking about home, about everyone. It felt like they’d all moved on, like I was the only one stuck.

I shifted on the bed, gripping the sheets. My breath caught for a second. I tucked my hair behind my ear, trying to focus on the book, but it was too late.

My fingers drifted up, almost on their own, brushing lightly over my lips. I could still feel him there.

Then… lower. Down to my chest. A light touch over the fabric of my tank top. My heart was yelling at me— don’t do this, he doesn’t even like you–but my body wasn’t listening.

I whispered to myself, “No… no, Lilith, stop.”

But I didn’t. Not yet.

My fingers trailed slowly, a soft and dangerous path. I was caught in the memory, the heat of it. My head was screaming stop, stop, stop… but I couldn’t.

And then-

“No. Lilith, you have to stop. I said stop it.”

I yanked my hand away like I’d touched fire.