Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 90

Daniel didn’t really have trouble letting go; at most, he was just unwilling to accept defeat. Back when he married Amelia, he’d fought tooth and nail with his family—you know that as well as I do. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Amelia was clearly better than Violet, we never would’ve picked the tallest dwarf and agreed to the wedding.

“That girl, Violet, was out of the question. The Scott family had already fallen apart, and there was so much bad blood and baggage. Bringing her into the family would’ve been a ticking time bomb. No background is better than a bomb in the house. We all saw that—do you really think Daniel didn’t? So, it’s not like he was head over heels for Amelia. Divorce was just a matter of time, and honestly, it’s for the best.”

Amelia stood there, frozen, her face blank and numb.

After a long moment, she turned away—like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Her limbs felt wooden as she walked out, nearly bumping into a waiter coming around the corner.

“Ma’am, are you alright?”

Amelia snapped back to herself. “…I’m fine.”

She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a while. By now, she should be used to it, shouldn’t she?

But those words still wound around her heart like thorny vines, squeezing tighter and tighter, the ache suffocating. They reminded her, again and again—

You’re a stand-in. In love, in marriage, always a substitute.

…

After his meeting, Daniel found Grace waiting for him in his office; she’d clearly been there a while.

He glanced out at the sunny sky. “Well, the weather in Silkwood hasn’t changed, so what brings the esteemed Mrs. Campbell all the way to the office for an inspection today?”

Grace ignored the sarcasm and gave him a slow, thorough once-over, pausing deliberately at a certain spot.

Daniel scoffed, using a file folder to cover his lap. “Really, Mrs. Campbell, you’re making me nervous with that look.”

“Oh, stop it. I changed your diapers when you were a baby—there’s nothing I haven’t seen.” She pointed at him with authority. “Come here. We need to talk.”

Daniel had barely sat down on the couch when Grace got straight to the point: “Let’s get one thing clear first—no problems on the, uh, male front, right?”

“She didn’t? I thought you were the one stalling on signing the papers.”

The words hit like a knife to the chest. Daniel tugged at his tie, suddenly short of breath. “So, what, she knows she can’t talk me into it, so she sends you—the traitor?”

“Traitor, huh?” Grace replied. “I just see you two unhappy together and think splitting up is the best option.”

Daniel let out a humorless laugh. “Which of your sharp eyes saw that I’m unhappy? I was perfectly happy married to Amelia.”

“Happy? Come on. She practically can’t stand you—if you can still be happy with that, you must be made of stone.”

Grace’s annoyance flared as she recalled her talk with Amelia. “She doesn’t even like you. Why are you still clinging to her?”

Daniel’s gaze turned icy. “Who said she doesn’t like me?”

“She told me herself,” Grace said flatly.