Perfect Bastard (by Mary D. Sant) novel Chapter 142

Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours

ELLIE

Staring at the light rain tapping against Anna’s apartment window, I

pulled the blanket tighter around me, settling into the couch.

The weather outside was somewhat melancholic, with a sky covered by heavy gray clouds, matching my mood–caused by Ethan’s

absence.

Fortunately, it was also the perfect weather to watch a movie with

friends on a Sunday.

“Here,” Will said, placing the tray with steaming mugs on the coffee

table, letting the aroma of hot chocolate immediately fill my nose.

The smell was enough to warm me from the inside, like a comforting

hug.

“I’ll get the popcorn,” he said, circling the couch back to the kitchen.

A second later, Anna returned from the bedroom, throwing herself

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Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours

onto the couch beside me.

“He’s asleep?” I asked as she folded one leg over the other, pulling

another sheet over herself.

“Finally,” she sighed, relaxing. “So? Are we ready?”

“Yes. We are,” Will replied, stopping behind the couch and placing the

bowl of popcorn on her lap. Leaning down, he kissed her neck, making

me feel a twinge of envy.

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I waited for him to sit down, pulling Anna close and wrapping himself

in the sheet as well before finally hitting play on the movie.

*

The sound of a cell phone ringing made me open my eyes.

“Sorry,” Will murmured, stretching his arm to grab the phone from

the table beside the couch, causing Anna to move off him.

I think both of us had dozed off during the movie.

“It’s Ben,” he said, staring at the screen before finally answering.

“Yes?”

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Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours

Bennett at this hour? What could he want? The call left me a bit

intrigued, but not enough to hold my attention.

Actually, I was more interested in knowing if Ethan had sent me a

new message. The last one had been in the middle of the afternoon,

just to check if I was okay and to inform me that he was still at the

office, even though it was already night there.

I knew he was working like crazy to get back soon, probably not

sleeping enough. So, I decided it was better not to distract him with

more messages.

But now, it must be early morning there, and I wanted to know if he

had dinner or if he was resting as he should.

Picking up my phone from the coffee table, I unlocked the screen,

happy to see there was a new message from him..

“See you in a few hours.

Love you.

Or rather, love both of you.”

Reading the message brought a silly smile to my lips.

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Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours

It seems he managed to sort everything out in time and was already

on his way. Knowing he would be back soon improved my mood,

although I would have preferred he had a decent night’s sleep and

returned only tomorrow, as planned.

“Ellie?” Will called, capturing my attention.

“Yes?” I looked at him, noticing he was still on the phone.

“Ben wants to know if you spoke with Ethan in the last hour.”

The question made me check the time of the message: it had been

sent just over two hours ago.

“No. Why?”

“No. She hasn’t,” he said to Bennett, before addressing me again. “He

wants to know when was the last time you spoke with him.”

“Just before six,” I informed.

He repeated the information, and I was about to ask what Bennett

wanted when he got up from the couch, leaving the room and making

me a bit apprehensive.

“What was that?” Anna asked, looking as confused as I was.

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Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours

“I don’t know. Can you check?”

She nodded, getting up to go after him.

A minute later, she returned, sitting beside me again.

“So?” I asked.

“It’s nothing. Seems like some flights were canceled because of a

storm in London, or something like that.”

Storm? Could Ethan’s flight have been canceled?

My first instinct was to call him, but the call ended right after the

message that the phone was off or out of coverage area.

Maybe that meant he had managed to board. Damn. Should I be

worried? And where the hell was Will? Why hadn’t he come back to

explain what was going on?

But if it were serious, he would have told me. However, his absence

from the room only made me more uneasy–although he was probably

just checking on the baby.

*

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Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours

Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang, making something inside me

go on alert.

Before Anna could get up to answer, Will finally reappeared to do so.

When he opened the door and I saw Bennett and Zoe enter, I was sure

something was wrong.

Standing up almost automatically, I went to them, feeling the tension

fill every inch of the room with each step I took.

I wouldn’t say I knew my brother–in–law that well, but I knew him

enough to recognize when he wasn’t acting normally.

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Bennett was naturally tense and grumpy–that was his charm. But at

that moment, there was nothing natural or charming about the

tension that seemed to dominate every part of his body.

“So? Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked, crossing my

arms and feeling a horrible sensation grow in my chest.

“It’s okay,” Zoe tried to downplay, but her cautious look had the

opposite effect. “We just need to talk to Anna and Will first.”

Talk to Anna and Will first?

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Chapter 142: See You in a Few Hours

“Please, Ellie… just give us a minute, okay?” This time, it was Bennett

who asked, surprising me, before I could protest.

“Alright,” I agreed, returning to the couch.

Alone in the room, I tried to calm my thoughts, feeling the anguish

grow as my brain tried to unravel what all this meant.

And deep down, I think I already knew, but there was still a part of

me that refused to believe it.

A huge knot had already formed in my throat when the four of them

returned, gathering around me.

“We have to tell you something,” Anna began, sitting beside me and