Rebirth of the Wife in Despair by Tess Munoz

Chapter 23 I Can Make It For You Anytime You Want

Vera waited until Eric emerged from the study, walking up to him. “What’s the matter, Why do you look so upset? Did he… give you a hard time?”

Eric?

Eric had a blazer draped over one arm, brightening up at the sight of Vera. “I’m alright. Let’s go back.”

On the way home, Eric’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as he thought about the conversation in the study just now.

“This is an invite to the charity gala happening in a week. I’ll send some people over to help you out. You know what to do!”

Eric took the invite from Will. “Do you want to network with the Friedman family?”

“No, I’m thinking of an arranged marriage. You’re not getting any younger; it’s time you start a family of your own. From the looks of things, the Friedmans seem like a pretty good pick.”

“Yes. I won’t let you down, Dad.”

Eric stopped the car abruptly for some reason, and Vera looked at him. “What’s the matter,

Eric?”

The next second, Eric reached out and pulled the girl into an embrace, deeply inhaling the scent of jasmine on her.

Vera was frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do. She had been with Eric for so many years, but there seemed to always be a barrier between them that neither of them was unwilling to cross.

Something was definitely off about Eric in the way he reached out to hug her on his own.

The tension in the car took a shift, and Vera slowly relaxed her body. She raised her head, propping her chin on his shoulder and stroking his back softly with her hands. “Eric… what…. what’s gotten into you? Did anything upset you?”

Eric eventually let go of her. “Vera, I’ve got some things I need to sort out. I’ll need you to live at your school dorm for a while.”

Vera was shocked. She had not expected that Eric would have asked for something like this, and could not help the sinking feeling in her chest. “Was I a burden to you?”

Eric smoothed out her tousled hair. “Of course not. You’re wonderful. Give me a little more time, alright? I promise I’ll tell you everything you want to know after you’ve graduated.”

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14

felt her heart rate kick up on its own as

you up from school

Vera nodded. “Alright.”

office at once after sending Vera home, and Gavin reported to him

Eric’s personal assistant. He took

and radiating an air of authority, Eric looked through the reports and the

the phone on his desk began to vibrate. Eric did not look away, focusing on his papers as he reached out to accept the call. “Eric

voice rang from the phone, sultry and low.

down the documents in his hand, leaning

to hear the sound of splashing water from the

and you’d better make them worth

a coward, Eric? What, are you scared that our little secret might get exposed? Why don’t you guess what I’m doing? I’ll go and

down outright, there’s no point

a message popped up on

notification showed that it was a

cake you made was really good. Thank you,

replied soon enough.

for you anytime you want, just hit me

Sure.

r

2/4

looked at the message on the

some reason, watching Eileen reply to

had taken away something that belonged to him, and it made his

from spying on Eileen’s phone.

downloaded the surveillance app when

talking to Jasper, mostly

dull, but Eric

realized that Eileen had indeed changed

all the way until they finished talking, feeling a little frustrated

glanced at the time: a quarter to nine.

at the

for business, and it was unclear when he would be back. Eileen was sure he wouldn’t

outside, it hardly mattered where he spent the night.

the final message, Eileen went upstairs