“It was too hard, okay? I’m not a natural at something like this. I just … I don’t want to waste my time. Yeah, it was fun doing something different, but it didn’t hold my attention. I didn’t see the point in wasting anyone else’s time. There were students there with real passion, and I just didn’t have that.”
“So you’re giving up instead of fighting for it.”
She paused.
There was no argument left. She was giving up, but why?
No sound came from her lips as she looked at him. She didn’t know what to say, or what to think.
Edward parked up outside of their home.
“I’m not giving up, not really. I didn’t enjoy it, Edward. That’s not giving up. I made this decision.”
“When did you quit?” he asked.
“A couple of months ago. Erm, after I talked with Sophie.” She had listened as Sophie talked about her classes, explaining the different topics she was learning and how excited she was. For Isabel, it had just reminded her over and over again of everything that she couldn’t have,
and it was all just a dream. “I’m not a jealous person.”
“In that moment you felt it?” he asked.
“I love my sister more than anything. I can’t do what she does. She doesn’t even know about anything else. It just made me not want to set myself up for failure. I gave up my chance of a higher education. I finally realized it’s not what I want to do.”
Edward reached out, cupping her cheek. “I think your problem is you always expect to fail, and you never will.”
“How can you say that?” She pointed at her arms and then her thighs. “Look what I do.”
“That has nothing to do with failing, babe. Nothing at all. Sophie is a strong, funny, independent woman. She is going to drive someone crazy to falling in love with her. You should be proud. You did that. No one else. You helped her. You went and worked crazy hours in a diner to keep her clothed, fed, and you made sure she got the education she deserved.” He covered her hand as she was scratching her thigh.
Isabel felt ashamed. He made her sound like a strong woman, yet she wasn’t strong.
Fight it!
Don’t let this win!
Be stronger!
Be harder!
“When I look at you, I don’t even see failure, and I know how hard it has been for you, babe. I can see how hard it has been. I don’t know how you got through it. You were a mom before you even became a sister. That shit isn’t right.”
She smiled. “You always know what to say to make me feel so wonderful.” She batted her eyelashes.
“Do you really want to go back to school? In all honesty?”
“No, I don’t. I know what I want, and I don’t want to continue wasting my time with something I hate. I don’t want to go to school.”
“Then I’m happy for you for making that decision yourself.”
The smile just grew wide. “You really have a way of making me feel normal.”
“I can make you feel a million times better than normal.”
“Oh, you can?”
He took her hand and placed it against his rock-hard cock. “Does that feel like I’m joking around?”
“Nope. That feels like you really want to have some fun.”