Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 33

Hannah jumped in to shield him, and that’s when he finally reached up and caught Bonnie’s wrist.

Bonnie just glanced at them, her face perfectly calm. Then she turned around and disappeared into the sharp, freezing rain and sleet, swallowed up by the brutal New York night.

Three years and four months had passed. Did Bonnie still hate him?

Lawrence, out of old habit, pulled out a cigarette. He shielded it in his hands, ready to light up, but then remembered—he was supposed to be quitting. He let out a breath and shoved the cigarette back into his pocket.

Restless, unable to settle his nerves, he stared at the couple chatting inside the convenience store. He watched them so intently that he barely blinked, as if their conversation held some secret he needed to crack. Bonnie grinned at the guy, laughing at something he’d said.

Since he came back to the country, he and Bonnie had run into each other a handful of times, but not once had they finished a proper conversation. The girl who once stayed up all night spilling her heart out to him now acted colder than any stranger. It stung. Lawrence let out a bitter laugh. He couldn’t help the urge to smash this whole scene to pieces.

Bonnie and Felton finished up their meal. Felton packed up the containers, quick and efficient, then picked up the thermos and walked Bonnie back.

At the entrance to her apartment complex, Bonnie looked at him and asked, “How did you get here?”

“My car’s restricted today, so I grabbed a cab. Go on in, I’ll call a ride in a bit.”

Bonnie nodded, said goodbye, and headed inside.

Felton waited until she was out of sight, then pulled out his phone to get a ride. But as he stepped up to the curb, a Maybach rolled up and stopped right in front of him.

He froze as the passenger-side window lowered. Sitting inside was a man with a striking face—handsome and distant, and somehow familiar.

Before Felton could place him, the man spoke. “You’re Bonnie’s friend, right? We met at that coffee shop.”

Felton froze, looking down at his phone case. On the back were two little dogs, each tugging at a blanket. His half showed a puppy holding onto a corner, face all sulky and pitiful. Crap, he’d totally forgotten to change it out of habit.

He tried to play it cool, forcing out a laugh. “The new one I ordered hasn’t arrived yet, so I haven’t switched.”

Lawrence let out a quiet chuckle. “By the way, I didn’t catch your name?”

Felton still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was just off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The guy’s wife was friends with Bonnie, and these two were obviously well-off, probably just being polite. That made sense, right?

He let his guard down. By the time they pulled up at the subway, Felton had told him everything—his name, where he went to school, where he worked, even why he and his ex split up.

And still, he didn’t know the man’s name.