Pretty PA stares at me, biting her bottom lip as mine starts to tremble.
Brielle stands and walks over. “Jeni, I’m so sorry, but I think you’re too late.” A tear escapes, running down her cheek.
I take her hand in mine. “I miss you, Bree. I miss everyone but especially Aiden.” I take a deep breath and try to compose myself.
“We miss you, too, Jeni. Especially him.” Brielle wipes a tear away from her
cheek.
“Guess I fucked up big time.”
“Maybe he’ll come around. I’ll talk to him.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m obviously too late. I deserve everything I get. I have been more than a little irrational, and I guess Aiden couldn’t cope with my stupidity.”
I’m more than frustrated with myself. How could I have been this ridiculous for so long? I squeeze Brielle and then turn for the elevator, push the button, and look back at Aiden’s closed office door, but there’s nothing. The elevator dings, catching my attention, so I spin back and enter completely deflated.
Why did I leave it so long to realize how I felt?
What the hell was wrong with me?
Now I’ve lost the only man I will ever truly love.
My heart and soul belong to Aiden, but I have no one to blame but myself.
Stepping through the main foyer, I drag myself to the parking garage to say goodbye to Mike. He’s standing at the top of the stairs like he’s waiting, but when he sees me, his face falls into the deepest of frowns.
With a quick step, I walk over embracing him in a hug, and that’s when I realize I am no longer scared. It was a coping mechanism. A really fucking bad one. And now because of it, I’ve not only lost the love of my life, but the family I so desperately love as well. This whole thing was all conjured up in my mind, and now I am paying the price I deserve to pay.
“I’m guessing it didn’t go so well?” Mike asks.
“No, not so well,” I mumble.
Mike holds onto me tightly, hugging me like the father I never had.
“He’s leaving,” I whisper.
“I know. Tomorrow.”
There’s nothing I can do.
“I realized too late, Mike.” He frowns. “Thanks… for everything.”
“Anytime, Miss Taylor. Just so you know, I was rooting for you two.”
I nod, pull from his embrace, sniffle, and turn to walk the block from O’Connell Finance back toward my car. A constant stream of tears flow down my face, pooling at my chin and drop to the ground. As I reach my car in front of the salon, I think how fitting it is that another storm is heading into Mornington Vale. It always seems to rain when I feel miserable.
After sliding into my car, I sit for a while, my head in my hands, trying to calm down before I drive on the busy roads. Eventually, I turn the key and pull out into traffic, just as fat drops of rain begin to pummel my windshield. With my wipers on full speed, and through my tears, seeing becomes difficult.
Coming up on a set of traffic signals, I apply my brakes to stop at the red light. With my bag on the passage side seat, I turn, taking my eyes off the road to grab a tissue.
Smash.
My car suddenly jolts back, the crunching of metal grates on my ears as my head slams down onto the steering wheel and then back into the seat with force . I let out a groan as pain sears through my forehead. I glance up to see I’ve rear-ended the car in front of me.
Just what I need right now.
Tightness forms in my chest while overwhelming tension rattles through me, and I can’t help but let it all out. “Fuuuck!” I scream out as loud as I can in pure frustration.