The End of a Marriage (Colette and Matheo) novel Chapter 214

Chapter 214

CHAPTER 15

Graham groaned inwardly, dragging a hand down his face as the

weight of his mistake settled on him. A thousand reminders, a million

opportunities to plan this better, and he’d still blundered through it

like a bull in a china shop. What was he even thinking? Of course, Isla

-a nineteen–year–old, fresh out of her teenage years–would have

completely different expectations.

She wasn’t one of the polished, worldly women he was used to

dealing with, the kind who knew the rules of his game and played

along without complaint. No, Isla was young, idealistic, and no doubt

still clinging to the dreams every girl her age harbored: a prince

charming riding in on a white horse, sweeping her off her feet with

grand gestures, sunsets, and proposals on the top of the Eiffel Tower.

And he’d given her…this.

A frown tugged at his lips as he glanced at her from across the table.

She was sitting stiffly in that ridiculous fluffy hotel bathrobe, her hair

still a mess from sleep, her cheeks flushed–not with the softness of

shyness, but with the heat of anger. Isla’s energy was practically vibrating with indignation, her blue eyes sparking like lightning. She

wasn’t just upset; she was furious, and rightfully so.

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Chapter 214

Graham shook his head, the weight of disappointment settling heavily in his chest–not in her, but in himself. How had he managed to botch this so spectacularly? He was supposed to be suave,

composed, a man who could command any room he entered. But here,

with Isla, all of that had unraveled.

He had forgotten who she was, forgotten that she wasn’t the kind of

woman he could steamroll over with his usual no–nonsense approach.

She wasn’t sophisticated or worldly; she was young, untouched by the

cynicism of his world, and still clutching at the fragile strings of her

own dreams. Dreams he hadn’t even paused to consider.

Graham’s jaw tightened as he glanced at her again, slouched in her

chair and pulsating with furious energy, still half–asleep and caught

off guard by the bombshell he’d dropped on her. He’d handled this all

wrong. If he had been thinking, he would have taken her out

somewhere special, treated her the way she deserved–with candlelit

dinners and slow dances, with compliments that made her cheeks

bloom and gestures that made her heart race.

Instead, he’d bulldozed through her dreams with his arrogance,

acting as though she should simply fall in line because he was

Graham Lancaster.

Taking a deep breath, Graham tried to soften the sharp edges of his

pride. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and fixed her with an expression that was equal parts apologetic and

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Chapter 214

determined.

“I’m sorry, Isla,” he said, his voice quieter now, lacking its earlier

steel. “I didn’t think this through, and I see that now. I handled it

poorly, and you deserve better than this.”

Her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously, as if she couldn’t decide

whether he was truly apologizing or just trying to placate her.

E

“Will you give me another chance to make this right?” he asked, his

voice tinged with an unfamiliar humility. “Let me take you out

somewhere–anywhere you’d like. We’ll talk about this properly. I

want to do this the right way.”

He hesitated, his gaze flickering over her robe and messy hair before returning to her eyes. “Why don’t you go change into something else?

Something that makes you feel beautiful. And then we can go out and

talk about this–like it should have been done in the first place.“:

Isla stared at him, her expression unreadable, and Graham felt the

strange sensation of being entirely at her mercy. It was foreign and

deeply uncomfortable, but he forced himself to hold her gaze, to wait

for her answer. He was Graham Lancaster, and he wasn’t accustomed

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