“What the hell are you doing in here?” I asked, snatching the phone from her. There were two missed calls from Tori and a text. My heart beat frantically at the sight. I hadn’t heard from her in over two months, and that had only worsened the guilt of what I’d done.
“I stopped by to tell you Dad wants you in his office by eight.” She stood and smoothed her skirt out.
“I don’t give a shit what he wants. How did you get into my suite?” I read the text—call me. We need to talk—not bothering to look up at her.
Stealing the phone from me, she closed the text out.
“Give me the fucking phone, Liv, and answer the question.”
“Nice language, little brother.” She puckered her red-stained lips and gave me the look she always did when she thought I had asked a stupid question. “Our father owns the hotel, and I’m the COO of the company. I can get a key to your room easily, and that’s what I did.”
My molars ground as I reached for the phone again.
“Block her, Gabe.”
I stumbled, stunned by her demand. “I’m not blocking her.”
“Then I’m not giving the phone back.” She danced away from me, her spiked heels too close to digging into my bare feet. “Block her and delete her number. You need to move on and let her go.”
“You’re such a bitch. Give me the damn phone back.”
“That’s not news. I’ve always been a bitch, but you’ve gone soft, and she’s the reason. If you don’t block her, you’ll continue to regret leaving her.”
My motion stopped, and I gaped at her. “I’ll never stop regretting it. It won’t matter how many years pass or how many missed calls there are. The regret will remain, as will the guilt.”
She sighed, her hazel eyes softening for a flash before turning hard just like our father’s. Handing me the phone, she said, “Block her. I’m not leaving until you do.”
The weight of the phone seemed to double as I stared her down. “I can’t.”
“You must. This is war, Gabe. You and I are fighting a ruthless, greedy bastard who will prey on your weaknesses.”
“He already has.”
“Exactly. If you don’t let her go completely, you will remain soft, and he’ll see it. The CFO position will never be yours, we’ll lose the inheritance, and our revenge will fail. You need to be like him, just like I am.”
I glanced down at the phone, pulling up Tori’s contact information. “I don’t want to be like him.”
Huffing, she said, “Too bad. I didn’t want to lose my mother at nineteen, but I did, and he was the cause. Remember why we’re doing this, little brother.” She peered over at my phone. “Why do you have a moon as her icon and Luna as her name?”
Because she was my moon, the light in my darkness. But I didn’t tell Liv that. “It doesn’t matter.”
Her stare didn’t waver, and I could feel the pressure of it as my hand lingered over the block button.
“Do it. If you keep hesitating, you’ll be late for Dad, and he’ll leave you in the mailroom for another year.”
My finger shook as I hit block, another part of me severing.
“Now, delete her text chain and clear out your missed calls.”
Eyes shooting up to her, I waited for an explanation of why I had to remove every reminder of Tori from my life, already knowing the answer. She crossed her arms and waited.
I pulled up Tori’s text chain. Anger and anguish until the last calm text. “This last one is different. I really should?—”
“No, delete it and be done with her, Gabe.”
But I never would be done with her or over her or forget her. She would always be a part of me.
“William Gabriel Icinda.”
