Separate Weddings, Separate Lives novel Chapter 28

As the day passed, the night fell silent.

Louisa's eyes were still red and puffy from crying. Flora's parting words at the nursing home kept playing in her head.

"Lou, I'm relieved to see you happy. I can face your mother when I see her again."

Louisa didn't want Flora to live with regrets, and Flora wanted to do right by Louisa's mother.

Louisa had never known her father. When she asked about him as a child, Flora had simply said that he was dead.

That was enough for Louisa to realize he wasn't actually deceased but rather that he just didn't exist in their world. She never asked again and treated him as if he were a ghost.

Her only family was Flora, who raised her, and a mother she held no memory of.

"Mrs. Holten." There was a knock at the door.

Louisa quickly wiped her eyes and asked the person at the door to enter. The housekeeper, Carol Whitman, entered carrying a tray with a plate of pasta and two forks.

"Mrs. Holten, this is union pasta."

This was an old family tradition where a couple shared the union pasta on their wedding night to symbolize a lifetime of harmony.

"Thank you," Louisa said while sliding an envelope with a tip onto the tray.

After Carol left, Elijah walked in. His dark, cool gaze swept over Louisa's watery eyes.

"Were you waiting for me to start the meal?"

Louisa couldn't believe how shameless he was. Since they weren't really married, she didn't see why they had to bother with this family tradition.

"I just happened to be hungry," Louisa replied, sitting at the table.

Elijah took off his suit jacket, tossed it onto a chair, and loosened his collar. The faint, sharp scent of alcohol trailed behind him. He had been drinking.

As Louisa reached for a fork, Elijah's hand met hers. Even though he had kissed her at the ceremony earlier that day, the sudden contact sent a jolt through her fingers. She flinched instinctively.

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