The Day I Stopped Waiting Was the Day He Started Begging novel Chapter 28

"No trouble at all. She is my wife, after all."

York's voice was frigid. His movements were anything but gentle as he slammed the passenger door shut with a deafening bang.

After practically dragging Madeline into his own car, York immediately dropped his heavy head onto her shoulder.

York's face was feverishly hot, and the tickle of her breath against his skin sent a tremor down his spine.

"Maddy."

His voice was hoarse, murmuring right against her ear in a dangerously intimate caress.

Madeline blamed the damn rain.

The relentless storm outside was somehow managing to plunge her own heart into absolute chaos.

She remained silent, waiting for York's punchline.

"I went apartment hunting for Felicity today. If all goes well, she'll be entirely moved out by Friday."

He lazily opened his eyes. He didn't look like the ruthless, untouchable executive she was used to.

Instead, he carried the vulnerable, desperate clinginess he used to show only to her behind closed doors. York stared straight at her, his dark eyes wide and pleading.

Looking exactly like an abandoned dog begging for a scrap of praise.

Madeline was suddenly violently reminded of the photos Felicity had texted her earlier that afternoon.

She yanked her hand out of his grip. "You're drunk."

With that, Madeline turned her face to the window, watching the neon lights blur through the rain. The interior of the car plunged into a suffocating silence.

When they finally pulled up to her building, York waited until she was safely inside before turning around and walking straight back out into the storm.

Those three words had acted like a bucket of ice water, viciously extinguishing the fleeting spark of hope and courage he had managed to scrap together.

He stood under the awning of the building and flicked his lighter. *Click.*

He stared blankly at the dancing flame until his phone shattered the silence.

"York! I've been freezing my ass off outside The Obsidian Room waiting for you for two fucking hours! Achoo!"

First, he had forced him to play pool, then endless rounds of Texas Hold'em. By the time York had finally sobered up, he had dragged Caleb right back out to the mountain to street race.

By the time the sun came up, Caleb was so sleep-deprived he swore he was knocking on death's door. Only then did York casually state, "Go home. And drop this stuff off at Willow Lane on your way."

Thinking back on the sheer torture, Caleb couldn't help but complain. "Madeline, I'm just saying, you and York really need to—"

Madeline absolutely did not want to hear York's name.

She hoisted a box of cat toys into her arms and interrupted, "Are these all for Sunny?"

Caleb's attention was instantly derailed. "That's heavy! Put it down, please! If York finds out I made you carry that, he'll actually bury me!"

He snatched the box out of her hands, running back and forth to unload the rest. Just as he climbed back into the driver's seat, he suddenly remembered something. "Right, Madeline! I heard you're taking my little sister, Sienna Sterling, to her audition on Friday. Thank you so much! Call me the second you guys run into any trouble. I owe you big time for this!"

Madeline couldn't help but laugh at his theatrics. "Sienna is a great girl. I'll call you when we're finished."

As they waved goodbye, Caleb slapped his forehead against the steering wheel. "Dammit! I was supposed to be convincing them to make up! Sleep deprivation really destroys the brain!"

Madeline double-checked the audition address with Sienna on her phone. The moment she stepped into the hidden courtyard, a tiny figure came clumsily barrelling toward her. "Mommy! I missed you so much!"