Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
I hit send and lean back with my cell phone resting on my chest. I glance at the Kindle I left on the arm of the couch and pick it back up, trying to immerse myself in it again. But my mind goes wandering back to the funeral, the wake, Sheldon’s warmth, Lydia’s ice, … and Axel’s beautifully angry eyes. Everything is new. Everything is shifting. Tomorrow at the will reading, I feel like everything will change once more. And I can feel, deep in the pit of my stomach, that nothing will ever be the same or simple again.
My cell phone buzzes once, then again and again, a rush of notifications announcing the replies from Jenny, Serena and Olivia in the chat. I put my Kindle down and open the chat once more, looking over the emojis, the enthusiastic messages of support, curiosity, and the outpouring of love. I smile faintly. Even in all of this chaos and uncertainty, I am not completely alone.
And that thought, small and fragile, gives me the courage I need to face what comes next.
Chapter
Ten
JO
The morning sunlight streams through the tall windows of the conference room, hitting the polished wood floor in sharp, golden rectangles. I smooth my dress nervously as I step into the room, my heels clicking loudly on the floor. The space is big and modern, with stark white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. A long glass table with shiny chrome chairs and white leather seats dominates the room. The air smells faintly of polish and a whisper of men’s cologne mingling in.
Sheldon and I are alone in the large room, and we stand together by the refreshments table at the back of the room. Sheldon helps himself to a coffee and then makes me one. I smile and thank him.
“Are we early?” I ask.
Sheldon shakes his head. “No, Gavin will be in shortly.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” I quickly explain. “I just … Well, honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I thought the room would be full.”
“Dad requested it this way. Just you, me, and Axel to be present. You can imagine how much my mom liked that,” he says cynically, and I can’t help but give a soft laugh at the thought of the formidable Lydia being told her presence would not be required.
“She knows she’s not going to be left anything, but she just likes to be seen, if you get my drift,” Sheldon adds.
I do get his drift. While I try my best to melt into the background, Lydia Manswell likes to be out front and center of any event, especially something like a will reading.
The door opens then, and Gavin enters the room, followed by Axel. My eyes are immediately drawn to Axel despite my best efforts to look literally anywhere else. He is wearing a pair of tailored trousers and a white shirt, no tie, and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. The perfect picture of casual but powerful, and my stomach flutters at the sight of him. As he stalks into the room he glowers at me, hypnotizing me. I stare at him helplessly, and it’s only when Sheldon greets him and he turns to look at him that the spell is broken and I can look away again. Red-faced, I turn towards Gavin, who now stands at the head of the long glass table, his suit immaculate, his expression calm but solemn with the weight of the importance of the occasion.
“Mr. Manswell, Miss Button, Mr. Rhodes, thank you for coming,” Gavin says smoothly, gesturing towards each of us in turn: Sheldon, me, and the perpetually scowling Axel. “Please, have a seat.”
Sheldon steps forward first, his tall frame easing off the wall he has been leaning against with studied nonchalance and moving into the room with a strangely carefree energy. It makes me wonder if he loved his stepfather.
“Come on, Jo,” he says, surprising me.
I follow him, and he walks to the end of the table where Gavin stands and takes the seat to his right. He gestures towards the chair beside him. “Come sit with me. It’ll make this ordeal less intimidating.”
I settle into the chair, trying to breathe evenly as my gaze flickers to Axel once more. He’s sitting across from us, dark, tall, and disapproving. His eyes remain fixed on me with a mixture of suspicion and barely disguised hostility. Who the hell does he think he is? I bite the inside of my cheek and resist the urge to poke my tongue out at him.
Gavin clears his throat, and I force my attention back to him.
“We’ll begin the reading of Mr. Joseph Manswell’s last will and testament.” Gavin looks at each of us in turn and then down to the table in front of him, where he opens a large leather-bound folder and flips to the first page. I imagine him in court tearing his opposition apart.