My Sister’s ‘Secret Boyfriend’ Was My Fiance Chapter 08
The man asked who he was looking for.
Graham stood speechless for a long time before forcing out the words, “This condo…”
He could not believe it.
He did not want to believe it.
But the man’s answer destroyed the last trace of hope he had left.
“Ms. Bennett sold the condo to me. Is there something you need?”
A painful pressure built in Graham’s chest.
He had bought this place for Nora.
They had discussed every detail of the renovations together. He had sketched out the plans around Nora’s tastes and personally designed every part of the home.
And she had sold it just like that.
Graham had no idea how he walked away from the door or how he made it back to his car.
He closed his eyes and tried to think of all the places Nora might have gone.
Nothing came to him.
He could understand that Nora was hurt and angry because she could not accept his relationship with Lila.
—
He had planned to wait until she calmed down before explaining everything.
But now Nora had blocked every way he had of reaching her.
She had sold the condo and quit her job. He could neither contact her nor find her.
It seemed that Nora truly did not want him anymore.
The next time I saw Graham was a year later, at a college reunion dinner.
Everyone else had already arrived by the time I got there.
They had even saved me a seat beside Graham.
“Why are you so late? We thought you’d come with Graham.”
“Exactly. I thought we’d have to watch you two be disgustingly cute again, but you actually came separately.”
“Don’t just stand there. Sit down.”
The teasing came from every direction.
I could also feel Graham watching me.
I smiled but did not move. “I’ll sit somewhere else.”
More than a dozen pairs of eyes shifted between Graham and me. Pretending not to notice, I traded seats with another woman.
The light in Graham’s eyes dimmed.
Someone noticed that something was wrong between us and asked
—
Graham with a laugh, “Seriously? Did you and Nora have a fight?”
“What are you waiting for? Go make it up to her.”
Graham parted his lips and instinctively looked at me.
There was something in his eyes that I could not decipher. I took two sips of my drink before saying with a smile, “We didn’t have a fight. We broke up.”
The private dining room fell silent.
The man who had made the joke froze, then quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s fine,” I said.
After all, the way Graham and I had broken up was humiliating.
My boyfriend had cheated on me with my own sister. It was the kind of story that could turn me into a punch line.
Graham seemed about to say something, but in the end, he swallowed the words.
The others hurried to smooth things over, and conversation gradually resumed. Everyone began talking about work and reminiscing about college.
Then someone said, “I always thought you two would get married after graduation. I never expected…”
Realizing his mistake, he stopped himself.
Someone else quickly stepped in. “He’s had too much to drink. Ignore
—
him.”
“He can barely get a sentence out.”
I did not take it personally. I had once believed the same thing.
But all of that was in the past now.
Graham’s gaze remained fixed on me.
The woman beside me leaned closer and whispered, “Nora, Graham hasn’t stopped staring at you.”
“I know. Ignore him,” I said.
“I’m curious. Was there some kind of misunderstanding between you two? Everything seemed fine, and then you suddenly broke up.” She glanced at Graham. “He looks like he really wants to talk to you.”
“Maybe the two of you should have a conversation?”
I knew she meant well, but I wanted nothing more to do with Graham.
I had only come to the reunion because I thought he would not be there.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” I smiled. “We broke up. That’s all there is to it.”
She did not press the issue. “All right.”
I looked down at my phone. Message after message from Reid Lawson filled the screen, asking when the reunion would end so he could come pick me up.
After checking the time, I gave him a rough estimate.
—
Then, after a moment’s thought, I added:
Me: [If you’re busy, I can get home on my own.]
Reid replied: [I’m not busy. I’ll come get you.]
He followed the message with a cute heart-hands sticker.
I had barely turned off my screen when the woman beside me exclaimed, “Nora, is your boyfriend coming to pick you up?”
I couldn’t believe she had caught that from a single glance.
Graham went rigid, and his expression changed instantly.