I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 122

By the time he pushed open the doors to the bar and walked over to the booth, Xavier Thorne had already polished off half a bottle of liquor. He waved when he spotted Felix from afar.

Felix walked over and sank into the sofa. Without saying a single word, he reached across the table, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and tipped his head back to take two deep pulls. The alcohol ran down his chin, tracing a path down his pale neck before disappearing into his collar.

Xavier leaned back against the cushions and frowned at the sight of him, instantly understanding everything. He had only been joking earlier, but judging by Felix's reaction, the joke had become reality.

He had always known that Felix was in love with Nora. He had known it for years. From college until now, Felix had remained standing in the exact same spot, watching Nora constantly run forward without ever taking a single step toward him.

When Finnegan Fletcher entered the picture, Felix naturally faded into the background, not wanting to disrupt her life. When Finnegan disappeared, Felix still hadn't stepped forward. He simply watched her in silence, guarding her from a distance, and only stepped up when she was hurting.

Felix kept everything buried deep inside, hiding it so flawlessly that even Nora herself hadn't the slightest clue. Xavier was the only person in the world who knew.

Xavier snatched the bottle out of his hand and slammed it heavily onto the table. "Alright, stop drinking. Who's going to drag you home when you're wasted? Are you expecting Nora to do it?"

Nora's name was like a blunt knife hacking at Felix's heart.

He lowered his head, his eyes downcast as a self-deprecating smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "She doesn't like me."

"She used to like Finnegan. Now she doesn't like Finnegan anymore, but she still doesn't like me."

Xavier looked at him with exasperated frustration and threw himself back against the sofa. "Does it have to be her? What's so great about her anyway?"

Felix's head snapped up, glaring daggers at him. "Don't you dare talk about Nora like that. She is the best woman in the world."

Xavier let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, fine. She's the best woman in the world. So can you stop drinking now? I highly doubt Nora likes men who drink themselves into a stupor."

Those words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head. Felix jolted upward from the sofa as if he had been physically struck. He froze for a second, then tossed the bottle back onto the table.

She would put up the same walls she used to block out every other man who tried to get close, and when that happened, he wouldn't even have the right to stand beside her as a friend.

He would rather be just a friend for the rest of his life. At least he could still watch over her from afar. At least he could be the first to like her social media posts. At least he could show up when she needed him, hiding behind an excuse that wouldn't burden her.

Be it a ten-year anniversary or a twenty-year anniversary, any excuse would do.

Felix leaned back into the sofa. The intoxication and despair slowly drained from his face, leaving behind a sobering clarity.

"I'm done drinking."

Xavier gave him a look but said nothing more. He had been repeating the same advice for ten years. Felix had never listened, and he probably never would.