Chapter 2 - THE EMPTY CHAIR AT BREAKFAST
Ryan returned to the hotel shortly after midnight.
He expected Katherine to be asleep.
Or angry.
Or waiting to argue.
Instead, he found an empty room.
Her suitcase was gone.
Her toiletries were gone.
The green dress she had worn to dinner was gone.
On the bed lay her wedding ring.
Beside it was a note.
You promised me one evening.
I hope the twenty minutes were worth it.
—Katherine
Ryan stared.
Then called her.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
He called the front desk.
“Has my wife checked out?”
The receptionist hesitated.
“Mrs. Bennett checked out approximately forty minutes ago, sir.”
Ryan froze.
“Where did she go?”
“I'm sorry, sir. I don't have that information.”
He hung up.
Then called Mallory.
She answered immediately.
“Ryan?”
“Katherine's gone.”
A pause.
“What?”
“She left the hotel.”
Mallory exhaled.
“Oh, Ryan.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“She left her ring.”
Silence.
Then Mallory said something that made his stomach tighten.
“Maybe she's trying to teach you a lesson.”
Ryan stared at the wall.
“What?”
“She knows you'll panic.”
He closed his eyes.
“Mallory.”
“I'm just saying, Katherine can be dramatic.”
For years, Ryan had accepted those comments.
Katherine was intense.
Katherine was controlling.
Katherine took everything personally.
Mallory was easier.
More relaxed.
More understanding.
But now Ryan stood in an empty honeymoon suite, looking at the wedding ring his wife had removed less than a week after their ceremony.
May you like
And for the first time, he wondered whether Katherine had been dramatic.
Or whether he had simply stopped listening.
