Reborn Wife: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

e alive with the ebb

tention occasionally drifting to the counter. There, a young lady don

han 100 pounds; her skin was soft and smooth, completely speckless. Her thick, raven-black

ll, ma'am?" She approached

om my reverie. Fortunate, perhaps, that I too was a w

u," I replied, my tone courteous and

oosing to impart a cautionary note. "You've had two cups of black coffee already, ma'am. It ma

the air, melodious like

e me and rose, gathering my bag. "A

ransaction. "Your total comes to 15 dollars today, ma'am.

minimal fuss and exited the

eeted me as I emerged, extending a res

ructed softly, a meag

closed. Yet my thoughts kept circling back to the young wa

compel Mathias Murray to part from me at a great co

ing I'd done was seek her out, obse

at she possessed that could stole away

name and some scattered photographs. Mathias shielded her as though she were an

ent, kind, and full of life, at

ominent family background, in sharp contr

hts. "Ma'am, today marks your wed

eyes, feeling mome

the entire day preparing—a candlelit dinner, anniversary presents—eve

27, and h

mples, a knot of unease forming with

ture from past enthusiasm,

in love? These questions haunted me in my past life as I faced my final mome

ont of our home—a luxurious estate gi

as's car was parked

enced death once, what expression should I we

ife of five years—to the brink, ruthlessly causing damage

mosity had ebbed, replaced b

etime's worth of shares in the Murray Group. I had declined. For nine years, I

back, even if it led to high-stakes con

s. Rather than dwell in bitterness, I'd

long legs crossed, barely looked up from the dwindling cigarette between his fingers

as a union of convenience, a mutual agreement for long

to slip into my grey Hermes slippers. Designed for comfort ra

ng waitress in her blue apron, acce

to my own costly

, I flung them aside and trod

ow at my unshod entry.

ning them," I said, settling

ng on your mind?" His voice, lighter tha

oss from the past, while your future

nt feet; they seemed s

were slender yet displayed a robustness, a f

our marital life had sapped my interest in n

thi

sponse, too engrossed i

users, his impressive height and strik

to the man who sat before me. My voice ca

my words hung in the air, only to

y gaze with icy eyes. "Rylie Flet