12
<b>Chapter </b>64
Elissa pulled open the car door, just about to climb in, when Marcia’s voice drifted over from the front of the lot. “Elissa, what are you doing here?”
“Don’t tell me you found out Frank was giving me a car and decided to follow us?”
Elissa frowned and nced over her shoulder.
She wasn’t alone–Frank was right beside her.
Dressed in a te gray three–piece suit, he looked every bit the calm, elegant gentleman. Yet when he looked at her, there was something probing in his gaze. “What brings you here?”
Elissa rarely lost her temper, but moments like this could test the patience of a saint.
She should’ve checked her horoscope before leaving the house; who knew picking up a car could make her look like some obsessed stalker?
She rapped her slender knuckles against the hood. “I’m here to pick up my car. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Tired of the ones you have at home?”
Frank’s tone slipped back into its usual gentle warmth. “Why didn’t you tell me what kind you wanted? I could have had Bernard drop it off at your ce.”
Bernard was his assistant.
Over the past three years, most of the luxury handbags and jewelry in her closet had shown up on her birthdays or anniversaries, delivered–most likely even chosen–by Bernard.
In many ways, Bernárd felt more like her husband than Frank ever did.
Because Frank was Marcia’s husband.
<b>1/3 </b>
“Mr. Atwater, you’re here!”
The sales director bustled out from the showroom, beaming obsequiously at Marcia. “Mrs. Atwater, your car is inside. We’ve set up the handover ceremony just the way Mr. Atwater requested. I’m sure you’ll love it!”
Mrs. Atwater.
Elissa calmly looked away and turned to get in her car.
“Elissa-”
Frank strode forward and caught her car door, not letting her leave. “They’re the ones who have the wrong idea about Marcia and me. Don’t take it to heart.”
Sometimes Elissa just couldn’t figure Frank out.
How could someone be so thoroughly two–faced?
Or maybe that was just a man’s nature.
He was the one who couldn’t let go of Marcia, the one always by her side, and yet he never wanted to admit it in front of Elissa.
Did Frank see her as anything more than obedient and na?ve? Maybe that’s why he always thought she was so easy to fool.
“Frank,” Elissa said, surprisingly calm, her voice cool and even. “You don’t <i>owe </i>me an exnation. If anything, you should be exining to them.”
She lifted her chin, eyesnding on the group of salespeople eavesdropping nearby.
“They’re the ones misunderstanding your rtionship with Marcia. Not me.”
“Elissa…”
Frank’s gaze stayed soft, coaxing. “If I try to exin now, they’ll just gossip about Marcia. Let’s just drop it, alright?”
12:17
“Alright,” Elissa replied, feeling suddenly weary. She pulled at the door he was still gripping. “Can you let go now? Go on, apany Marcia for her big moment. Don’t keep her waiting.”
That limited–edition sports car in the showroom, the one surrounded by a thousand red roses, had finally found its rightful owner.
She could guess how much effort Frank had put into arranging Marcia’s special handover ceremony.
Frank’s eyes lingered on her face, as if searching for a hint of genuine emotion behind her smile. “So… I’ll go, then?”
“Go ahead,” she said, her expression as serene and gentle as ever.
After all, they were already divorced.
Why should it matter to her where he went or who he was with?
Oddly enough, for all her calm words and tranquil expression, something felt off to Frank.
He’d always wanted her to be obedient.
But now, faced with herplete indifference, her willingness to let him go without a trace of feeling, he wondered if that was really what he wanted after all.
His chest felt heavy, as if a soaked sponge pressed against his heart. On impulse, he tightened his hold on her door. “Forget it. I’ll skip the
ceremony. I’ll take you home first.”