Page 136 of A Perfect Fit

Isabelle slips off her shoes and crawls into the bed with me. Too tired to talk, I wrap my arms around her, inhaling her floral and fruity scent as my fingers brush her long hair.

“Happy one month,” she eventually says. “I know the timing isn’t ideal, but I still wanted to say it. It’s been the month of my life being your girlfriend, and I truly mean it.”

“Me too,” I say, voice hoarse.

She’s an angel. My angel.

Even when I feel like I’ve lost myself, she’s like a single star in the night sky, shining brightly, beautifully.

I just hate that she’s seeing me like this.

Chapter Thirty-Five

JACKSON

“You’re not good enough for me, Jackson.”

Isabelle glances at me with a vacant stare, the adoration I always see on her face completely gone.

A piercing pain tears through my heart. “What did you say?”

She folds her arms. “I said, you’re not good enough for me,” she repeats, each word a stab to my chest.

I reach forward to touch her face, but she pushes my hand away.

“Oliver was a better boyfriend than you⁠—”

My eyes snap open at my alarm ringing, and I wake up with sweat lining my body and my breathing erratic.

Fuck. It was just a nightmare.

Isabelle and I are okay.

It takes me a few minutes to collect myself before I get out of bed and head to my bathroom.

When I glance at my reflection in the mirror, I look like shit—dark under-eye circles, a face that looks hollow, empty. But that’s the least of my problems right now.

This past week, I haven’t stopped thinking about what happened, a million questions and worries gnawing at me. My sleep has been poor, eating feels like an arduous chore, and I’ve been thinking about my sister. I haven’t brought myself to tell Luce the truth yet. It feels wrong to conceal it from her, and I should tell her, but if I do, what’s going to happen? She’s going to be devastated and heartbroken. She’ll have to share the burden of the news with me. And … would she see me differently because of it?

Isabelle has stayed with me at my apartment every day and been there for me while I struggled with even the most mundane tasks, like laundry. Last night, she reluctantly left when she had something urgent to finish for her business, and I told her I’d be fine alone.

My stomach twists with guilt at the reminder that she’s had to take care of me like that.

Splashing some cold water on my face, I shake off my thoughts and remind myself of the envelope that’s sitting on my desk and the major thing I’m going to do today.

Last night, while lying awake, restless for the majority of time, I was contemplating a dilemma. And I’ve reached my decision.

After brushing my teeth and getting dressed, I grab the envelope with the letter I put together last night at three a.m. and head out the door. I’m going to do this sooner or later, so I might as well rip the Band-Aid off and get it over and done with.

When I step inside Carter Marketing Solutions’ office for the first time a week later, everything has changed. The atmosphere is strangely quiet and tense, and my team stares at me, wide-eyed, when I enter my office and promptly shut the door.

A knock resounds on my door.

“Come in,” I say.

The door opens, revealing Aaron, who enters my office. There’s a tentative smile on his face. “Hey. How are you holding up?”

I drag a hand through my hair. “Just taking it day by day.”