The Ending She Read (And the One He Rewrote) novel Chapter 30

When she came back out, she asked Lana, "Where's Jason?"

"Mr. Whitaker went out."

"When did he leave?"

"Just now."

Looking at the partially open door to the study, Harriet's mind started racing.

In the novel, Jason had pulled the drafted divorce agreement out of that very study and slammed it down in front of her.

Even though she didn't know why he was delaying the divorce now.

Since it was already drafted, it wouldn't be out of line for her to manufacture an opportunity to take a peek, right?

Harriet slipped into the study like a shadow.

Jason's study was exactly like the man himself—freezing cold.

The bookshelves and filing cabinets lining the walls gave off a sleek, icy metallic gleam.

Next to the leather chair behind the desk sat a highly secure, unassuming safe.

His birthday?

An anniversary?

Without the knowledge base of a spy, or any magical 'transmigration' cheat codes, Harriet only hesitated for three seconds before completely abandoning the idea of opening the safe.

As she turned to leave, she stopped in her tracks.

By her feet, the paper shredder was flashing a green light, indicating it had recently been used.

Her hands moved faster than her brain. Harriet quickly scooped out a handful of the shredded paper, balled it up in her hand, and slipped back to the master bedroom like a thief in the night.

She had to admit, she had incredible luck.

The first word she pieced together was 'Div'.

Progress was painfully slow after that. Under the dim light of her bedside lamp, her eyes were practically crossing before she finally managed to spell out the words DIVORCE AGREEMENT.

Good news: she had guessed right. It was definitely the divorce agreement.

Bad news: she had only managed to piece together those two words.

Looking at the massive pile of black-and-white confetti on the bed.

Harriet's vision went dark.

At this rate, she wouldn't finish the puzzle until the next century.

It would honestly be faster to just ask Jason to print out a new one.

Which brought up the real question: why did Jason shred the divorce agreement in the first place?

Did he change his mind about divorcing?

He glanced at the phone tightly gripped in her hand.

Then he looked at her flushed, pink cheeks.

Jason seemed to realize something. "Did I... come back at a bad time?"

"No, no, perfect timing, actually."

The second the words left her mouth, Harriet wanted to bite her own tongue off.

It was painfully obvious that Jason had misunderstood. He probably assumed she had been watching something... explicit, or taking care of certain *needs*.

By answering like that, not only did she fail to clarify the situation, but she also managed to sound completely desperate and unsatisfied.

Harriet scrambled to her feet and rushed toward the linen closet. "The blanket got dirty. I'm going to grab a fresh..."

Silence!

Dead silence!

She was torn between shaking out the blanket and admitting she was actually doing a massive jigsaw puzzle of their divorce agreement.

Or just leaning into the misunderstanding, because acting a little desperate was still better than looking like a thief.

Just a second before Harriet's face was about to literally combust from the embarrassment.

Jason spoke.