AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He sighed, defeated, but still, he gave her what she wanted.
My instinct was to automatically fight.
He leaned down and gave her a long hug, smirking at me over her shoulder. I was going to kill him. I was going to dig a hole, put his live body in it, and fill it back up with dirt.
He hovered around the door. "You heard her, Atticus, let's go."
Gwen sighed. "I'm going to say goodnight to Atticus on my own Lance. Like I said, I'll see you tomorrow."
His gaze narrowed slightly, but he nodded. "Yeah, okay. I love you."
She gave him a soft smile, one I thought she reserved for me. "I love you more. Good night."
The rage simmered just under the surface of my skin. She loved him more? Fuck.
Well, this is your own fault.
"Gwen, I just?—"
"No. Atticus, I'm not doing this. I'm so tired. I'm very happy. Honestly, I am. Your father is a piece of shit, and your mother gets to know peace now. And you're going to get what you want. Control of your company. Everything works out. In a few days after this board vote, you’ll get everything you want. And I'm happy for you. I am. But I am so tired right now I can't think. I can’t breathe. The weight of everything is just too much."
"Gwen, I am sorry I didn't see things clearly before. I knew I fucked up. But tonight, Morgan was so happy about being able to do something, being part of the team, and I finally got it. Being able to take some control over her life was more than rewarding. She needed it. And I tried to rob you both of that. I'm sorry I didn't understand. All I could see was the need to protect you. The need to fix it and tuck it all away."
She nodded and rocked back on her heels. "Thank you for the apology."
"Like I said, I'm not perfect. And I know that I have fucked up. Not only broken your trust, but treated you like your father does. Making decisions for you and never once thinking about how you're going to feel about something. And while I knew it was the wrong choice, I did it anyway and I didn't talk to you about it. But I'm going to work on it. It's not usually my nature, but I can't lose you, so I'm working on being better, on making different choices. I just need?—"
She held up a hand. "Atticus, I know you're going to work on it. The problem is, I don't know if I can let it go. Every decision I've made in my entire life has been about what other people want or need from me, how they think my life should be directed. Even my mom when she told me to look after Morgan. Obviously, she's my sister, and I was going to look after her, but the way I absorbed that as if it was my sole responsibility, that wasn't good for me. I need to start getting better control over my life. And maybe relaxing some control in some other ways too. We're going to walk into that board meeting in a few days and give your mother her freedom. And then after that, it's time I find my own."
I shook my head. "No. Don’t say that. I'm not giving up on us."
"You don't really have a choice, Atticus. You have to."
"Look, I have fucked up a million ways from Sunday. I know that. But you can't walk away from this. We are not done."
"You don't get to determine whether or not we're done. I love you, but I don't think you're capable of letting me make my own choices. You are always going to storm in on your white horse and want to fix things. Which I admire and I love in a way, but it's the last thing I need. I need someone who's going to ask me, 'Hey, how do you feel? What do you want to do about it?' And whatever decision I make, let me make it. Sometimes I'll make mistakes. And if it's a joint decision, I need someone who’ll give real weight and thought to what I have to say. I don't think you're built like that."
"I can be. I'll show you."
"I just don't think I can wait for that."
My gut squeezed, and my heart felt like it turned to ice and someone was taking a hammer to it.
"We are not done, Gwen. We aren't. We can't be."
She walked to the door, turned the knob, and gave me a soft smile. "You changed the course of my life, and I am forever grateful. You helped me save my sister, and I will always, always be appreciative of that. But it's time for you to go."
Chapter 42
GWEN
“You're not yourself.”
“I know. In a couple of days this will all be over, and then I figure out what I want to do.”
“Are you leaving?”
I lifted my gaze to Lance. “I haven't decided yet. But I think it's probably better to make a clean break.”
