“I know, my love, I know.”
I wrap her in my embrace to help contain her shaking, and she breaks down into tears. “I didn’t want to cause a scene,” she sobs into my chest. People look at us with unmasked curiosity, so I pull her to the side, near a cluster of potted plants. “He accused me of so many things, but I stayed calm. And then he called you a—” Whatever word my father said is lost in a series of sobs, and I hold on to her tighter.
“Did it start with an R?” I ask softly.
She nods, sniffing. “Yes, and I-I lost it. I’m so sorry I did, but I couldn’t let him say thatand—”
“It’s alright, freckles. I’ve gotten used to it over the years, but I understand why you reacted like that.”
“You’reusedto it?” she asks between two hiccups.
“Yeah, it’s his favorite word for me.”
That only worsens her tears. “Baby, I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve that. You don’t deserve me not realizing either. I should have known.”
“Known what?”
“That you’re autistic. I’m so sorry I didn’t realize, Lex. I feel so fucking stupid for it.”
I tense, still holding her close. So, she knows. It’s been a long time coming, and I’ve waited for her to realize since the day we met. When our feelings began developing, I didn’t tell her because I worried it might scare her away. What if she realized the way I am is embedded in my brain, and I can’t change it despite trying? It used to gnaw at my stomach—the worry she’d find out and leave me because of it. But she knows me by now, she accepted who I am, and she loves all of me.
Everything she learned about me was never an issue. In fact, she always wanted more of the real me. So, I stopped masking around her. Or at least I tried as much as I could after two decades of it—which blurred the distinctions between what’s actually me and what’s essentially a defense mechanism.
But it never feels like that with her, so, aside from the times I take a moment to think of an answer not to offend or hurt her, everything has been the real, unfiltered me. And it has been liberating. I didn’t hide my autism from her, but I didn’t disclose it either. She’s always been okay with all its implications anyway, so what would have been the point? And it would have been strange to mention it so late into the relationship.
That is why I’m not terrified at the thought of her knowing it. She did without realizing, and I don’t think it’ll cause a problem. Not anymore. Not when she constantly shows how much she appreciates my brain.
“Are you guys alright?” Eva asks, suddenly appearing with us. “I heard what happened, and I—”
“We need somewhere private,” I tell her, still holding a sobbing Andrea.
“Of course. The manager’s office is right down that hallway. I’ll open it for you.”
Andrea pulls away, her pretty makeup smeared around her eyes and down her cheeks. “Come on, my love,” I whisper.
I hold her close as we follow Eva, who uses a magnetic card to unlock the door. She holds it wide open for us. We enter the office while she stays out, and I turn to say, “Thank you. I’m sorry for the mess.”
“It’s fine. I’ve wanted to slap your fathermanytimes, so I’m really glad Andy did.”
That makes Andrea giggle between her small sobs before she returns her teary face to my chest. “You should go back, Eva,” I say. “Thank you again for the room.”
“No problem,” she nods before closing the door, isolating us from the world.
There’s a couch along a wall, so I pick Andrea up and head there. I sit on the cushioned seat and settle her on my lap, holding her close to my chest as she slowly calms down.
“Are you feeling better?” I ask once her sobs are almost gone.
“No. I made a fool of myself in front of everyone. And I can never see your parents again, which makes our future together really complicated.”
“I only see them because of my sisters, so that’s fine.”
“How can you even stand being in the same room as him?” she asks, wiping her cheeks.
“You want to know my secret?” She nods, sniffing. “I own him.”
That distracts her from her tears as she stares at me, puzzled.
“When we realized we couldn’t keep the money from Eva’s father because of the annulment, I built a deep learning trading algorithm. It not only analyzed stock charts but also processed real-time news, global economic indicators, and investor behaviors in microseconds. Kev and I put everything we had left into it and let it run. Within three weeks, it had tripled our money. And as I kept refining the model, the returns accelerated. In two months, we had over fifteen times our initial stake.”
