Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Harrison
The moment the elevator doors shut, I let out a deep breath and fell against the wall. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I felt like I was gasping for air. I raced out of her building and climbed into the limo.
“Are you okay, sir?”
“No. No, I’m not okay. Just take me home.”
When I entered the penthouse, I grabbed the bottle of scotch, took it to the bedroom, and drank myself to sleep. The next morning, I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. It was eight-thirty. Shit! My body felt like lead, and my head felt like someone was in there with a jackhammer. I picked up my phone and saw I had three missed calls from Jeremy, so I quickly dialed him.
“Mr. Grant. Where are you?”
“Sorry, Jeremy. I drank a little too much last night. I’ll be in soon. Is Athena there?”
“No. She hasn’t come in yet.”
“Good. Don’t tell her about any of this. Tell her I stopped by the townhouse first if she asks where I am before I get there.”
“I will, Mr. Grant.”
I climbed into the shower, placed my hand against the wall, and let the hot water pour down on me. I didn’t forget why I did it just because I drank myself to sleep. I hurt her, and that’s the last thing I wanted to do. She pushed me. I had no choice. How could I love her when I didn’t even love myself? One day, she’d understand that I was trying to save her from the monster I’d become. She told me I was an unemotional, cold-hearted, and selfish man. She was right.
I arrived at the office and had Jeremy fetch me a cup of coffee.
“Strong and black,” he spoke as he set the cup on my desk.
“Thank you, Jeremy.”
“So, Mr. Grant, how is the townhouse?”
“It’s great. It’s better than I expected it would be.”
“I was looking up some of Adalyn’s work online. She’s fantastic.”
“Yeah. She is.” I gave him a small smile.
Looking at the door, I saw Athena with tears in her eyes.
“Athena?”
“What did you say to her?” she shouted as she stepped into my office and waved a white envelope in my face.
“Jeremy, you may go now. Athena, what are you talking about?”
“Adalyn. This letter is from her. She’s gone. She went back to Seattle. What did you say to her?!”
“Let it go.”
“No! I won’t let it go, Harrison. I will never let this one go,” she cried and stormed out of my office.
Two Weeks Later
I stood in my bedroom and stared at the furniture Adalyn had picked out. It had been two weeks since she left, and each day that passed didn’t get any better. Athena was barely talking to me, and my grandmother wasn’t happy with me either.
Tonight was my housewarming party. I’d invited about sixty people. I knew my father and Jenna would be here, and most likely my grandmother. But as for Athena and Pete, I wasn’t so sure. I booked a catering company to come in and a bartender to serve drinks. I couldn’t wait for this, and now that it was here, I could have cared less.
I tried to get in touch with Adalyn via text, but my messages wouldn’t go through. So, I tried to call her, and it always went straight to voicemail. I suspected she blocked my number. I didn’t blame her. I wanted to make sure she was okay and that she safely made it back to Seattle.
People started arriving around seven p.m., and to my surprise, Athena showed up.
“Thank you for coming.” I kissed her cheek. “How are you, Pete?” I shook his hand.
“You can thank Pete. He forced me to come,” Athena spoke as she walked away.
“Adalyn had done the best job I’ve ever seen, Harrison,” my grandmother spoke as she walked up to me.
“She did. Didn’t she?”
“I miss her,” she said.
“I do too.” I placed my arm around her and kissed her head.
I mingled with my guests and listened as they raved about the house. I grabbed a glass of scotch and took it upstairs to my bedroom. I needed to get away for a while. The door slowly opened as I was sitting on the edge of my bed, and Athena stood there staring at me.
“What are you doing? Feeling sorry for yourself?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, you only have yourself to blame for that,” she spoke as she took a seat next to me.
“I told her I didn’t love her, Athena, and that she meant nothing to me.”
“Harrison.” She reached over and grabbed my hand.
“I hurt her. Just like I hurt Mom.” Tears started to fill my eyes. “I think she blocked my number.”
“I don’t blame her,” Athena spoke.
“I told her the best thing she could do was to go back to Seattle.”
“Oh, Harrison.”
“It hurts, Athena. Why does it hurt?” I laid my head on her shoulder.
“Because you have feelings for her. You never allowed yourself to feel anything since Mom died.”
“It’s not that I didn’t allow myself. I’d never met anyone that affected me the way Adalyn did.”
“Then you need to tell her.”
“It’s too late. There’s no going back now. I had my chance, and I blew it.”