Please Come Back, My Love novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Elena: POV

My hand stilled. “Marie, I’m willing but I can’t. I can’t give it a happy life. It’s living a much easier and more comfortable life with you.”

“I know, I know. You’ve said this before. But honey, the way he looks at you…” She shook her head fondly. “Just think about it, okay?”

She walked away, leaving me alone with Milo and my thoughts.

Adopt him.

God, I wanted to. More than anything, I wanted to take this sweet, gentle creature home. Wanted to come back to the mansion and have him greet me at the door. Wanted to curl up on the couch with him and pretend I wasn’t so fucking alone.

But Julian hated animals with fur. “Too messy, he’d said once, dismissively. “Too much maintenance.”

And now… now I was pregnant. Pregnant with a baby he didn’t want, in a marriage that was falling apart.

I couldn’t add a cat to that disaster.

Milo stretched in my lap, his claws gently kneading through the fabric of my dress. I looked down at him, at his half–closed eyes and contented expression.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” I whispered. “I wish things were different.”

He purred louder, as if to say he understood.

I sipped my tea, letting the warmth spread through me. Around us, the café was quiet. A couple in the corner was laughing softly as a black cat batted at their phone. An older woman sat by the window, a calico curled in her lap while she read.

This was peace. This was normal.

This was everything my life wasn’t.

I don’t know how long I sat there. Long enough for the tea to go cold. Long enough for Milo to fall asleep in my lap, his weight warm and comforting.

Julian: (Good. Get some rest. I’ll be home late.]

Home. As if the mansion was a home. As if we were a real couple who said goodnight and meant it. set the phone down and buried my face in my hands.

What am I doing?

I was pregnant with his baby, I was lying to him about it. I was sitting in a cat café at ten o’clock at night because I couldn’t face my own goddamn mansion.

Milo stirred, lifting his head to blink at me sleepily. Then he stood, stretched his front legs out in that elegant cat way, and butted his head against my chin, as if saying, it’s okay, human. I’m here.

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. I wouldn’t cry. looked down at Milo, knowing I should leave but unable to make myself move just yet. “Just a few more minutes,” I whispered to him.

He seemed to understand, settling back down but this time positioning himself differently–rolling slightly onto his side, exposing his soft white belly. It was the ultimate sign of trust from a cat, and it made my throat tight.

I couldn’t resist. My fingers moved gently to the top of his head first, scratching behind his ears in small circles. His purr intensified immediately, a rumbling motor of contentment.