The Beach Cottage

Book 1, The Island

“What is it? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Tears filled his eyes. “You know I love you.”

“Of course I do.” Her spine straightened.

“I can’t do the vow renewal.” His gaze met hers, his deep brown eyes full of sadness.

“Why not? We wrote new vows—they’re not the traditional ones. It’ll be fun.” She didn’t understand. Why was he backing out now after all their work on lighthearted, even teasing vows in which they promised to do things like always replace the toilet paper and never eat the last Tim Tam without asking the other person first? The vows were cute. Everyone there would love them. It made no sense to back out now.

“I’ve met someone else.”

The words hit her like a slap to the face. “What do you mean, someone else?”

“Another woman. We’re in love.”

“No, you can’t be… We’re in love. You and me.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry, Bea. I know this comes as a shock. It’s something of a shock to me as well. I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t go looking for it, but here I am.”

“This can’t be happening.” She pulled her hands free of his and stood to pace the room. “We’ve got a hundred people coming to celebrate our marriage in less than an hour.”

“I know it’s bad timing, we can still have the party. No one else has to know. But I thought it would be in bad taste to renew our vows when… Well, you know.”

She wrung her hands together. “How long has this been going on?”

His cheeks coloured. “Does that matter?”

“Yes, of course it does!” she shouted.

He cringed. “Don’t get emotional.”

“How dare you tell me not to get emotional? You’re always saying that. But if this isn’t the time to get emotional, I’d love you to please tell me when is!”

He shook his head and walked to the closet. “I can’t talk to you when you get like this.”

She followed him. “You have to talk to me, Preston. This time, you can’t walk away and hope the conflict disappears. You have to face it. Tell me what it is you’re trying to say.”

“It’s been going on for a year.” 

Beatrice’s stomach roiled like she’d been sucker punched. She lurched backwards away from her husband. No, no, no!

“We love each other. She’s been there for me when I went through a hard time at work. She understands me. We’ve made plans for the future.”

Bea’s eyes filled with tears. This couldn’t be happening. They’d planned to travel once the children left home. They were going to enjoy their golden years together. After all their hard work, this was the time to enjoy each other’s company. They’d had children together, they were a family. He couldn’t build another life without them in it. How could he walk away?

“But what about our plans? Our family?” She stifled a sob.

“I want a divorce.”

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