Second Chance at Forever (Forever Book 2) by Mary Wasowski Page A

had been sated. “I love you, Reese, please don’t leave me. I promise you that we can make our marriage work. Losing you is not an option, Reese, and it will never be. You’ll go to New York, have fun with our daughter, and then you will come back to me, and this conversation will be forgotten, okay?”
    He lifted me up and held me to his chest while breathing in my scent. Tears began to fall down my cheeks. Samuel kissed them away and released me. I stood there for a minute to compose myself and take in what just happened between us. How could Samuel ever believe that what he just did to me will fix anything between us? If anything, it’s sex that complicated our situation even more. I asked him for a divorce, but I just was spread out all over his desk not five minutes ago. If that’s what he felt he needed to do to make himself feel good, then fine. He only took my body. It’s what was in my heart that was now leading me down the right path, and my journey ended today with Samuel. He was so smug, as he completely ignored me while he went back to work at his desk. No matter, I had nothing else to say to him.
    As I made my way to his office door, I glanced back at him and whispered, “Goodbye Samuel.”
    My marriage was over, at least for me. He couldn’t make me stay, no matter how much he tried to control me with his words or sex. This was not what I wanted; hell, it was never what I wanted. I climbed the stairs back to our room to change into fresh clothes, hoping Riley wouldn’t notice. My face was flushed and blotchy. I fixed my hair and make-up quickly, hoping to cover up my goodbye fuck with Samuel, because that’s exactly what it was. I made sure to pack the precious pieces of jewelry and memories that I held onto all of these years, including my journal.
    I didn’t know what was waiting for me once I stepped out of this house, but I would take my chances with what Nana called my stiffened back bone. It was time to find me again, and that’s exactly what I intended to do. The car service arrived fifteen minutes later to take Riley and me to the airport. Samuel’s office door was closed, clearly telling me that we had nothing else to say to each other.
    I met Riley outside, and she told me that Samuel actually just left. By the way my daughter was looking at me, she knew something was wrong. I played it off, and we headed for the airport. I held on tightly to a certain picture that was now in my pocket. I shouldn’t have picked this time to drop the divorce bomb on Samuel, but I was angry with him. I would always care about Samuel, but never love him in the way he deserved to be loved and cared for.
    He saved me the night I miscarried my baby. He had been working the emergency room to help out when I was brought in. I remember waking up in recovery and my hand was being held by a stranger. I was startled by an unfamiliar touch and jerked my body.
    “Shhh, it’s okay. Hello, I’m Dr. Briggs. I attended to you while you were being treated in the emergency room.”
    Calming myself after realizing where I was, I groggily said, “Hi, I’m Reese Mitchell.” The realization hit me like a punch to my stomach, and I knew why I was there. My best friend, Freddy, had convinced me to return to New York to find Walker to explain why I left him. I never got the chance to do so after becoming violently sick, and then I started to spot. I was just beginning my second trimester of pregnancy. My head was spinning, and I was alone in my hotel room when I fell to the floor. I managed to get to the phone and call 911, and that was the last thing I remembered until waking up there with Samuel.
    “Reese, you’re here at New York Presbyterian Hospital. You were unconscious when the ambulance arrived. I examined you and did an ultrasound. Your placenta ruptured, causing you to lose your baby. I’m very sorry for your loss. There was no way we could save the pregnancy. We had to perform a D and C to remove the fetus, so