The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 153

She had always felt he had simply resigned himself to her persistence, or perhaps he had reached an age where he needed to settle down, and they just happened to be compatible.

Rhys said, "Before I met you, I never thought I would get married."

It sounded like an answer, yet it felt like he hadn't said anything at all.

Pretty on the surface, cruel underneath.

Clara felt her throat tighten, the sting of tears she refused to let fall.

"Rhys, are you trying to tell me that you actually loved me?"

Rhys was silent for a moment before correcting her, "I do love you."

He was a man incredibly stingy with his expressions.

Aside from the occasional "Love you" tossed out when Clara pestered him relentlessly, the only time he had said it seriously was at their wedding.

But now, it was too late.

Only at the very end, right before they parted ways, was he willing to squeeze out half a line of affection.

Clara's chest ached. She pulled her scarf tighter. "Let's go back. I'm tired."

Rhys didn't say anything more. He didn't ask where she was staying these days; he simply drove her to the apartment building where her parents lived.

Once the car stopped, Clara placed her hand on the door handle, then suddenly looked back. "Rhys, actually, on the day of the wedding, I really wanted to run away."

Rhys smiled. "I know. My aunt told me."

"What did she say?"

"She said you smashed your bouquet in the dressing room and yelled, 'What a garbage wedding, I don't want to do this.'"

Clara was surprised.

That day, she really hadn't wanted to go through with it.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and if the MC hadn't been so good at controlling the crowd, she wouldn't have known how to finish that one-woman show.

A casual complaint, and the Huntington family had heard it.

Thank goodness it was Mia. If it had been anyone else, who knows how they would have spun it.

Just thinking about it made her angry.

Clara said, "Since you knew, and you didn't apologize when you came back... didn't you feel like you owed me?"

Rhys's smile faded.

"At the time, I honestly didn't. Now, I realize I did."

Back then, he thought everything was just a formality, superficial. He thought they had plenty of time to make up for it, to take things slow.

Clara stood at her parents' door, stomping the slush off her boots and adjusting her breathing before taking out her key.

Her mother heard the door and ran out to look, looking surprised.

"It really is you. Your dad and I were just saying that the black car parked downstairs looked like... well, like his car."

Clara changed her shoes and entered. "He dropped me off."

Her father looked at his daughter and asked directly, "Is it done?"

Clara nodded, taking the receipt out of her bag and placing it on the coffee table.

"Thirty-day cooling-off period. I'll go back next month to exchange it for the certificate."

Her father picked up the paper, looked it over repeatedly, then folded it back up just as it was and handed it back to her.

"As long as you've thought it through. It's no big deal."

Clara's nose stung. "Dad, aren't you going to scold me a little?"

"Scold you for what? If it works, it works. If it doesn't, you split. It's not the end of the world."

He took off his glasses and stood up to head to the kitchen. "Alright, rest for a bit. Dad's making your favorite steamed sea bass for lunch."

The elderly couple busied themselves in the kitchen. When they came out carrying plates, they saw Clara's eyes were red.