No to Marriage? Goodbye, Then

"Graham," Emily said through sobs, "if I divorced Dean, would you marry me?"

Graham looked at her for a long second. "If that's what you want, I'd marry you anytime."

His words exploded in my mind like a thunderclap.

Years ago, when I first found out I was pregnant, I had hopefully asked him, "Should we get married? It'll make things easier for the baby, especially with paperwork."

He had frowned and told me, "Nora, marriage feels like a burden to me. The baby can have your name or mine, it doesn't matter. I don't need a marriage license to give you both a good life."

He gave me everything I asked for for five years, except commitment.

I had truly believed he didn't believe in marriage. But now, I knew the truth. It wasn't about marriage. It was about who he wanted to marry.

I let out a bitter laugh, turned to head back inside, and walked downstairs with the resignation letter in my hands.

Dean's car had already pulled away from the curb.

Emily was still crying in Graham's arms. He held her carefully, wiping the tears from her face.

But when he noticed me, he stiffened and instinctively stepped away from her.

"Emily and Dean had a fight," he said quickly. "She's crashing here for a couple of nights."

Emily blinked at me in surprise. "Nora? What are you doing at Graham's house? What's your relationship to him?"

Before Graham could open his mouth, I smiled and answered for him. "I'm the housekeeper. My daughter's still little, so I work two jobs to save up for a better school."

Graham's expression darkened.

Emily tilted her head thoughtfully. "A housekeeper? I thought maybe you were his lover, but that wouldn't make sense. The woman Graham likes is..."

She glanced at him, then back at me. "Since you're the housekeeper, could you bring my suitcase upstairs? I'll be staying here for a few days."

She turned and walked off like she owned the place.

Graham picked up her heavy suitcase and followed her.

I stepped in front of him and held out the resignation letter. "I've got a document here that needs your signature."

He looked at me like I was an annoyance. "What kind of document's so urgent?"

"It's a client proposal. They need the signed copy this morning, but I've been waiting all day for you."

Graham pressed his lips together. He took the folder, flipped it open, and as he scrawled his name across the bottom, he glanced up at me.

"Why didn't you tell her the truth?"

I actually laughed. He was asking me why I hadn't told Emily I was his girlfriend?

"If I had, you think you wouldn't have been upset?"

His pen faltered slightly. He didn't meet my eyes.

"Just sign it," I said. "I need to bring Ms. Caldwell's suitcase to her room."

Graham quickly scribbled the last of his signature, too distracted by the matter with Emily to even glance at the title on the top page.

Before he could flip through the rest, I smoothly slid the document back into my bag.

After that, I brought the suitcase upstairs to Emily's room.

She glanced at me and said with a smirk, "You're something else, you know that?

"Dean helped you through college, and now you're working for Graham. Looks like every man in my life has ended up connected to you."

I looked her straight in the eye. Dean had become her husband while Graham was her loyal lapdog. I never said a word about it.

"You've got me beat, Ms. Caldwell. You have a wealthy man like Graham as your backup. But I really wonder, if you're trying to have both of them, will you end up with either one?"

Hearing this, her smile vanished.

I didn't wait around. I went straight to Naomi's room, but I stopped just outside the door when I heard Graham's voice inside.

"I ran into Emily on the way home," he said gently. "She was really upset, so I had to take care of her. That's why I didn't get your cake. But tomorrow, I'll get you an even bigger one. Deal?"

Naomi's voice brightened immediately. "Really? That's awesome, Daddy! I'll wait for you to bring it!"

Through the crack in the door, I saw her throw herself into his arms, beaming.

I stood there with a frown.

Our flight was tomorrow evening. If he really brought the cake in the afternoon, maybe Naomi would leave without any regrets.