Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
They hadn’t ever met Brianna before, but they had seen pictures of her. Hell, I even heard a few of them comment on how beautiful she was, which I couldn’t blame them for. They were right. She was stunning, and I was the only one in my unit who was in a relationship. Again, I couldn’t blame them for that either.
We were all busy and devoted to our work, but there was someone waiting for me at home. Someone who needed me and wanted me, while I was always halfway across the world and thinking of her.
I just hoped that she would always be there for me to come home to.
Chapter 1
Brianna
Asoft breeze blew through my quiet hometown, ruffling my hair as I wandered around the local outlet mall. I had already been to all of these clothing, jewelry, and shoe stores a million times, but it was better than staying home all day. I had to get out of the house.
Out of my own head.
“Brianna! Good to see you again!” Ann, one of the young, friendly cashiers at Bella Boutique, greeted me.
Again. I probably came here last week to get out of the house after finishing up with work. As a freelance translator, most projects were similar. I only worked on out of the box tasks every once in a while, but I still enjoyed the work I did. I also rented out a few apartment units on the side to keep busy and make more money.
I wouldn’t mind something different or challenging every once in a while, though.
“Hello,” I told her with a polite smile before doing a loop around the store, noticing a few new items among all the things I saw last week and the month before.
My eyes darted to the right at the sound of laughter, my gaze resting on a young couple as they looked at a frilly, pretty dress together. A date night type of dress. I couldn’t help the ache that gripped my chest as I tried to think about the last time I went on a date.
The sad part was that I was married.
“A new shirt for David? I bet he’ll love wearing it when he gets back from deployment.” Ann said once I made my way to the counter with a light blue button-down shirt.
“I think so too. He loves any shade of blue,” I replied with a small smile.
I knew my husband through and through, but he had two loves in his life: me and his work. The troublesome thing was that his work stole him away from me for weeks to months at a time, and I fell into the same routines to cope with the loneliness until he finally made it back home.
Every day felt the same. A constant stream of work, household duties, and missing my husband, who was always thousands of miles away. Honestly, he was away from home more than he was here, and that wore me down more and more with each passing day.
With a nod goodbye, I left the store with a bag in my hand. It was probably time to go home and cook dinner like usual, but the thought of that made my feet drag. I was weighed down by my heavy heart. By how much I missed my husband.
I understood that he loved his job, but I wasn’t sure anymore if he loved our marriage more. I blinked my eyes a few times as they stung at the thought, not wanting to sink so deep into such a dark mindset. David loved me. I just wished he showed it more whenever he was around.
The days were lonely, but the nights… oh, the nights were the worst. Our queen bed felt so much bigger when I was tucked under the sheets all alone, wishing that his arms were wrapped around me. His lips against mine or anywhere else.
I slowed down as I approached a lingerie shop on the far end of the strip of stores, my eyes falling on a mannequin in the front window with a lace teddy on. Would he like to see me in a number like that? Did he care anymore?
I chewed on my bottom lip in thought, trying to remember the last time we’d even had sex. It was probably the last night before he was sent off on this mission that he was finally about to finish up. No sex for weeks to months was torturous, but I wouldn’t ever cheat on him.
I just wished there was something to scratch the itch without the guilt that came with it.
Wanting to kill some more time, I dared to go inside, the smell of artificial cherries and leather hitting my nose. My heart started racing as my eyes glanced over racks and tables full of neatly organized lingerie. What was at the front of the store was no match for what I came across at the back of the store, though.