Sealed With A Vow

Chapter 12- Without Her

Derek's POV

It's been three whole days, and Claire still hadn't returned. I'd attempted to call her several times, but she never picked up, which didn't surprise me.

But sooner or later, my wife would have to come back, right? I mean, a ton of her stuff was still here. In fact, I bet she'd be home by this weekend. Hopefully. And if that was the case, I'd welcome her with open arms and apologize for everything I'd done.

I was at work on Tuesday, busy sorting the documents that I'd be presenting at our meeting in less than an hour. However, the main thing occupying my thoughts was Claire. She'd constantly been on my mind ever since Saturday afternoon.

Yesterday, I was figuring out a budget plan for our future project, and I nearly messed up on the calculations. Luckily, Ashley had noticed my mistake and immediately pointed it out.

God, I really needed to start concentrating on my work, but how could I when my wife had been gone for days?

At that moment, I heard a knock on the door, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I looked up from my desk.

"Come in," I said, leaning back in my chair and letting out a massive yawn.

Did I also mention that I hadn't gotten any sleep these past few nights?

"Hey, Derek," Ashley greeted with a smile, stepping into the room.

"Have you scheduled the dates for the next couple of business meetings yet?", I asked her.

"Yup. LA is the one coming up," she answered, heading towards my desk.

I nodded my head and just sat there, staring out the window. My office had a view of other tall buildings and in the distance, you could see Coronado Bridge.

"Let me guess, you're thinking about your wife?", Ashley inquired, pulling out a chair to sit down next to me.

"Yup," I replied with a heavy sigh, propping my legs up on the desk.

"You've seriously got to stop stressing over her. She'll come back before you know it," she reassured.

"But what if she doesn't?", I mumbled dejectedly.

"Well, then it's her loss. I bet you're a wonderful husband, Derek. So many women out there would die to be with you. She's just being overdramatic," Ashley said, straightening out her tight skirt.

"Trust me, I'm not even close to being a 'wonderful' husband," I scoffed.

"But still, it's not your fault she left."

"Yes it is! You don't know how terrible I've treated her these past months!", I exclaimed, raising my voice.

"Whoa, calm down there," Ashley remarked, taken aback by my sudden outburst. I sighed and rested my elbow on the desk, placing my forehead in my hand.

"I'm sorry, Ash. I know you're trying to help, but I just want some time alone right now," I said wearily, rubbing my temples.

"Alright then."

She stood up and gave me a sad smile before walking out of my office.

That night, I left work earlier than usual because of the meeting. I stopped to buy some Chinese take-out on the way home because God knows I couldn't cook.

I'd attempted to make myself dinner the past two nights, but both times had resulted in complete failure. My mac-and-cheese had been too cheesy, it tasted like salt. And as for the grilled chicken, I might have overcooked it- to the point where the smoke alarm had gone off.