I can see the number of times a person has broken their own rules for someone of the opposite sex.
The number hovers above their head.
Every time they make an exception, it goes up by one.
The number above my father’s head had climbed eleven times for his first love.
After the eleventh time, he pulled the plug on my mother’s ventilator.
So I promised myself I would find a man who would never break his rules for another woman.
Later, I married Adrian Bosworth.
A man whose number stayed a permanent, ice-cold [0]. The most disciplined gentleman on the Upper East Side. A perfect husband who would never make an exception for any other woman.
Until the day of our third wedding anniversary, when I got into a car accident.
I lay collapsed on the bench of the emergency room, blood streaking down my face, my trembling fingers finally dialing his number.
On the other end came the same cold voice I had heard a thousand times.
“I’m busy. If there’s compensation to be dealt with, call the lawyer.”
“If you need care, hire a nurse. Don’t disrupt my schedule with something this trivial.”
Half an hour later, I froze in front of the billing window at Manhattan General Hospital.
The man who wouldn’t even show up when his own wife had been in a car accident.
Was kneeling on the floor of the emergency lobby.
In his hand was a soft white handkerchief, and he was wiping, inch by inch, the mud from a pair of sneakers belonging to a girl with red-rimmed eyes.
“It’s alright, Chloe. Don’t cry.”
There was a tenderness in his voice I had never heard before, something almost humbling, and every word landed on my chest like a hammer blow. I could barely breathe.
“If the cat is lost, I’ll bring every stray from every shelter in the city and let you pick any one you want. Okay?”
One of my hands pressed hard against the bleeding wound on my forehead, the other gripped the railing, and I stared, unblinking, at the space above Adrian’s head.
That [0] that had stayed dead-silent to the entire world.
Began to jump wildly the moment the girl let out a single sob.
[10]…
[100]…
[999]…
Then the numbers collapsed, melted, and finally froze into a red symbol dripping with blood, so bright it hurt to look at.
[∞].
Infinite.
Infinite exceptions, for her.
Something in my stomach turned violently.
So he wasn’t heartless after all.
I was simply never the one he would break his rules for.
He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 11 Three days after the hurricane passed. I pushed open the glass door of my shop and hung the chalkboard sign outside to “Open.” The moment I turned around. I saw Adrian standing beneath that same old oak tree across the corner. When he […]
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 10 After that day, the courier really did stop coming. My life returned to its quiet rhythm. When there were no customers, I would set up my laptop by the window of the shop. I had been preparing something for a long time, and
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 09 The rain lasted all night. I took a hot shower and, as always, woke at six the next morning. The sunlight was good, and the town’s morning market was warm and full of life. I picked out the freshest lisianthus stems and carried
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 08 He stared at the divorce papers. “I won’t sign.” He was trying, once again, to salvage the situation with the logic he was so proud of. Both hands braced against the table, the knuckles on the back of his hands going white. “Sophia,
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 07 She tried to grab at his trouser leg. “Adrian, please, let me explain.” “I really didn’t know the accident was that bad. I was just so scared of losing you.” “You weren’t afraid of losing me. You were enjoying it. Enjoying playing me
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 06 Severe concussion. Multiple soft tissue contusions. Adrian’s body swayed violently. “Sophia!” His throat bobbed as he swallowed, his voice going hoarse. He rushed into the bedroom and threw open the door of the walk-in closet. The half of the closet that had once
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 05 I didn’t call a car. I walked, slowly, out of the wealthy neighborhood on foot. Three years of looking up to him, of quiet endurance, of making myself small. Left behind, step by step, on that snow-covered street. I found out later that
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 04 The moment I pushed open the door to the study, my footsteps stopped. There, in the center of the screen, glowed a single line of text: System Reset Complete. Restoring Factory Settings… Every drop of blood in my body froze. “Sophia…” A small,
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 03 The funeral was three days later. I gave every dollar of my personal savings, along with the Amex Black Card that had marked my status, to my sister-in-law, Rachel. But it was not enough. The only blood relative I had left, the pillar
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He Made An Exception For Her But Never For Me Chapter 02 The next morning, at Manhattan General Hospital. “Mrs. Bosworth, your brother has severe internal hemorrhaging that has progressed into acute respiratory failure.” The attending physician held the critical-condition notice in his hand, his tone grave. “Every ECMO machine at our hospital is currently
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