The End of a Marriage (Colette and Matheo) novel Chapter 207

Chapter 207

Graham stood frozen, his heart suddenly gripped by a deep,

suffocating ache. He looked at her with an expression that was a

mixture of wonder, concern, and a painful realization–like the final

piece of a puzzle had clicked into place, but the picture it revealed

was one he wasn’t ready to face. He understood now, with a clarity

that left him breathless. Isla didn’t feel like she belonged at

Thornfield Manor anymore. She didn’t feel like she belonged with

him. And the sorrow in her eyes, the way her voice cracked as she

spoke of being an orphan, it cut him to the bone. She longed for

something she hadn’t had in so long: a family. A place to call her

own. Perhaps dreams of a husband, children–a life she could create,

outside the walls of Thornfield Manor.

The thought struck him harder than he expected. It hurt him, a sharp

pang in his chest, as though he had lost something vital. He had

always associated her presence with Thornfield Manor, with the

memories of growing up alongside her. He remembered her as a little

girl, with pigtails bouncing as she followed him around. Then she’d

been a shy teenager, blushing like cherry blossoms whenever their

eyes met, her face dotted with the imperfections of youth. And now,

she was a young woman, standing before him with the weight of the

world in her eyes, the uncertainty of her place in it so painfully

evident. She was slipping away, and he could feel it, like another part

of his childhood, another part of his life, was disappearing.

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Chapter 207

His chest tightened as the thought settled in: what if he never saw

her again? What if this was the last time he would be close to her, the

last time he would be able to reach out and comfort her? It felt like

losing his father all over again, a piece of him, a piece of his past,

fading into nothing.

Outside, Edwin appeared, his presence like a storm on the horizon. He had come back, his arms full of Isla’s bags, his face twisted în disgust as he shoved them into the trunk of the car. Once the bags were in place, Edwin climbed into the driver’s seat without another word, starting the engine with a rough jerk. The car roared to life, and

the sound seemed to echo in the silence between Isla and Graham.

That night, in the sterile quiet of a hotel room, Graham found himself wide awake. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, unable to quiet the tumult of thoughts racing through his mind. Despite Isla being only a few doors away, sleeping peacefully on her own, he couldn’t find peace. His thoughts consumed him, spiraling deeper into worry and

frustration.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the raw, bruised state of Isla’s hands when they’d sat together at dinner. He had noticed how she winced, her knuckles tender with every movement, as though every action

sent a jolt of pain through her. She had been working herself to the bone, and he wondered what kind of life she had been living before

he’d found her. He shuddered at the thought of what her condition might be now, as Edwin had informed him after Isla had left the room

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Chapter 207

that she had been sleeping on a damp mattress in a cold, dark

basement. It was a far cry from the comfort she deserved.

Then, there was the issue with that sleazy guest house owner. The

man had robbed her blind. If Isla hadn’t managed to escape when she

did, God only knew what might have happened to her. The very idea

made his chest tighten with dread.

But it wasn’t just the immediate danger Isla had been in that haunted

him. It was the deeper reality of her life. She was just a child–no

matter how old she was. A vulnerable girl with no one to turn to. He

recalled Maggie’s frantic words, her insistence that a young man

named Emanuel Margeese was somehow involved in Isla’s

disappearance. Maggie had been convinced that the boy, the nephew

of one of their tenants, had been circling Isla like a vulture, waiting

for an opportunity to pounce. “Emanuel’s been watching her,

Graham,” Maggie had said, her voice trembling. “He knows she’s Mr.

Lancaster’s daughter. He thinks if he can get his filthy hands on her,

he can get a taste of the Lancaster fortune too. I’ve seen the way he

looks at her, like she’s nothing more than a prize to be claimed.”

Graham had dismissed her at first, but the more he thought about it,

the more he realized Maggie was right. Emanuel Margeese was trouble–trouble he couldn’t afford to ignore. And he could already

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