Chapter 22
The day Patrick finalized the purchase of the Deanna Gallery, he showed up early, nerves buzzing. The staff had already told him Maisy wouldn’t be coming in for the handover. Still, he couldn’t stop hoping–maybe she’d show up after all. This gallery had been her mother’s pride and joy. Maisy had loved her mom so much; it just didn’t seem possible she’d stay away.
So Patrick waited, telling himself she might walk through that door any minute.
Finally, he heard footsteps echoing down the hallway. Patrick sat up straighter, heart thudding as he stared at the open doorway.
A figure in white appeared. Patrick jumped to his feet, ready to call out, “Maisy-” but the word stuck in his throat.
It wasn’t Maisy. It was her father.
“Mr. Bennett?” Patrick blurted out, thrown off. “Why are you here? Where’s Maisy?”
Mr. Bennett looked at him, cool and unreadable. “Where she is isn’t your concern. But you’re buying my late wife’s gallery. Why wouldn’t I be here?”
Patrick faltered. “But I thought- I mean, after you remarried, Maisy left for Europe and said you couldn’t be involved in anything to do with Deanna. Why are you here now? Does Maisy even know?”
Mr. Bennett didn’t answer. He just walked into the office and sat across from Patrick, his presence heavy, filling the whole room.
“We’re here to talk business, right? No need to ask about anything else.”
Patrick swallowed, feeling the weight but pressing on. “Sir, I’m not here just for the gallery. I want to see Maisy. There’s been a misunderstanding between us, and I need to explain myself to her.”
He didn’t know what kind of terms Mr. Bennett and Maisy were on now, but this was the only way he could get a message to her. Maybe, if Mr. Bennett told her, she’d change her mind.
But Mr. Bennett just gave a cold, almost mocking smile. “A misunderstanding? What could that possibly be?”
Patrick tried to find the right words. “I… I know I made mistakes. But I told Maisy I’d come back to her. She filed for divorce without even telling me–I didn’t know, I didn’t agree. Please, sir, just tell her what I said. Maybe she’ll give me another chance.”
Mr. Bennett’s face got even colder. “Let me get this straight. Are you saying you didn’t cheat? You didn’t have a mistress? You didn’t hurt her, lie to her, and trick her into signing those divorce papers?”
“When we let you marry our daughter, you promised us–promised Maisy–you’d never hurt her, never let her down. What did you actually do?”
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Back when Deanna was sick, her dying wish was to see Maisy married. Patrick had been the one chosen after a lot of thought. Even after things blew up between him and Maisy, even after his own remarriage, Mr. Bennett had kept an eye on his daughter. So he knew everything.
Patrick didn’t try to deny it. “I know I messed up. But I told Maisy I’d come back to her, and now I’m done with… all that. She didn’t even talk to me before ending it. Please–just let her know I want to fix things.”
Mr. Bennett’s voice was sharp, angry now. “You must be kidding. We told you before the wedding–no cheating, no excuses. But you did it anyway. And you’re really going to blame Maisy for not taking you back? That’s rich, Patrick. Let me be clear: you’re not getting back together with her. Not now, not ever.”
Patrick’s frustration started to spill over. “But it’s over with the other woman–I’m back. Why won’t you give me a chance? Maisy loved me. What if she still does? Why are you tearing us apart?”
His voice shook. He couldn’t understand why he was being punished forever for what he saw as a mistake–one he was ready to make right.
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