Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Casey
I swear, those three minutes were the longest three minutes of my life.
The bathroom exhaust fan buzzed overhead. Outside, Boston's winter wind howled, rattling the windows with an irritating hiss.
When the two red lines appeared, a wave of dizziness hit me hard. My hands gripped the cold tile counter without thinking.
"Okay," Megan spoke first, her voice strangely calm. "Casey, first thing, breathe."
I did as she said, mechanically. Then I started shaking.
A panic I'd never felt before washed over me. "Megan," I said. "What am I supposed to do?"
I leaned into her shoulder, couldn't speak, my mind spinning.
I don't know how long had passed before Megan let go and brought me a damp towel to wipe my face.
"You don't have to figure anything out tonight," Megan said. "You don't have to decide anything tonight. Casey, you've got time. Nobody's saying you have to solve everything right now."
I nodded, voice small. "Okay."
She rubbed my back gently. "You want me to stay, honey?"
I shook my head, voice breaking. "I just need to be alone for a bit. Thanks, Megan."
She stood, left the bag of Oreos on the nightstand, bent down and hugged me, whispered in my ear, "You're the strongest person I know. I swear. And you know I don't swear lightly."
Then she shuffled out in her cat slippers. The hallway door closed. Everything went quiet again.
I sat on the edge of the bed alone and placed my hand on my stomach. I didn't want to think about anything. I just wanted to sit.
I stayed like that until dawn.
Just as I finally felt a hint of exhaustion, ready to close my eyes for a moment, my phone buzzed.
Diana Rossi. "Miss White, can you meet at eight this morning? I'll send you the address."
I opened the address she sent. Back Bay. Business district. Where a latte cost my daily living expenses.
I stared at the message for a long time. I was too tired to wonder how she got my number. Paul probably gave it to her. I just wanted this over with.
So I replied with a simple "okay," got up, washed my face quickly, and left.
The café sat on the ground floor of an all-glass building. I stood outside and looked in. Leather booths, brass fixtures, waitstaff in uniforms more pressed than my nicest outfit.
I took a deep breath and pushed through the door. Diana was already seated by the window in a perfectly tailored deep purple cashmere coat, an exquisite designer bag beside her.
She saw me, smiled, and raised her hand slightly. "Miss White."
I walked over and sat down, pulled my scarf down.
A waiter approached. "What can I get you?"
"A latte." I glanced at the menu.
The waiter withdrew. Diana lifted her fancy drink. "Paul loves this place," she said casually. "He says their pour-over has perfect balance. We've been here many times together. Have you been here before?"
I had. I'd walked past the door many times. Then kept walking.
"No," I said.
"Oh, I see." She smiled. "Well, you can enjoy it today."
I looked at her, voice steady. "Miss Rossi, just say what you came to say."
She seemed caught off guard by my directness, paused, then smiled again. "Paul was too impulsive last night. As his close friend, you've helped him a great deal. What he's achieved today—you played a part."
I didn't speak. Waited for her to continue.
"So," she reached into her bag unhurriedly and pulled out a dark gold bank card and placed it gently on the table. "Five hundred thousand dollars. A small token from Paul and me. You're capable, ambitious. I'm sure this will help you achieve your dream of opening that language school."
"This is Paul's idea?"
Diana paused. "You're a smart woman. Some things don't need to be spelled out. Better for both of us that way, don't you think?"
So he couldn't even break up with me himself?
I stared at that dark gold card. Felt sick. I picked it up and handed it right back to Diana.
"Miss Rossi, take your money. I don't need it." My voice was hoarse but firm. "As for breaking up, tell Mr. Vincent to do it himself."
Diana clearly hadn't expected that reaction. She let out a contemptuous laugh. "Miss White, break up? Where's that coming from? I think you've been deluding yourself. If we're being honest, you were just something to pass the time when he was bored."
Her words were needles, jabbing into whatever dignity I had left.
I couldn't listen anymore. I stood to leave.
Diana grabbed me, looked right at me, and said each word slowly. "You know it too, don't you? You'll never be worthy of the name 'Vincent.' You could never fit into the Vincent Family's world. Leaving now is the smartest choice you could make."
She saw my face go white, looked satisfied, then leaned close to my ear, voice dripping with smugness and mockery. "Oh, and by the way, you know what? Last night after Paul proposed to me, we were in the backstage lounge and…"
She didn't finish. Just left a loaded pause, then turned and walked away.
Ellipses are the punctuation mark that needs no explanation. Any functioning adult can fill in the rest.
I don't know how I got home. The second the door closed, all my strength drained out.
I leaned against the door, body sliding down until I collapsed onto the cold floor. Tears came without permission, streaming down my face into my collar.
She was right. The distance between Paul and me had never closed, not one millimeter, no matter how much I loved him. I thought time would make him respect me. Thought those promises about Hawaii and whales were real. I was wrong. Completely wrong.
Last night, Paul just laid it out in his usual polished way. Diana showed up with that five-hundred-thousand-dollar card to make sure I understood. Against all those worldly gaps, the love I thought was unshakable turned out to be so fragile.
I sat crumpled on the cold tile, hand unconsciously moving to my flat stomach.
I remembered what Paul used to say, "You don't understand our world." Remembered Diana's contemptuous, disdainful eyes. Remembered my own helplessness in front of those so-called elites.
I couldn't let this child walk my path. Couldn't let him grow up standing outside that world, looking in on tiptoe, desperately trying to prove he was good enough, only to be shattered on some winter night by someone saying "you don't understand our world," someone showing up with a bank card to calculate his worth.
I wiped my face hard, stood up, and looked at myself in the mirror—pale but resolute.
I made my decision.
I dragged my suitcase out from under the bed and started packing. But as I packed, I realized how little in this rental was actually mine. Most of it was for Paul. His closet held a dozen outfits, clothes he'd changed into after staying over. Cases of the coffee he liked...
I forced myself to stop thinking. Sat on the bed. Pulled out my phone and searched for flights.
I typed "flights" into the search bar, finger scrolling aimlessly. Until "Hawaii" jumped out at me. My finger froze.
"Casey, we could settle somewhere by the ocean. You'd run your language school, I'd watch whales with you—humpback whales in Hawaii, November through March is peak season. You know when those whales breach..."
Paul said that on his apartment balcony. He had red wine, and I had hot cocoa. Boston's autumn breeze felt perfect. I buried my face in his shoulder.
Back then, I believed every word. Thought we could overcome anything, find our sanctuary in those blue waters.
I clicked confirm purchase. The place we were supposed to go together—I was going alone now.
I needed to escape. Escape Boston. Escape this city that broke my heart, suffocated me.
I'd take this secret, take this child, leave Boston for Hawaii. Start over. Build a clean, equal life for my child with my own two hands.