Marrying the professor

Chapter 31

Three winters later

There was a knock on his office door that pulled him out of the storm of memories, invading his train of thoughts. His eyes blinked and her image no longer flashed across his eyes. Sliding his gaze towards whoever stood behind the door, it was not his female assistant.

Another knock.

With his signature mischievous smile, Adam's best friend peaked at him mockingly. "You won't invite me in?" His laughing tone bleeds through the creek of the door.

"Dude, come on. I'm not coming in unless you say so." Chase added playfully, marching into the massive office anyways. His hands were buried in his pocket. Adam's lips curled in a small smile as his head reverted, and his hand caressed his jaw attentively.

"What brings you here today?" Adam's gaze studied his best friend's appearance. He changed a lot. There were shadows varnished under his eyes. His facial hair is unshaved. But even at the age of thirty-five, he managed to look more charismatic than he was in his twenties.

The question somehow felt like hanging in the air disregarded as Adam studied Chase's statue.

"Seriously?" Chase frowned in annoyance, slenderly dropping himself on the leather armchair.

Sliding his gaze away from him, Adam carried on scanning the file documents that lay on the table in front of him. Then skeptically his gaze scanned his friend's posture again. Did he fight with his wife? again?

"As far as I remember. This is a business company and not some sort of marriage counseling establishment, Chase." He merely gave him a look before his attention drifted to the glowing screen of his laptop.

He didn't glance away from his screen to know that Chase looked amused. As if Adam doesn't know why he is here. Whenever he fights with his wife, he finds his way to his friend. And Adam isn't just a friend to him but a brother.

Wiping his hands on his face in frustration, his eyes held sadness as he looked at Adam. "Well, you were married once. So it counts."

Adam's pen stopped midway on the paper, his fingers squeezing and pressuring the metal pen. His nerves tensed at the reminder of his marriage. His chest tightened along with his breath that quickened in speed. His eyes stilled and froze in a blank stare.

Guilt sank in Chase's chest, for he didn't want to reopen his friend's wounds. But he is mad and he can't help it. There is a part of Adam that died on that ominous day. The warm and caring friend that cared about everything and everyone no longer exists. He was replaced with this gloomy and cold man instead.

It has been three years, and he didn't move on. And it pained him to the core to see his friend battling his illness and heartbreak. Alone. Without her. Because it always has been her. Now, he just arose the sensitive subject after ignoring it for years. Adam didn't talk about it, and Chase didn't ask.

Adam kind of woke from the haze of memories that overtook his thoughts. Longley, his eyes marched towards his ring finger. There was no band on it. Gracefully his fingers seem to release the pressure on the pen as he let a breath and dumps it on his desk.

His blue eyes found their way to his friend, giving him a look that speaks a lot.

"So, what is it? another fight?" Adam asked crossing his legs, masking his features in a natural expression.

He ignored it. Again! thought Chase. Cracking his knuckles, he sighed. "She wants a divorce."

Adam's eyebrow arched and nodded his head. It was expected and no surprise for Adam. "You know, it kind of makes sense why she is asking for a divorce," Adam uttered folding his arms in front of his chest. As much as he loves his friend, he can't deny his distaste for his infidelity behaviors.