Cain:I didn’t finish my message. I wanted to buy you a whole new one, but I figured that’d piss you off more than just getting the one you already have fixed.
Rhiannon:You’re right.
Cain:I know. Because I know you.
I stare at the screen for a long time, Leo’s voice echoing in my head.‘To be loved is to be known.’But being known has always felt dangerous to me—like stepping out onto thin ice. Because once you’re seen, you can be judged. Exposed.Left.
“So, even though the lawyer who fixed your car is clearly into you, you’re still going on this date with Rebel?” Eden asks as she darts into my room and plops down on the edge of my bed.
I sigh and move to my closet, pulling out a simple, royal blue, knit dress and a pair of brown, suede knee high boots to change into. Since last night, things have changed between Cain and I and the red dress I was originally planning on wearing no longer feels appropriate. I don’t care about impressing Rebel. If he really wants me to model for his clothing line, it shouldn’t matter what I wear.
But beyond that, I’m starting to think about all the things he said. All the things Leo said. And wondering if maybe I’ve been wrong all along.
“It’s not a date. Rebel and I are meeting to talk about his new clothing line.”
“But what happened last night?”
I wet my lips and slip the dress on before telling her the entire story from start to finish about my Sunday night appointment that turned into an ambush by Cain, leaving out the details around me coaching him through giving me oral sex, riding his face in his bedroom, and then us fucking without a condom to spare my eighteen year old sister from thinking her big sister is acting recklessly and has lost her mind.
Her mouth falls open in shock. “Who in their right mind would create a fake identity, book a hotel room at the hotel they already live at, and then ask you to tell them about what you do unless they were smitten with you? Oh, that’s right, he isn’t in his right mind because he’s inlovewith you.”
I laugh. “You’re reading way too many romance novels. The real world doesn’t work that way. He could have just asked me out on a date.”Except he did. Sort of.And I told him no. And this was the only way he felt he could spend time with me, while blocking whatever Rebel had planned because he was jealous.
I’m not sure if that’s romantic, or I’m just delusional, but looking at it now, I fucking love that he did it.
“And how do you feel about him?” she asks and it’s the simplicity of the question that has me struggling to answer because nothing about what Cain and I have built has been straightforward.
How do I feel about Cain? He’s smart, funny at times (but don’t tell him I said that), loves his family, hard-working, and generous. He’s the definition of a good man and every moment that I’ve spent with him has been… special.
“I like him too.”
Eden smiles as she jumps off my bed and grabs a pair of emerald-green earrings from my bedside table. I recognize them and go silent as she steps towards me, outstretching her hand.
“Well, I’ve never been great at expressing myself, but I think that’s something you should tell him. And if you want to convince this rockstar to choose you as a model for his new clothing line, you should wear these with that dress.”
I look down at the earrings and then back in Eden’s eyes. We know the significance of the earrings. They’re the exact onesmy mom had been wearing the night of the accident that took her and my father’s life. They’ve always been beautiful to me and a thread keeping us connected. And when they’d considered burying her in them, I said no so that I could keep them for Eden one day. She has my mom’s same green eyes and someday soon, I’ll give them to her when she’s ready. Maybe on her wedding day.
She smiles and nods reassuringly.
I take the two small gems into my hand, their cool weight grounding me as I stare at them for a moment. Then, with deliberate steps, I walk to my dresser, pull out the container where they’ve been stored for the past eight years, and drop them inside. The lid snaps shut with finality.
“Not tonight,” I whisper, as I look at the closed container. Because that isn’t just jewelry to me, and Rebel doesn’t deserve to see them. Neither do I.
She gives me a quick hug before heading off to her room to study, leaving me alone with just my reflection in the mirror.
I’ve always been confident in my appearance. I know that I can attract most men’s attention with a little effort. But my parents’ death took more from me than just their presence—it shattered something deep inside me. My sense of purpose. A part of me started to believe that I’m unlovable, undeserving of joy or anything good.
My reality became a duty, and my worth was intricately tied to that: to raise Eden, to keep my parents’ family business thriving, to put dinner on the table every night, the laundry done and to ensure Eden graduates debt-free from college—just as they would have wanted.
Somewhere along the way, in fulfilling everyone else’s dreams, I’ve lost sight of myself and the only time that I’ve seen glimpses of the old Rhiannon, has been when I’m with Cain.
Tonightshouldfeel like another step towards financial freedom and my family’s future. But it doesn’t. Because tonight, I’ll be pretending again. When really all I want to do is be with Cain wherever he is.
I shove that thought down as far as it will go, plastering on a practiced smile in the mirror. Because if I dwell on the reality that the only man that I’ve been my authentic self with recently is Cain, I’ll do something reckless again. Like hop on a flight to the west coast to see him when I can’t afford that.
Grabbing my purse, I head out the door to catch the train to NYC. My phone buzzes in my palm as I get settled in one of the seats with a message from Cain.
Cain: Text me when you leave your meeting with Rebel tonight.
