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Chapter 35
Tobias
It’s been close to five weeks since I left Hannah, and I hate to say it, but I will have to stay
in this country for longer than six weeks.
The newly built hotel in southern Sweden is in utter chaos. The people they hired are
unfriendly and unsuited to be my staff, and I’ve decided to personally run interviews to find
people to hire.
It’s a pain in the fucking ass, but I have to do this. It’s important the people working for me
carry the friendly spirit that Ford Hotels stand for. I’m sure Hannah will understand when I
call her. I miss her like crazy, and after this nightmare of a recruitment train is over, I’m-
taking time off work for a month.
I want to teach Hannah how to drive and take her on a road trip along the coast. Eat good
food, watch the sunset, and go swimming as much as possible, possibly even surfing. My
brothers and I are all talented at that, but Mark is the best one on the board.
“Tobias?”
Hook up from my computer and do a half-spin in my chair. As usual, Sarah doesn’t knock.
She is standing in my office with a nervous smile on her lips, and I resist the urge to sigh.
“What do you want?” I can’t hide the irritation in my voice. Sarah doesn’t deserve it, but I
can’t help it. Seeing her just sets me off in a bad mood. I can’t relax around her, probably
because we have so much history.
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“Nothing special, I’m just… umm…” she takes her freedom to sit in the chair in front of my
desk. “I know that you chose Hannah, and I respect that. I do, but I would still like to talk.”
I notice she must have done another surgery on her face. This time, her cheeks are sharper.
She looks skinnier, too… hmm.
Did she use Daniel’s money?
I find it odd that Sarah had another surgery. I thought she divorced Daniel. Does her surgery
mean she took a lot of his assets with her? Probably. I mean, she is still on the board and
everything.
“Alright,” I say, relaxing my shoulders because there is an odd air around Sarah. She seems
less edgy. “What do you want to talk about?”
Sarah takes a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m just going to come on out and say it.”
“Mmm?”
“As you may have noticed, I’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“Yes…” I look her up and down. Sarah looks as thin and white as a ghost these days, but
that’s none of my business to point out. “It’s hard not to notice that you’re rather thin.”
“It’s because of my condition,” she grimaces. “I suffer from cachexia. It eats your muscles
and usually leads to extreme weight loss…”
I stare at her, eyes hard. “But to get that symptom…” I can’t say it, and Sarah gives me a
sad
smile.
“I’m going to die, Tobias. My cancer was discovered too late, and I’ve been given a year.
Perhaps I die before a year has passed, or maybe I live a little longer, but that is unlikely.”
My chest draws tight, and to make matters worse, Sarah sits there and smiles as if she isn’t
dying. I also suspect she can read my mind and knows I care because her lips twitch.
“Look, you don’t have to say anything, but I want you to know that I’m divorcing Daniel
because I understood who I’m in love with way too late. I thought I could forget about when
I found that I was dying, it wasn’t Daniel who I wanted beside me. It was you.”
you, but
I stare at her, entirely speechless. It all makes sense now. Sarah used to be manipulative
and sneaky. She got together with Daniel to make me jealous, to make me beg to get her
back.
And the reason she came back for me, divorced Daniel, and wanted me back as her
husband or boyfriend so suddenly must be because-
Shit.
I suck sticky air into my lungs, barely able to talk without my conflicting emotions bleeding
into my voice. “You knew, didn’t you? You’ve known for a while and didn’t tell me. This is
why Daniel came to me and said he just wished for you to be happy. He also knew you were
dying.” “Correct… this is why he isn’t angry with me. Daniel knows I won’t be around for
long and respects my dying wish, which is for you and me to get another chance.”
“Sarah…” pain laces my voice. “You know that I’m with Hannah. She is my wife. Even if
you’re dying, I can’t…”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“I’m sure she would understand if you said I was dying,” Sarah tries and reaches out her
arm to place her cold, smaller hand over mine. When I look at her, her bottom lip trembles.
“One date. One date is all I ask for, and everything will be fine. I will give you and Hannah
my blessing, but I want just one night of you and me talking over wine. We don’t have to
kiss or hug. Just hang out and talk about life, the future, and… us.”
“That sounds a lot like cheating.”
“It won’t be!” Sarah assures me. Her hand is clutching mine. “Not if you tell Hannah about
it! Just tell her the truth; I’m sure she won’t mind. Come on, Tobias. I’m desperate and
dying!” “I…” I pause, hesitating about what to say or do. There is a constricting feeling
within me. I’m hurting for Sarah. I feel sorry for her, but taking her out on a date feels
wrong. “I can’t…” “Why not?” Sarah’s eyes are shiny with tears, and her voice is a barely
audible whisper. It hurts seeing my ex-wife like this: so in love with me and filled with want
when
my whole heart belongs to someone else. It’s painful because… yes, I love Hannah more
than anything in this world, but once upon a time, I would have done anything for Sarah.
Funny how the heart can have a change of mind…
I gently remove her hand from mine. “Because while you will die happy having had your last
night with me, eating dinner with you will cause future problems between my wife and me.
Hannah might think I’m only with her because you’re dead, which isn’t true. She is my
choice, and I must stick with that choice while you’re alive.”
“But… but what if she doesn’t have to know?” Sarah asks. “What if we head out for dinner,
just you and I, one last time, and Hannah doesn’t have to know about it?”
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