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"I'd gladly give her everything I have without hesitation, but she doesn't want any of it."
"Good." She nods before glancing at something over my shoulder. "Are you still planning on going to Jules Verne tonight?"
"Yes. Nothing is going to change if I don't give her a little push. I know I want to grow old with Charlotte. Even if we never get married, I want her to choose me."
I know I'm being selfish, but if I really love Charlotte as much as I say, I need to help her grow. To become the woman she was meant to be. She won't be able to do that if she continues to live in the shadow of other people's expectations. She needs to spread her wings and fly, and I'll be right there to catch her if she falls.
"Good thing I have one of your suits hanging in the closet for just this type of occasion."
My eyebrows pull down into confusion as I glance at my watch. Where has the time gone?
"You had no idea how late it was, did you?"
I shake my head, pushing up off the chair and wobbling slightly. All the whiskey I drank must have gone straight to my head.
"Go grab a shower. Gabriel has been hiding in the study since you arrived. Feelings aren't his specialty."
I chuckle before wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her to my side. "Thank you."
"You can thank me later when you get the girl."
I wish I had as much confidence in Charlotte's love for me as she does, but there's no turning back now.
CHAPTERNINE
CHARLOTTE
Idon’t know how long I sit with my back pressed against the bed, alternating between soul-crushing sobs and numbness. I keep waiting for Bryce to reappear, but he doesn’t. What started out as an amazing day with the promise of a happy ending has come crashing to the ground. Bryce is gone, and I don’t know where to even begin looking for him.
“I can’t believe that just happened.” I bury my face in my hands and sob, trying to make sense of the last hour of my life.
Everything was perfect. I was wrapped in Bryce’s arms, feeling safe. Loved. Protected. And in blissful ignorance of the pain I was causing the two of us. If I learned one thing from my conversation with Maya, it’s that by denying my feeling for Bryce, I was setting us up for failure.
“I should’ve known this would happen,” I whisper, pushing off the floor and padding out of the room, searching for any signs of Bryce, but I come up empty.
I tried to be careful and protect my heart from Bryce, but he broke down all my defenses, worming his way into my heart and becoming a part of me. A part that will remain broken until the day I die. He promised to give up everything for me because I’m too afraid to stand up for what I want, but I can’t let that happen. He’s worked too hard and been through too much to have to start all over again. Especially for someone like me.
I’m nothing special, I repeat in my mind as I clean the kitchen, clearing the marble countertops from the elaborate breakfast he prepared for me.
The remnants of the wild evening we spent together are spread across the room. One of my shoes is lying on the couch. The half-empty wine glasses are sitting on the end table. My dress is in a pool of fabric on the floor. I dropped it as he feasted on my pussy on the dining room table before carrying me into the bedroom and making sweet love to me all night long.
“He left me.” I feel a sob bubbling up in my chest, threatening to escape from my mouth as I continue cleaning the kitchen.
I dump the perfectly made crepes into the trash can and put the dishes into the dishwasher. Pain beyond anything I could have imagined rips through my body with each movement as I pray things will get easier with time.
He asked me to marry him, to choose him over everything and everyone else, but I said nothing. I’m lost in my own battle between following my heart and doing what’s expected of me by my parents. I know in my heart that Bryce would do anything to make me happy, even give up on his dreams, but am I selfish enough to ask him to do that?
The shrill ring of my cellphone in the pocket of my robe breaks me from my stupor.
“I didn’t even know I grabbed this,” I mumble before answering the call.“Hello?”
“Charlotte?” My mom’s voice fills the line.
I collapse to the floor as the frayed edges of my heart rip open for the second time today.“I’m so sorry, Momma.”
“For lying to us about going to Paris or about falling in love with the famous chef you were getting lessons from?”
“What?” My eyes slam shut, and I groan. “Maya.”
