After Bennett came out of the study, he returned to the living room and saw Yvonne chatting with Emma.
Emma was telling stories about Bennett's embarrassing moments from his childhood. In truth, Yvonne knew most of them; after all, they had grown up together as childhood sweethearts.
But this version of Yvonne didn't remember, so as Emma recounted the tales, Yvonne had to pretend it was the first time she was hearing them, her expression a mixture of amusing and adorable.
Bennett didn't interrupt them. Instead, he walked through the living room, intending to step outside for a smoke.
When Bennett got to the courtyard, just as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, he looked up and saw Noah sitting in the gazebo, head down, smoking.
He must have been sitting there for a long time, as the ground at his feet was littered with cigarette butts.
Bennett walked over, entered the gazebo, and sat down next to Noah.
“What are you doing out here?” Noah glanced at him, his voice hoarse from smoking too much.
“Came out for a smoke.” After speaking, Bennett tapped a cigarette from the pack, lit it, letting the smoke curl lazily from between his fingers.
Bennett took a drag from his cigarette, his gaze sweeping casually over the butts on the ground before landing on Noah.
“Cynthia is pregnant. You should cut back on the smoking, Noah. The heavy smoke isn't good for her or the baby.”
Noah let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Cynthia's at her parents' house. It's hard enough for me to even see her now. The smoke can't reach her, no matter how heavy it is.”
“You and Cynthia have been together for so many years. She won't divorce you so easily,” Bennett advised.
Cynthia had fought tooth and nail to marry Noah after she returned; she wasn't about to let this marriage slip through her fingers now. But Bennett was an outsider and couldn't be too blunt. If he said too much, it might seem like he was trying to stir up trouble between the couple.
VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Sorry for Your Loss It's Me I'm the Loss