“Yep,” I mutter, staring at the scar on my right palm. “What you’ve described is the relationship Felix and I had.”
“What the fuck happened to ruin the three of you? I can’t piece together how you all couldn’t work through the issues.”
I sigh. “There’s shit I can’t tell you, for your own good. Take my word when I say things got messy. I’m talking illegal messy. It’s complicated.”
“But this happened so long ago. All three of you want to get back together. I don’t see why you can’t let the past be the past?—”
“Wait.” My eyes whip to Dan and I sit up tall, fixating on his statement. “You said all three of us want to get back together? Who told you that? Has Felix said something to you?”
“I… Shit. Not in so many words. But I can read him well. Have you tried talking to him?”
“Countless times,” I groan, losing the fleeting spark of hope. “Look, I don’t want to drag you down. This weekend is supposed to be a happy time for you.”
“You’re not dragging me down. You say you want to be around more often. This is the kind of shit we need to talk about. You’re so fucking unhappy. You’ve been this way for years. Your relationship with Harper has fallen apart. You and Felix are in a terrible place. Why are you working so hard when you hate your job? Quit and find something better. It’s not like you need the money. At the very least, take leave for a few months so you can work on finding happiness again.”
I exhale loudly, wishing it were that easy. Stepping back from my job feels like an impulsive decision when I have responsibilities within the company and people depending on me. I’m not a spontaneous person.
My whole life has been regimented. I’ve always fallen into line, followed rules and complied with my father’s word.
Maybe that’s the problem.
The times I’ve been happiest were when I stopped caring about “the right thing” and gave in to temptation.
What would honestly happen if I saidfuck itto every responsibility and stress I have? Stop playing everything so safe.
After all, I’ve hit rock bottom. There isn’t much else to lose.
These last eight years have felt like I’m drowning, grasping for a safety line that’s always out of reach.
What if I just need to accept I have no control over anything, there is no safety, and embrace the unknown instead of fighting it?
“Dan,” Harper calls out. “Ally is ready to practice the dance with you.”
Her focus switches to me. She’s smiling at me again, my beautiful Harper.
In the lead up to this weekend, my mind has been absent during work meetings, wondering how our first encounter would play out. Would she be angry with me? Or worse—would she act polite, ignoring our history? Would she ignore me completely? I was so sure there would be some negative interaction.
Instead, she’s all smiles for me. When we first saw each other in the bathroom, her gorgeous blue eyes laid upon me with love and heat, like she wanted to be fucked on the sink. She let me hold her.
I want Harper back in my arms every day for the rest of my life, and I don’t want a single one of those days to go by without Felix at our side.
Whatever I’m doing with my life right now sure as hell isn’t working.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I draft a brief email on my phone, detailing that I’ll be taking extended leave from work, starting immediately.
“Everything all good?” Dan asks me.
My pulse races as I stare at the email addressed to my secretary. The voice of reason in my head tells me to delete the draft.
My thumb hitssendand suddenly I’mlaughing, filled with disbelief. I’m panicked yet… A weight is instantly lifted from my chest.
“Yeah, bro. I’m good.” I turn my phone off, making me unreachable. There’ll be drama to deal with when the email is received. My father will be disappointed in me when he finds out I’m abandoning the business he passed down to me. But those issues don’t belong to this weekend.
I leave Dan to his dance lesson, still laughing to myself as I head through the gardens, taking a walk around the property to clear my head and just breathe for goddamn once.
Not even a minute later, once I’ve passed staff setting up the marquee, I find Felix mid-conversation on his phone, unaware of my presence while discussing his speakeasy.
“I’ve looked into Mitchel Gregor. He’s our best option for expanding The Scarlet Mirage, but fuck, Theo, I hate trusting new people with my business. I’ll need to meet the guy first to scope him out?—”
