Chapter 41
Not my engagement
Dina
“Do you need anything else?” my dad asks as he heads out of my new salon.
My neighbor in the apartment across the hall from me died of a stroke, and his shop under our building went up for sale. Remember the thirty-five thousand dollars Delan Crossbow paid me to take care of him about a year ago? The money I tried to give away to people who could’ve saved Connor Crossbow, but nobody dared get involved?
Well, I used it to buy the hair salon right under my apartment. Now I don’t pay rent, and nobody can leave eviction notices on my door.
I turn off the blow-dryer so he can hear me. “No, thanks, Dad. That’s all.”
“See you for dinner, then.” My dad pedals away on his bicycle.
Harriet, a longtime customer of mine, walks into the salon. She has a two o’clock blowout, but she’s fashionably late, which is perfect since Joselin is still in the seat.
“They found Glenda,” Harriet rushes to say.
“They did?” Joselin spins in the chair. “Where?”
“Under the Pointe Bridge.”
Joselin spins back. “Poor Glenda.”
After Declan left, Agent Glass paid me a visit. He seemed interested only in Ivan, particularly the bridal shower I was supposed to attend. He asked about the person who invited me. It was Glenda who called me to the bridal shower. I haven’t spoken to her since.
“Under the Pointe Bridge, you say?” I ask.
Harriet settles into the chair next to Joselin. “She overdosed.”
“I didn’t even know she used!” Joselin exclaims.
The women chat about Glenda, and the more I hear about her, the more I wonder if she worked for Ivan. I wonder if there ever was a bridal shower or if it was a plan Ivan crafted to draw us out of the house. I’ll never know. She could’ve been an innocent caught up in the middle of territorial wars like so many others. All we can do is exist and try to make the best of it while powerful men make power grabs.
I’d like to say such men are terrible, and maybe they are. But I love one of them, so I’m biased.
After Declan left my apartment, I took a week off and put on a few pounds as I binge read all the romance my broken heart could handle. I bathed once that week, crying for his fine dick and the spankings I could’ve kept for myself and didn’t. Do I regret telling him no?
Yes, a dozen times.
But it was the right decision. It was a selfish decision, one I made for me and only for me. But after living selflessly for over fifteen years, choosing myself felt great.
I moved on with my life. A day at a time. Now that I’m back at work in my new salon, life has been wonderful. I made a fewfriends, like the nurse who got me through that day when Sergei almost killed me. She stayed in Selnoa and delivered a baby girl, who is now a few months shy of her first birthday.
I return to doing Joselin’s hair.
“How is business?” Harriet asks.
“You know, it’s been steady, maybe a little slow this past month, but I have to say, today, business has really picked up.”
“Maybe you’re getting the girls who are going to the Crossbow engagement party tonight.”
I fumble the hairdryer. It drops to the tile and rips the cord from the wall. Damn it. Quickly, I pick it up by the nose and burn my fingers. Ouch. I hiss and grab the dryer by the handle this time. When I go to plug it back in, my hands shake. For fuck’s sake.
“Here,” Joselin says and plugs in the hairdryer. “Are you okay?”
No. Not at all. “Absolutely. What…” I clear my throat. “What were you saying, Harriet?”
