Chapter 43
CALLUM
Days Go By - Ferester
Before heading to Aberystwyth on a last-minute, impromptu road trip, he needed to have a chat with Asma and Leif.
“Are you sure you want me to stay?” Alejandra asked, legs crossed on the big couch, fingers fidgeting lightly over the fabric of her jeans. “I can go on a walk, grab a bite somewhere, let you explain to them whatever you have to explain, which sounds important.”
He hadn’t properly told her what he meant to say to Leif and Asma, mainly because he didn’t know what he was going to say in the first place. He just knew where he stood mentally—that burnout had become his closest companion lately, that Lamina didn’t feel fun anymore, didn’t feel like his anymore.
He wanted Alejandra there because he needed her to understand that he was taking this sabbatical not because he was so obsessed with her—which he was—but not just because of that.
Not because he wanted to drop everything for her.
But because Lamina was slowly draining the life out of him.
And somehow, being with Alejandra made that contrast impossible to ignore.
“I’d like for you to hear what I want to say to them, so you can better understand what’s going on in my life besides spending my days thinking about a very gorgeous Spanish woman.” He winked at her. She blushed, right on cue.
The intercom rang.
When he opened the door, the energy between his best friends hit him immediately—cold, tense, sharp. Like the Arctic ocean he had once plunged into with Leif when visiting his family in Sweden. And considering he had darted out of it and sunk into the hot tub within seconds—
Yeah. It was really cold.
“Hello,” he greeted.
No reply.
Leif just patted his shoulder on the way in, his expression unreadable, while Asma walked past him with a grunt, jaw tight, eyes already stormy.
Fucking fantastic.
Why was she always in a good mood, except for the one time he actually needed her to be? She looked like someone had just killed her dog.
“Hi, Alejandra,” Asma said, at least summoning the decency to smile.
The two women exchanged a quick hug. Asma slumped next to her on the couch, while Leif grabbed a stool from the kitchen island.
Callum offered them beers. Leif took one immediately. Asma declined without even looking at him.
“So?” Asma asked. “What’s going on?”
“You are in a terrible mood,” Callum stated, leaning back slightly against the counter.
Asma scoffed. “That’s an understatement.”
“What happened?”
He didn’t really want to get into it, but ignoring it would make things worse.
“Nothing.” She shrugged, clearly meaning everything. “Just tell us what you want to tell us and let me go home. Today has been a day.”
He exchanged a look with Leif, who simply shook his head. Then he glanced at Alejandra. She was studying the room the same way he had seen her study an incoming wave—alert, focused, reading every shift in energy.
Yeah. Not good.
“I don’t know if Leif mentioned it to you, Asma, but lately I haven’t been feeling good at work,” Callum began.
“I love Lamina. I owe my adult life to it, to the possibility of living in a place like this, but I’m inching towards burnout, and I don’t know how long I’ll be able to handle my job without losing the will to live. ”
Asma blinked.
He didn’t dare look at Alejandra.
Since neither of them said anything, he continued.
“So, I’ve been thinking of taking three months off—”
“Just three months?” Leif cut in, already annoyed. “You need a year off, Callum.”
“A year?” Asma shrieked, sitting up straighter. “A year without our accountant? Lamina will sink.”
“I have amazing accountants—better than me—on my team,” Callum replied, shooting a glance at Leif, who rolled his eyes. “I can recommend someone to take over my position for the three months I’ve decided to take for myself.”
“But why?” Asma asked again, standing now, pacing slightly. “Don’t you love Lamina? She’s your baby.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t love a business that’s slowly draining the life out of me. And she’s not my baby, she’s yours, Asma.”
Asma shook her head immediately. “It’s ours. The three of us built this together. And now you want to leave, and he’s being…”
She pointed at Leif, who ignored her completely, staring into his beer.
What the fuck happened between them on the way up here?
“I’m not leaving,” Callum insisted. “I’m taking a break. I need to not think about numbers. I need to focus on the important things, like my taid fading away while I spend time away from him.”
Asma sighed dramatically. “Not the grandfather card, Evans.”
He smirked faintly. “It’s not just that. It’s… you know this isn’t the life I wanted. I’ve always been an athlete, and—”
“You left the white lights of a swimming pool facility for an office with a beautiful view over London and a very high-paying salary,” Asma cut in.
“You can’t compare the two,” he said, shaking his head.
I'd trade this view every single day for the smell of chlorine.
Asma turned suddenly, arms crossed, eyes landing sharply on Alejandra. “Did you put that idea in his mind?”
Before either of them could reply—Alejandra already looking like she was about to say something very opinionated—Leif snapped.
“Are you so fucking blind you can’t see your best friend losing his spark right in front of you?”
The room went still.
“Are you so fucking self-absorbed you don’t notice the empty look on his face when he’s alone in his office?”
Asma flinched, just for a second. Then her expression hardened, teeth practically bared. “I care about him, if that’s what you’re implying. I’m not selfish, no matter how many times you suggest it!”
“Hey,” Callum stepped between them quickly. “Please don’t fight. I’m just asking for three fucking months off.”
Asma turned on him immediately, all that anger redirecting. “Take your fucking three months off. Do whatever the fuck you want. I don’t care.”
And before anyone could respond, she stormed out, slamming the door hard enough to echo through the flat.
“What the fuck happened between you two?” Callum asked, staring at Leif.
Leif ran a hand through his hair. “She broke up with Omar and I kissed her in the elevator this morning. And then, when I told her what I actually feel for her, she shut down and…”
Callum blinked.
“A heads-up would’ve been fucking nice,” he muttered, still processing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alejandra already moving, grabbing her shoes, slipping them on quickly.
“I’m going after her,” she said. “She needs to talk, and clearly there’s more going on. Maybe she needs a girl to speak to.”
“Are you sure?” Callum asked. “She’s a demon when she’s angry.”
Alejandra snorted, grabbing her coat. “I’ve faced scarier situations than a London lawyer who’s angry and confused about her feelings.”
She leaned in, kissing him quickly but firmly.
“Let me do my job and be a girl’s girl. I shared my location with you, so you won’t worry.”
Callum smirked. “Thanks.”
She pulled back slightly, her expression shifting.
“Talk with him,” she nodded toward Leif. “And then we’ll talk about you being in burnout and never mentioning it to me.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “I can’t believe you listened to me rant about my injury while you felt like shit.”
He cupped her cheeks gently. “I never feel horrible with you around.”
He kissed her—deeper this time—before letting her go.
As she reached the door, she turned briefly toward Leif.
“Did she respond to the kiss?”
Leif’s grin appeared instantly. “Very much.”
“Good.” Alejandra giggled, stepping out and closing the door behind her.
The silence that followed felt… different. Lighter. But tense in another way. Callum turned back to Leif, who was still grinning like an idiot.
“So?”
“As I told you,” Leif began, “she said she broke up with Omar. Then she hugged me. And before we pulled away, we just… looked at each other.”
He wiggled his eyebrows.
“I leaned down and kissed her. And she was very responsive.”
“Then why is she mad at you now?” Callum asked, genuinely confused. Women. He really didn’t understand them sometimes.
Leif shrugged. “Maybe because she doesn’t want to admit she liked it?” Then his expression shifted, something quieter slipping through. “Am I this ugly?”
Callum almost choked on his beer. “Where the fuck does that come from?”
Leif shrugged again, suddenly less sure.
“You’ve dated literal models,” Callum continued. “You’re one of the most handsome men I know.”
Leif laughed. “Thanks, man. Maybe I should’ve developed a crush on you.”
“Idiot,” Callum huffed, sitting beside him. “But seriously, why ask that?”
Leif stared at his bottle for a second.
“I don’t know. Asma… I think I’ve always been pretty obvious about being into her.”
Callum sighed. “Obvious to me. Not to her.”
He leaned back slightly.
“Maybe she’s still in shock. Maybe you should’ve gone after her.”
Leif glanced toward the door. “Let’s see what your girlfriend does.”
“She’s not my—”
Callum stopped himself. Because that sounded stupid. Even if nothing had been said out loud, even if nothing was official. It didn’t feel casual anymore. Not even close.
“You look happy with her,” Leif added. “I hope Asma sees that too.”
Callum nodded slowly. “Thanks for being on my side. For pushing me to do this.”
Leif smiled, patting his shoulder. “What are friends for?”
Callum let out a breath, leaning back slightly.
I really hope she can fix this.
He needed them to be okay. Or at least close to it. Before he left.
“No matter what happens between Asma and I,” Leif added, “you take your sabbatical year—”
“Months.”
“Year,” Leif insisted. “Alright? We’ll be fine.”
Will they?
Callum wasn’t sure. Not about Lamina. Not about Leif and Asma. Not about any of it. But as he glanced toward the door where Alejandra had just disappeared, he found himself hoping, more than anything, that she could handle the storm he’d just sent her into.
That she could soften Asma.
Or at the very least, survive her.