Chasing His Rejected Wife

I sat back and tried to figure out where the ultrasound could be. The last time I had seen it was yesterday night, just before I'd gone to bed. I had pulled it out of my bag to stare at the little white blob that my doctor had told me was my baby. If it wasn't in my bag, maybe I had left it on my bedside table. For a moment, I was worried that Aiden would find it before I had a chance to tell him but soon dismissed that fear. Other than what had happened earlier, Aiden never came into my bedroom, so I should be safe.

Still, I made a mental note to ask my assistant, Heather, to drop by the house later and take care of the ultrasound.

The car pulled to a stop in front of a set of double doors that stood wide open. An elderly woman with white hair hurried over as soon as we stepped down from the vehicle.

"Aiden!" Stella Brown's smile lit up the entire foyer as she approached our group. "You're here."

"Gran, how are you?" Aiden pulled his grandmother into a hug, a genuine pleased smile on his face and not for the first time, I was struck by how much that smile transformed his features. Somber, he had that cold, detached handsomeness that was a staple in romance books, but when he smiled...

His face was so indescribably beautiful. His eyes would light up, enhancing those ice blue pupils in a way that would make every woman sit up and pay attention. It was a pity he didn't smile often.

However, with one glance around the room that was currently filled with guests, the ladies in the room, single or partnered, old or young, who were gawking at him with open admiration and longing glances, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.

My own heart wasn't spared either.

Aiden smiled. With a gentle arm around her shoulders, he steered her towards Vincent and Elisa, totally ignoring me. "You remember Vin, don't you?"

"Hello Mrs. Brown." Vincent stepped forward and bent down to place a kiss on her wrinkled cheeks.

"It's nice to see you again, Stella." Elisa piped up, leaning over to give her a hug. "I'm sorry it's in such a somber situation though. Julian will be dearly missed."

"Thank you, dear." Stella's expression was saddened as she remembered the occasion for this gathering. She shook her head sadly, eyes wet with unshed tears. "I never thought I'd be the one burying my children, to have to watch helpless as your child suffers it is..." She broke off, overwhelmed.

"I can only imagine how difficult it is." Elisa said in a soft tone. "Please, let me know if there's anything I can do to help you. Anything at all, just say the word."

"You're so sweet, Elisa." Stella patted her arm. "I'm grateful for the offer, dear. Come, it's almost time for the service to start."

Still holding onto Elisa, her other arm looped through Aiden's, she walked into the living room. I hung back, not missing the fact that she had barely acknowledged my presence and probably didn't want me tagging along. With a tired sign, I made my way towards the nearest bathroom. Since my pregnancy, I'd found that there was only so much liquid my bladder could hold and my bathroom breaks had become more frequent.

Once that was taken care of, I wandered through the rooms upstairs, which, fortunately, was off limits to guests. I paused in front of a set of ornate wood double doors, my hand hovering over the handle. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and walked into the cool interior of Julian's study.

The heavy curtains were drawn casting the room in cozy darkness. The scent of the cigars Julian favored still lingered in the air, warm and heady and it filled me with grief as I traced a finger over the gleaming desk, brushing past papers and files stacked in their usual haphazard manner. I could picture him seated behind this desk, a lit cigar in hand as he regaled me with stories of his exploits when he was younger.

A large portrait hung over his desk and I stared at it, my vision blurry through the well of tears.

"I hope you're no longer in pain." I whispered to his grinning face. "I bet you're giving the angels a run for their money right now."

Needing some form of comfort, I sank down on his seat, pulled my knees up to my chest and leaned against the headrest. "I miss you so much, it's going to be hard to say a final goodbye."

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"I'm sure he misses you too." A voice broke into the silence. Startled, I sat up, then sprang to my feet with a cry of delight.

"Logan!" I practically launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck in a hug. Laughing at my antics, he caught me, arms closing around my waist as he hugged me back. We stayed like that for a second then I pulled away to look at him.

"I can't believe you're here." I breathed in disbelief. "When did you get in?"

"Caught a last minute flight from Copenhagen, touched down in New York late last night." Logan replied, a wide grin on his handsome face. "How are you doing, Jess? You look amazing as usual."

"Liar." I rolled my eyes at him, then gave him a once over, taking in the dark gray designer suit that fit over a body that was in great shape, expertly styled light brown hair and glowing, healthy skin. "If anyone looks amazing, it's you." "C'mon Jess, don't tell me you still do that thing." He complained with a mock frown.

"What thing?"

"The one where you deflect any compliment given to you." Logan shook his head in exasperation. "Heaven knows why they make you so uncomfortable, it's not like I'm just spouting nonsense." "That's exactly what you're doing, spouting nonsense." I shot back with a grin. "Anyways, I'm so happy to see you, I can imagine how happy Jodie was to see you too."

Logan is Jodie's son from her first marriage, and he'd come down to live with her at Skye Manor when she had married Julian. I'd been delighted to finally have someone my age to hang out with, and we'd been inseparable, causing as much trouble as two fifteen year olds with too much time on their hands could get into.

We'd stayed in touch when we'd both moved out of the Manor to separate colleges, meeting up every semester break to hang out, drink, eat and visit places we were interested in and even after college, when he'd moved to Denmark to start his own tech company, we'd always kept in touch.

"Yeah, mom was relieved to have me here." He raked fingers through his hair and sighed. "Shit, I can't believe that ornery bastard's gone. He always gave the impression of being invincible, you know?"

"I do." I turned to look at the portrait once more. "There are days when it takes me a while to remember he's no longer just a phone call away."

For a moment, we stood side by side gazing up at the picture, each lost in thought.

"Speaking of bastards," Logan turned to me, his mouth turned down in disapproval. "I ran into Aiden downstairs and of course, that one was still hanging off his arm, making goo goo eyes at him." "He's not a bastard." I answered inanely, deliberately ignoring the other part of his sentence.

Logan's only answer was a scoff. "If it looks like one and talks like one, chances are -"

"Stop." I held up a hand, torn between amusement and irritation. "I know you don't like him, but try to understand what he's going through right now."

"Don't make excuses for him, Jess. Sure, he may have been forced into the marriage, but that doesn't give him a pass to act like a dick towards you, not especially in front of everyone."