The Day I Stopped Waiting Was the Day He Started Begging novel Chapter 8

He looked devastatingly handsome, his expression tinged with a hint of genuine grievance.

It was the kind of look that could completely break someone's heart.

But the video was short, cutting off abruptly, leaving two years of silence in its wake.

Madeline stared at the clip, lowering her eyes. A sudden tightness gripped her throat, and her eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Two years ago, whether it was a business dinner or just running errands, York would always check in and share everything with her.

Every tiny detail.

Whenever she got sleepy or annoyed by his endless talking, York would just pull her into his arms, kissing her while he repeated the stories all over again.

For a man who appeared so aristocratic and aloof to the outside world, he was incredibly clingy behind closed doors.

If it hadn't been for this accidental, drunken video tonight, Madeline might have convinced herself that the past was just a figment of her imagination.

She stared at the messaging app, didn't reply, and eventually turned off her phone after an agonizingly long time.

She tossed and turned all night, though it wasn't exactly insomnia. She seemed to dream of the past, but because the memories were so distant and blurred, they left her with nothing but fragmented shadows.

When she woke up, York had only sent one more text, explaining that he had been drunk last night.

Ever since York returned, Madeline had felt constantly on edge.

She stared at the text message for a long while before finally ignoring it and putting his notifications on "Do Not Disturb."

The next two days were quiet. York had just transferred back to the Capital, so after finishing his welcome parties, he was buried in official business.

Madeline maintained their bitter stalemate.

Neither brought up divorce, and neither brought up what happened two years ago.

The following afternoon, Madeline was invited to an industry banquet hosted by a rival magazine. Sloane managed to score a ticket and tagged along for fun.

Whether it was the past or the present, she and York kept their professional lives entirely separate.

It wasn't that she refused to use York's resources because of their separation; it was simply that she believed absolute competence was the only real safety net.

Connections could open the door, but how you walked the path was ultimately up to you.

Seeing Madeline so infuriatingly calm, Sloane shook her head. "That's easy to say, but wherever the love is, the money and power follow. Staying in a marriage like this is totally pointless. If it weren't for your awful family, you two would have divorced ages ago..."

Sloane swallowed the rest of her sentence.

Madeline and York had only been fighting for two years, yet the Monroe family already treated Madeline like she was disposable.

If she actually divorced, her life would only get harder.

But... was living like this really any better?