“Listen, I’ve got a flight to catch. I better go.”
“To London?”
“Yeah.” Slipping my hands into my pockets, my gaze shifts toward the floor. “So, look, I won’t see you until the wedding.”
“You’re not coming back to New York?”
“No, Adriana. Please don’t ask. Not now,” I beg, not allowing her to get another word in. I wave goodbye and head out of the guest room only to be greeted by a nervous Elijah in the hallway.
Blinking rapidly, he scratches the back of his neck unable to look my way. I don’t know what his problem is, but I have no time to ask questions, or I’ll miss my flight back home.
“I was just leaving, Elijah.”
“Listen, Lex… I, um… well, there’s um—”
“What?” Frustrated, I push him aside until I stop dead in my tracks.
She’s here in the living room.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I tried to warn you.”
I shoot him back an annoyed look. He could’ve warned me if he wasn’t babbling like a schoolgirl.
Charlotte is standing by the door, avoiding my heavy stare. With my heart racing a million miles per second, I can’t ignore how different she looks.
She’s wearing low cut jeans, a gray hoodie with ‘Girls Do It Better’ printed on the front, and her Converse. Her hair is tied back in a rough ponytail, but it isn’t her clothes or even her hair that catches my attention—it’s her face. The color of her skin is pale, almost dull without her usual rosy cheeks. Compared to when I saw her yesterday, she looks extremely tired with dark circles around her eyes, and they also appear swollen. She’s been crying, and I ache just to reach out and touch her, caress her face and take away the pain she’s living, but I’m the one who said it was over.
I can’t go back on my words, can I?
But she’s my wife. To have and to hold till death us do part.
I swallow hard, riddled by hurt as the memory of her sitting across from Julian and caressing his face last night at the restaurant comes swinging back like a giant wrecking ball.
“Oh, hey, Charlie. I thought you were coming after eight?” Adriana asks, nervously.
“Sorry, Adriana, I have something on tonight. I hope you don’t mind… I need to do this fitting now.”
With her gaze fixating on Adriana, ignoring my presence in the room, my anger begins to boil beneath the surface. She has something on tonight after eight.
What? Like a date?
Or an all-night fucking session with Julian?
My mind is going crazy. The guilt I feel when I see her eyes has turned into rage.
I have to leave before
the rage and hurt turn into something not even I can control, and I do something else I’ll regret for the rest of my life.
Turning around, I kiss my sister on the cheek and silently wave to Elijah standing on the other side. With heavy steps, I walk toward the door, placing my hand on the doorknob as Charlotte stands only inches away.
Unwillingly, my lips part, the scent of her perfume is lingering in the air between us making it impossible for me to breathe. I can’t fall for this again and get tangled up in this mess of what we have become. So, with desperation, I quickly turn to the door and exit the apartment, shutting it behind me.
I half-expected her to follow.
Beg me to talk to her.
But I also know how deep her pain goes. Much like me, but we’re both hurting for different reasons. And with my heart chained down unable to fight any longer, I quickly leave the building and hail a cab straight to the airport.