She doesn't.
The silence is hollow, accusing, filled with everything I should have said but didn't. I fucked up. Spectacularly.
The woman I'm falling in love with just walked out because I was too much of a coward to tell her the truth from the beginning. Because I was so afraid of being wanted for my money that I sabotaged the first genuine connection I've had in years.
The flight back to Nevada feels endless. By the time I reach my cabin, I've drafted and deleted at least twenty text messages, none of them saying what I actually need to say.
Ranger greets me with his usual enthusiasm, but even his excitement feels muted. Ghost appears from the kitchen, takes one look at me, and disappears back onto his deck. Even my animals can tell I'm radiating misery.
I try to settle back into my routine. Check emails, review portfolios, catch up on work. But everything feels pointless without Chantay's texts punctuating my day.
On the third day, Elena calls.
"You missed the board meeting. And the investor call. Maxim, what's going on?"
"I'm taking some time off."
"You don't take time off. You've missed maybe five days of work in the entire time I've known you."
"Well, now I'm taking time off."
"This is about a woman, isn't it? The mysterious woman from Atlanta?"
I'd made the mistake of telling Elena where I was going. "It's complicated."
"Everything's complicated with you. What happened?"
"I fucked it up."
"How badly?"
"She found out who I really am and decided she couldn't trust me anymore."
Elena is quiet for a moment. "You didn't tell her you were Maxim Chen?"
"I told her I was Max. A wildlife consultant. Someone simple who didn't come with the baggage of being a billionaire."
"Oh, Maxim. You didn't."
"I thought I was protecting what we had."
"You thought you were protecting yourself. There's a difference."
Elena's bluntness hits harder than Chantay's anger because I know she's right.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know. She said she needed time. Maybe forever."
"Do you love her?"
The question stops me cold. Do I love Chantay? The woman who made me laugh through text messages, who challenged my cynicism, who made me want to be brave enough to leave my mountain sanctuary?
"Yes. I think I do."
"Then you fight for her. Not with words or explanations. You fight by proving that the man she fell for is real, even if his name and bank account are different."
"How do I do that?"
