All Chapters of The Thanksgiving He Sent Away: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

I bought replacement gifts from a boutique grocery store and went to my parents' house in Evanston alone.My mother opened the door and looked behind me. "Where is Roman? I thought you two were coming together."My father frowned. "Did something happen on the DeLuca side again?"I set the last-minute wine and cake on the dining table and smiled. "He got pulled into a group call. He might come by later."My parents didn’t press. They knew Roman was the heir of the DeLuca family and the future Don of Chicago. Casinos, docks, private clubs, and off-the-record deals could call him away at any hour, so a sudden emergency sounded reasonable enough.My mother only squeezed my hand and said that as the future Donna, I would have to get used to the weight of his position.I had barely sat down when my phone lit up.Cassia had updated her story. Nine photos. One caption.[Someone remembered I hate spending Thanksgiving alone. Thank you for the surprise.]In the photos, the custom basket I had pi

Chapter 2

I opened the shopping bags.Both cashmere coats had been unwrapped. The tags were cut off. A dark red smear of dried cranberry sauce stained the sleeve of the pale gray coat.I stared at the stain and suddenly thought it looked like my marriage.Respectable from a distance. Marked by someone else as soon as you looked closer."Who opened them?" I asked.Roman paused and lowered his voice. "Cassia thought they were for her parents. She didn't mean anything by it.""She opened them, stained them, and you brought them back for me to give my parents?"The little guilt in his eyes disappeared under irritation."What else should I do? The tags are gone. They can't be returned. They're your parents' sizes, so no one else can wear them."No one else. If Cassia's parents could have worn the coats, I would never have seen them again.I shoved the coats back into the bag. "You deal with them."I turned toward the study, but Roman caught my wrist. "Enough. I booked dinner. It's Thanksgiving. Can w

Chapter 3

I no longer understood why I was still sitting there. I picked up my bag and stood.Cassia immediately looked worried. "Is Mrs. DeLuca upset? Did I make you two fight again?"Roman lowered his voice, but the anger still cut through. "Elena, do you have to ruin every room you walk into?"I didn’t turn around. When I reached the front of the restaurant, Roman followed me with my coat in his hand. For one breath, I almost believed he had finally chosen to leave with me.Then Cassia called from inside. "Ro, I think I can't breathe."Roman stopped. He looked at me. He looked back at Cassia, whose face had turned pale. Then he shoved the coat into my arms. "I'll have the driver take you home. Cassia gets panic attacks. She needs me more right now."I looked down at the coat and laughed once under my breath. When danger reached for me, he would come after me by instinct. When Cassia asked for him, he would turn away.He didn’t feel nothing for me. I just came after her every single time.Back

Chapter 4

The Crown Room on the top floor of the Bellwether Hotel was a private banquet hall the DeLucas kept on permanent reserve.At a DeLuca dinner, the men near the exits were never just security. They stood there quietly, scanning every face before Roman even lifted his glass.When I arrived, it was already full.Nearly thirty people sat around two long tables. Roman's friends were there. So were DeLuca Group executives, old faces from the family's restaurants, and his parents.Cassia sat beside Roman's mother. Roman sat on her right.She listened to something he said with her head lowered and her eyes curved in a smile. Roman leaned toward her and smiled back.The server opened the door for me, and the room went quiet.Roman stood and walked over. "You're here."I greeted the elder DeLucas.Roman lowered his voice. "My mother missed Cassia and asked me to invite her. There are so many people tonight. One more doesn't matter, right?"I stepped back half a pace to avoid his breath. "You deci

Chapter 5

The banquet hall went silent as if someone had cut the sound.Roman stared at the agreement. Shock hit his eyes first. Disbelief followed.Cassia stood before anyone else did. Her voice trembled. "Ro, did Mrs. DeLuca misunderstand? Please explain. Everyone was drunk and joking. I never meant anything by it."She turned to me with tears gathering in her eyes. "Mrs. DeLuca, I won't come anymore. I shouldn't have put Ro in this position. I shouldn't have made you unhappy."I watched Roman's shock turn into anger under the shine of her tears.He held his temper by a thread. "Elena, my parents are here. My people are here. Did you have to choose this moment to humiliate me with divorce papers?"His mother's face looked strained.She forced a smile. "Elena, some of the kids spoke out of turn tonight, but husband and wife don't throw the word divorce around whenever they're upset. You're young. Don't damage your marriage over a scene.""Mrs. DeLuca, this is not a scene," I said. "I truly want

Chapter 6

I booked myself a month of travel.The first stop was the coast of Maine.When the plane landed, the sky was blue and the air smelled like sea salt. I turned off airplane mode, and more than a dozen messages from Roman filled my screen.[What did you mean by sending divorce papers to my office?][Elena, are you serious?][Answer the phone. We need to talk.]I glanced at them and put the phone back in my bag. There was nothing left to discuss. Facts would tell him I was not throwing a tantrum.I checked into a small inn near the water. Every day, I walked along the harbor. I watched fishing boats come in, gulls wheel above the docks, and strangers jog by with their dogs.No one here knew the DeLuca family. No one knew I was someone's wife. I woke when I wanted. I ate wherever I wanted. If I wanted to sit by the sea all afternoon, I sat by the sea all afternoon.No one called me a buzzkill. No one put me second and expected me to be grateful for the seat.On the third day, I ordered clam

Chapter 7

Near the end of my trip, Cassia messaged me.She must have heard from Roman that I really wanted a divorce. Her tone finally resembled an apology.[Mrs. DeLuca, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken so many things Ro bought for you.][If I had refused the packages from the start, or told him to delete my address, maybe you two wouldn't be here now.][But what was I supposed to do? Ro and I have known each other since we were seven. We went to school together. We ran from bodyguards together. We hid wine in the backyard of the old DeLuca house together.][He was my first love.][After all these years, I couldn't bear to make him delete my address. I couldn't bear to make him change my ringtone. I couldn't bear to give him back completely to someone else.][If you really love him, you should understand that, right?]I was walking through a used-book market in Seattle when I read the messages. I laughed despite myself.The first line dressed itself as an apology. Every line after it was a vic

Chapter 8

My parents came to pick me up at the airport.My mother held a bouquet of sunflowers and baby's breath. She smiled as she handed it to me. "You lost a little weight, but you look alive again."I lowered my head and breathed in the flowers. "I was happy every day. Of course I look alive."My father laughed and took my suitcase.We had just stepped out of arrivals when I saw Roman.I had not seen him in a month. He had lost weight. His black coat hung loose on him. No bodyguards stood nearby. He carried a large bouquet of red roses, and the color made him impossible to miss.My parents' smiles faded.I patted my mother's hand. "I'll talk to him for a few minutes."Roman looked at me, and his voice sounded rough. "Elena, I'm sorry. Can you give me a little time? Can we sit down and talk?"I glanced at the flowers in his arms. "I don't like red roses."He froze."I like sunflowers and baby's breath," I said. "I told you that during our first year together."Roman opened his mouth as if he

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