Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Sorry, Seb. I can’t stay here with this bastard.
“Home.” I shot Oliver a murderous glare. “To LA.”
“Oh.” He winced, ramping up the theatrics. “About that.”
I glowered at him. “What?”
“I broke your lease and sold your car,” he announced with a shrug.
I turned fully to him now. “You what?”
“Had no choice. I thought you would stay here for months. That’s what Doctor Cohen said. I deposited the money from your car into your savings account. You should really change your passwords, by the way. It’s still what it was fifteen years ago.”
I kicked my luggage, parking my hands on my waist. “You had no right to do that.”
“I had to make executive decisions. That apartment wasn’t fit for you, anyway. No security whatsoever. And the car was older than you.”
“I’m not that old.”
“You’re vintage.”
“Screw you.”
“What? I like vintage.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. I didn’t want to stand here and bicker with him. I had bigger fish to dry. “Goodbye, Oliver.”
“Goodbye, Briar,” he returned, his tone light and playful.
I ordered an Uber to the gate of his mansion and left through the main entrance, knowing his guests remained all the way on the other side of the property. My so-called fiancé didn’t follow me out as I dragged my suitcases down the gravelly driveway, trekking the entire quarter mile without a single footstep behind me.
I wondered why that bothered me.
It was exactly what I wanted. To leave him, and the past, behind. Yet, it also felt like breaking up all over again.
Maybe moving on isn’t the same as letting go.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Oliver
Was this what Sebastian felt like, tucked behind a thick curtain, watching as the world moved on without him?
I stood at the window on the second floor, hidden from view, nestling a glass of whiskey I had no appetite for.
An Uber pulled up to my front gate. The driver slid out of his seat and popped up his trunk, hurling Briar’s raggedy suitcases inside with little finesse.
The dinner party raged on in the backyard – with round-two entrees, courtesy of Hettie, who’d already snuck in Haitian dishes into the party earlier. Apparently, my guests had an appetite for the shit show called my life and not so much the vegetarian menu I’d curated to appease my fake fiancée.
My ex-fake fiancée.
I took a healthy swig of the amber liquid, letting it swish in my mouth. Letting her go was the right thing to do. I had no other choice. This thing between us had no legs. Fuck, all it had was nostalgia.
And that wasn’t enough.
I was a fuck-up, who screwed her over. She was brilliant, dazzling, strong, independent, and funny. With an impressive career and a yoga body that put supermodels to shame.
I’d tried to stay tough, to play it cool, to pretend her words didn’t singe their way past my skin and into my deepest layer.
I managed to do all that, for the most part.
If I tried, I could block the way to the airport at the drop of a hat. Hell, I could make a phone call to some board members at Delta and United and cancel all outgoing flights from the area for the night if I truly put my mind to it.
I could delay her. Maybe even stop her. But I didn’t.
The past few days had been frustrating, amusing, terrifying, and confusing, but exhilarating all the same. I wanted the bicker, and the banter, and the sexual tension, and the constant attempts to one-up each other.
And still … I let her go.
For the first time since Sebastian’s injury, I admitted that I hadn’t made that vow to leave Briar because I owed Sebastian. I’d done it because the notion that I was cancerous to the people around me had intensified by the minute.
After the accident, Seb never met my eyes. Dad shook his head at the sight of me. Mom couldn’t even stay in the same room as me for long.
My own family had no faith in me.
How could I expect Briar to?
I didn’t want to fuck up her life the way I did Seb’s. So, I latched on to his demand, using it as an excuse to do what I’d already planned on doing. I threw myself into the task of healing my brother and cut off all connection to Briar, knowing my presence would only complicate her life.
I didn’t deserve anyone’s love.
Just like that night, I chose what was right for Briar.
I’d chosen her path and lost sight of my own.
The passenger door of the Uber clicked shut. The Prius rolled out of the cul-de-sac, slinking out of sight.
I threw my glass of whiskey on the window and watched as it shattered to pieces, liquid gold slithering down the bare concrete.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Briar
“Damn tailgaters, always up to no good.”
The Uber driver stroked his thick mustache, curling his fingers tighter around the steering wheel. At his words, I craned my neck and peered through the back window. A sporty Fiat surged dangerously close to us, almost kissing our bumper. The driver flashed his headlights, signaling us to stop at the curb.