“TEN!” The shouting begins.
This past year flashes through me, all the ups and downs. Peaks, valleys, tears and laughter. Beginning in Scotland. Snowed-in. Coming back to a fire. Watching Sulli’s home burn down. I created Kitsuwon Securities. We went to Anacapri.
Three weddings this year.
No funerals.
One baby.
We drove to Montana.
Sulli climbed mountains.
We cheered her on.
We were happy in the woods. Happy in the penthouse.
This long, eventful year is ending, and maybe this is where it’s supposed to close. This is where everything reverses. Back to normalcy for Sulli.
Back to a life she can live without being suffocated by the world around her.
“SIX!” Tom and the crowd shout.
“Should we kiss?” Sulli asks us over the countdown.
Before tonight, I would’ve said no. We weren’t public. This is a public event. But our relationship is now technically out in the open.
Yet, we still haven’t confirmed anything.
“FIVE!”
Banks is looking for me to make the call. At the end of the night, this is a security decision.
“FOUR, THREE—”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.” That’s a lie. In my gut, I know what should happen.
We shouldn’t kiss.
“TWO, ONE.”
They don’t.
We don’t.
Right now, we have a chance to resolve this. I’m already coming up with a plan in my head. I’m already starting to realize there’s a way out.
There always is.
“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
Leaving the theatre proves as difficult as entering, but this time we’re more prepared. All of SFO help us reach the car. The parking garage for the five-star hotel is already secured.
We ride up the elevator. Slip into the empty hallway. I look left and right. She’s safe here. Exhaustion wears all of us down as Banks swipes the keycard, and the three of us enter the hotel room. It takes me and Banks a couple more minutes to search the room.
No strangers.
No hotel staff.
No bugs.
All clear.
Banks kicks off his shoes, and Sulli immediately heads to the minifridge. I stay beside the door, leaning against the wood. Outside the hotel windows, snow drifts in the night sky. With tightness in my ribs, I watch the soft flurries float sideways, downward.
Nearly every shitty day of my life, it’s been snowing.
Banks rakes a hand across the back of his neck. His concern flits from Sulli to me. “You don’t need to watch the door all night, Akara.”
“I know,” I breathe out. Am I really breathing though?
He shakes his head, brows knitting like he’s stumped on why I haven’t moved my ass. The door is locked. She’s safe.
But what about tomorrow? What about years from now?
Sulli picks through the snacks in the fridge, choosing Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. “What’s going on?” She stands up with unease.
Banks threads his arms, eyes on me. “I’m trying to figure that one out.”
I take a breath. “I’ve been thinking about how to fix this.”
Sulli sighs out in relief. “Thank fucking God. You have a plan.” She plops on the edge of the bed.
Banks looks more skeptical. “Akara—”
Pressure slams on my chest. I’m already in pain as I open my mouth to speak. Say the words. Say the words. I look from him to her. “I’m breaking up with both of you.” My voice sounds raw and constricted.
Wind rushes out of our hotel room.
Sulli loses grip of her chocolate and the package thumps to the floor at her feet.
Banks pushes forward. “Say again?”
I grind my teeth, nose flaring. “I’m breaking up with you. Both of you. It’s over. This is over.”
Her eyes glass. Mine are burning. “As a media stunt, right?” Sulli asks. “It won’t be for real.”
I shake my head, neck tight. “No, it’s for real, Sul.” She’s not living a lie for the rest of her life. “It needs to be real. This is a clean break. It’ll be like you only chose Banks all along.”
“But I didn’t just choose Banks,” Sulli chokes out, hurt and confusion coursing through her green eyes.
Banks glares at me. “You’re not even gonna ask for my advice? You always ask for my fucking advice.” He pushes closer, arms outstretched like come at me.
I’m not fighting him on this. “I know what you’ll say, Banks.” I grimace into a wince. “You’ll tell me I’m a fucking idiot, a stunad.”
“You don’t think you’re being one?” Banks questions coldly, his eyes reddening as he sees how staunch in this decision I am. “You don’t want to fucking do this—I know you don’t.”
“I have to!” I yell from my core.
“I’m telling you, you don’t,” Banks growls out. “Don’t fucking do this, man. This won’t change anything—”
“It’ll change everything. And you know it, too. We have time. We still have time. We haven’t confirmed anything or been caught as a triad. Once the world knows it’s just you two together, they’ll back off Sulli.” I shift my weight and point at the ground. “And this is how it should be, Banks. You deserve to be number one in her life—”