Excerpt from "Till Death Do Us Part" by E. Jamie

“You got a minute?”

“I made time,” Sara said with a slow nod, her mouth dry.

“Thanks.”

She forced herself to focus on what she had to say to him. “I have something I need to say to you first.” She stepped behind her desk glad for the small measure of comfort it provided.

“Okay,” he said, taking the pale blue-cushioned seat across from her.

“I owe you an apology for what I did the night of Aaron’s accident.”

“No you don’t. You were right. It was my fault he left the house angry and crashed his car,” Connor reminded her.

“No more than it was mine,” Sara said firmly.

“Sara—”

“Connor, please, let me finish. What I said to you was unforgivable, not to mention untrue. I don’t hate you. I never could. If I hated you, we never would’ve gone through what we have this past year. I hurt you so, so badly,” Sara said, her eyes filling with tears. She lowered her head.

Connor stood up and pulled her to her feet.

“I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you,” she said.

He cupped her face with his hands. “I love you so much, Sara. I’ll love you going to my grave, again,” he added with a smirk making Sara laugh through her tears. Then he grew serious. “I’ve just recently learned what really loving you meant. When I came back and demanded that you leave Aaron, you were right when you called me a selfish bastard. I was. I wanted you back, and I didn’t care what that meant for you.”

Sara trembled and tried to get a hold of her emotions. She placed her hands over his and stroked the fair blond hair at his wrists. “I wanted to come back to you, Connor. I wanted everything to be the way it was, but it can’t be. I’ve grown up. I’m not the same woman you married. I have so many responsibilities to other people. I don’t just mean as Aaron’s wife but as Nathan’s mother. I created this family for him, something so wonderful for him. He adores you, Connor. Never doubt that.”

“You’re wrong when you say you’re not the woman I married. She’s still there, inside. I’ve seen her every time you’ve been pissed off at me lately, but you’re right when you say you’ve grown up. So have I finally. I saw what my selfishness was doing to you, and I remember a vow I made on our wedding night after we made love for the first time.”

“I don’t remember you saying anything.”

“I made it while you were sleeping. I was watching you. Your face was so soft, and you looked so beautiful my heart felt like it was gonna explode into a million pieces. I knew I had probably hurt you that first time, and I felt horrible about it. Then in your sleep, you turned and slipped your arm around my waist. You trusted me when I said I wouldn’t hurt you again. Even though I had meant physically at the time, feeling your arm come around me showed me you trusted me not to hurt your heart, too. I promised you I would never hurt you in any way. I broke that promise the day you married Aaron, and I walked away. I broke it again when I came back and made you choose. I put you through hell this past year, and I regret that more than you could ever imagine. I’m here to make it right. I’m promising never to bring you another day of pain. So I’m going to do the right thing.” He wiped the tears streaming off his face and handed her an envelope.

“What?” Sara asked.

“I’m leaving. Not sure to where yet. But I’m going to let you go.”

Sara’s breath was knocked out of her. She felt ill. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? She had made her choice, and it was Aaron so why did it feel like her very soul was being ripped from her body? Fresh tears fell from her eyes. She shook her head. “This is so wrong. This wasn’t supposed to be us. Never us.”

“No it wasn’t,” Connor agreed.

“This feels so wrong.” She began to tremble.

“I know, but it’s the right thing to do, for everybody, but especially for you. I never want to bring you any more pain.”

Sara wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. “I love you, Connor Nolan. With my heart and with my soul, I love you.” She pulled back, and he handed her an envelope containing what she learned was also a petition for joint custody of Nathan. “Of course,” she agreed, pulling up the sleeves of her white suit jacket and pulling open the middle slim drawer of her desk to look for a pen.

“I’m gonna be leaving town, so we’re going to have to work something out,” Connor said and blew his nose.

She nodded again, still in disbelief. “We were so beautiful, weren’t we?” Their love had been something so amazing. Had been? No. Was. Would always be. “I’ll go to my grave loving you, Connor.”

Connor smiled. “We’re even good at breaking up.” He grew serious again. “There’s one thing I want before we file those papers.”

“What?” Sara asked, bewildered.

“One night with you.”