With his talk of freedom and being who I wanted to be.
I’d been a fool to listen to him. I’d been the idiot who blew up my life to follow him. I’d put my trust in him. I’d given everything that I could give to him, and yet, it hadn’t been enough.
It was never going to be enough.
I wasn’t famous. I wasn’t beautiful. I wore box-store clothing and little makeup. I wasn’t who Katie was. I would never be like the assistants that I saw in the pictures.
I was a single mom to a little boy, and I was just trying to survive.
“No wonder he left,” I whispered under my breath.
I sobbed, pressing my hand to my mouth as I collapsed against the couch. I was so tired and beat down, that I didn’t have the strength to fight the tears anymore. I just let them flow. I allowed myself to cry over Liam Carmichael because this was going to be the last time I would mourn that man.
As soon as the tears dried up, I was going to stand, pull myself together, and get back to Harmony. I was going to crawl back to Abigail, apologize, and focus on creating a stable life for Samuel and me.
I’d had my adventure, and now it was time to get serious. My son was going to be my main focus from here on out. I wasn’t going to let myself get distracted by shiny new objects.
I sniffled as I sat up. I used the heels of my hands to blot the tears that had finally subsided. Even though my heart was still breaking, I steeled myself as I stood.
After a cursory look over the travel plans Bonnie sent me, I moved into the bedroom, where Samuel had started to stir. I changed his diaper and dressed him. Then I propped him up on the bed with his bottle while I started to pack.
We had about an hour and a half until our flight left, and I didn’t want to spend another second in this place. I was ready to get the hell out of Chicago and back to Harmony. That small island town was never going to fully feel like home, but it was the closest I had.
George was sweet when I called down to see if he could get me a car. He said, “Mr. Carmichael has already arranged one for you.”
I wanted to scream and demand that he never speak that man’s name in my presence again, but I kept my composure and thanked him for his help. A bellboy was at my door five minutes later to help me with my luggage while I balanced Samuel on my hip and carried the car seat in my other hand.
The ride to the airport was nice. Especially since it was in a limo. I got a lot of stares and whispers as I climbed out of it at the airport drop off. But once the onlookers realized that I wasn’t famous, their gazes dropped as they returned their attention to their own lives.
I was happy to bid goodbye to the driver. Without Liam—without all the flash and excitement—I was able to slip into the crowd, unnoticed. With Liam, I was a rock star’s assistant. Without him, I was a nobody.
I liked being a nobody.
Samuel and I landed in North Carolina around two in the afternoon. I held him as I walked through the terminal to baggage claim. I walked through the security doors and stopped when I saw a man in a dark suit holding a sign that had Sabrina written on it.
It took a moment for it to register that he was looking for me. I frowned, confused as I walked up to him.
“That’s…” I paused as I set Samuel’s car seat down. My arms were on fire. “I’m Sabrina,” I said as I straightened.
The man looked me over and then nodded. “Sabrina Orion?”
I nodded.
“Perfect,” he said as he tucked the sign under his arm. “Do you have bags?” He nodded toward the luggage carousel that had just started moving.
“Yes,” I said.
We walked over together and I pointed out which pieces were mine. He was quick to grab them. Once they were all collected, he led the way out to the parking lot. All I had to carry was Samuel and his car seat.
My body began to tense the closer we got to Harmony. My heart was pounding and my ears were ringing as he pulled into town. I rattled off Abigail’s address—er, mine. Was it mine still?
My entire body and mind felt like I was on fire as he pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine. I’d been so eager to get out of Chicago and away from anything that reminded me of Liam that I hadn’t really thought about what it was going to be like to come back home.
What was I going to say to Abigail? Was she was even going to welcome me in?
I was numb as I climbed out of the car with Samuel. The driver focused on the luggage while I focused on taking in slow breaths to calm my nerves. He followed after me as I led the way across the parking lot and up to the apartment door.
I froze as I stared at the closed door. Did I knock? Try the handle? Would Abigail slam the door on my face?
