The world outside this house seems so daunting to me. This is all I’ve known since leaving the orphanage, this place. I’ve been consumed by my love for Leo for so long. Am I really going to be able to leave and pretend I’ve never felt any of it? I don’t know how I’ll manage it. I’ve spent so long wishing that Leo would feel the same, and now that I know he doesn’t, I don’t know who I am anymore. I feel like leaving this house will be like severing an artery or cutting out my own heart. I can’t live without Leo. But the misery I’ll feel if I stay is nothing compared to what I’ll feel if I leave this place.
My eyes are blurry from the tears now. I’ve never felt more alone. Leo’s iron grip on my heart has made it feel impossible to breathe.
That woman will never love him the way I do. She will never be able to give him her entire heart the way I can. I’ve got so much to give. I thought I’d managed to make him see that. I thought he understood me when I told him to marry someone who wants to give him everything. All that woman wants to do is take from him, I could see it in her eyes.
But now she’s already got her claws in. I’ve missed my chance, and there’s no coming back from this now. I have to accept that I’ve lost now. I’ll never be happy again, but I’ll have to find some way to survive this.
I stumble into my bedroom, sniffing as I pack my bags. I want to be gone by the time Leo returns home. Otherwise, I’ll lose my nerve and stay. That’s a level of suffering that I can’t put myself through. Not after I’ve been rejected this way.
I have so many paintings, and I have no idea how I’m going to take them with me. I don’t even know where I’m going, I don’t have anywhere to put them. But I know there’s one painting I can’t leave behind. One that will remind me of the man I’ve loved from afar for so long…
I lay it down in my bed one more time, tears streaming from my eyes. I painted it the day I met him. I stayed up all night making it into a masterpiece, modeling it perfectly after my muse.
The painting of Leo captures his essence completely. His intense stare. His strong jawline. His handsome face and rugged edges. The man I fell in love with at first sight. It’s the best thing I’ve ever painted, and I know I can’t leave it behind. I have to take some piece of him with me.
“Leo…” I whisper, staring down at the picture with a heavy heart. “Give me a sign that I shouldn’t give up...give me a sign that I should stay.”
But of course, nothing happens. Because this was never meant to be. This isn’t my fairytale ending, as much as I wish it was. He doesn’t want me, and he never will. It’s time to let go. It’s time to stop wishing for the impossible.
“That’s a very impressive painting.”
I whip around, my stomach sinking. Dan is standing in the doorway of my bedroom. He’s smirking, but his eyes are dark and angry in a way I’ve never seen them before. I don’t know what he wants, but I wish he’d leave.
“Not now, Dan,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself. I don’t have the strength to deal with him right now. He steps into my room, his eyes stormy.
“Well, when?” he growls. “Because to me, it looks like you’re going somewhere.”
I glance at my packed bags and realize he’s got me sussed, figured it all out. He picks up the painting of Leo before I can stop him.
“Don’t touch that,” I hiss desperately, but it’s too late. He has it in his grasp as he glares at me.
“So this is why you’ve been playing so hard to get this whole time,” he sneers. “You’ve been saving yourself for the boss? How sweet.”
“It’s just a painting,” I say, but we both know that’s not true. He tosses it back onto the bed, advancing on me.
“No more games,” he bellows.
He grabs my arm hard and I cry out, but he doesn’t let go. His grip is iron clad on my wrist. “You’re a frigid little virgin, aren’t you? You think you’re saving yourself for the one, so you won’t give a guy like me a chance. You don’t really think you can do better, do you? I’m just as good as anyone. I’m sick of your attitude, thinking you’re above me. Well, you’ll regret rejecting me now. I’ll show you exactly what you’ve been missing.”
He tries to lean in and kiss me, but I manage to shove him away, my eyes blurring with tears.