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‘Robin!’ Sienna called out. She broke into a sprint, closing the distance between them.

Forty-Six

Robin walked blindly, her hands shoved deep into her leather jacket pockets, her shoulders hunched up past her ears. Her mind was a complete blank. She didn’t really understand why she’d walked out. But sitting in that chair, watching her heart rate mapped out, something inside her had simply snapped.

I just screwed my job, she thought.

‘Robin!’

Robin stopped, her breath catching in her throat as she turned around.

Sienna was sprinting toward her through the rain. Her blazer was clinging damply to her shoulders, her dark hair damp and flat.

Robin stared at her, stunned. She chased me?

Sienna skidded to a halt in front of her, her hands resting on her knees as she bent over. Her chest heaved, her dark eyes wide and frantic as she looked up through the rain.

‘Didn’t you see me?’ Sienna choked out, wiping a wet strand of hair from her forehead. ‘I took the stairs... Gemma tried to block the lifts, and I—’

‘Why are you here, Sienna?’ Robin asked. She stepped back, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. ‘Why aren’t you wrapping up the show with Zoe?’

‘Because I told Gemma to shove the show!’ Sienna yelled, stepping closer. The sudden, uncharacteristic volume made a pair of passing commuters under an umbrella glance over. Sienna didn’t care. She took another step. ‘I quit, Robin. I walked out.’

Robin’s mouth fell open. ‘You... you quit? Sienna, your career—’

‘I don’t care about that!’ Sienna cried, her voice cracking in a way Robin had never heard before. She looked upset, wild. ‘I care about you.’

It was the exact thing Robin had spent weeks wishing to hear, but hearing it out loud on a wet street didn’t bring relief. It brought a wave of reality.

She looked at Sienna—so brilliant, so beautiful—and the sudden, stark contrast between them had never been more apparent.

Robin shook her head slowly, stepping backwards toward the kerb.

‘No,’ Robin said softly, a sad, bitter smile touching her lips. ‘No, you don’t.’

‘I do!’ Sienna insisted, taking a desperate step forward. ‘Robin, listen to me—’

‘You stopped the kiss.’

‘Yeah, because you made fun of me with Valeska,’ Sienna said hopelessly.

‘That was stupid,’ Robin said. ‘I thought it would make you seem smaller. But you’re not small. That’s the problem.’

‘The problem?’ Sienna repeated. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘I don’t need you to,’ Robin told her.

‘But I like you, Robin,’ Sienna said. ‘So bloody much.’

Robin wished she could have heard that and just felt glad. But she didn’t feel that way about Sienna’s confession at all. ‘You might have come to like the idea of me, Sienna,’ Robin cut in, tears mixed with the rain on her cheeks. ‘But you could never actually love me, could you?’

Sienna froze, her eyes widening in pure shock. ‘What? Robin, that’s not—’

‘I’m not good enough for you, Vance, and we both know it!’ Robin snapped, the words tumbling out of her in a rush. ‘I’m just like your ex. I’m just like my dad. I’m a total fuck-up! That’s why I always choose people who don’t want me.’

Robin swiped angrily at her wet cheeks, her chest heaving as she stared at the pavement.

‘I don’t deserve love from anyone good,’ Robin whispered. ‘Especially not from you.’