Chapter 26 Drew
DREW
This wasn’t the silent treatment, it was a total ice-out. Emilia refused to even look at me for the entire drive home.
She’d disappeared into the house without a word, leaving me to try to figure out what was going to happen next. More cold shoulder, or a knock-down fight? I couldn’t get a read on the situation, but whatever was going down, I knew for a fact that it wouldn’t be good.
We had one more day to get through, and then everything was supposed to get better. All the stress and strain would be gone. The wedding from hell would be in the rearview mirror, and we’d finally relax and enjoy ourselves in a way that we hadn’t been able to ever since we’d met.
But it looked like that plan was out the window now. Or at least… it was severely altered. Because in one more day, the wedding would be over, and that weight would be off our shoulders. But there’d be no relaxing or enjoying ourselves. Not together, anyway. Not anymore.
The disorienting throb behind my eyes made me feel like I was coming down with something. I refused to believe it was anything more than pending illness.
It certainly wasn’t regret.
Was I abrupt with Emilia? Maybe a little bit, but in that moment, I was twisting myself in knots to try to hold everything together.
Her pulling off her ring and making a whole scene was the absolute last thing I’d needed to deal with tonight.
It was just further proof—as if I’d needed it—that relationships always went sour.
And when they did, they screwed everything up.
Not that we’d had a real romance. Not really.
We’d always known that there was an expiration date.
And if I’d been fool enough to let myself forget that…
well then, shame on me. I should have known better.
I’d just gotten so caught up in all of it.
For a change I hadn’t been overthinking. I’d been content.
No. I’d been happy.
But still. Deep down I knew that the crash landing we were experiencing was a given.
I poured myself a drink and walked out to the yard to chat with my confidant. As always, Winston beelined for me when I stepped into his enclosure.
“Hey you,” I said softly. I sat down in the grass, not caring that I was still in my suit. “How’s life?”
Winston walked closer and swung his head back and forth in front of me, like he was inhaling the details of where I’d been.
“Rough night,” I explained. I leaned closer to him and lowered my voice. “Your person hates me now.”
I heard the door open behind me and turned to find Emilia had changed into shorts and a T-shirt and was clutching the same plastic tub Winston had arrived in.
“We’re leaving,” she announced.
Wait. What?
She stepped over the enclosure, set the bin down, tossed in a few items and then walked over to pick up Winston. I stood up to face her.
“Don’t worry, I’m only taking the stuff we arrived with,” she said as she grabbed more equipment and placed it in the bin next to Winston.
“Where are you off to? You obviously can’t go back to your place, the roof is still half ripped off.”
Emilia shot me a look. “Yeah, thanks for your help with that.”
It took me a second to even remember what she was talking about.
I’d been juggling so many flaming torches lately that I could barely keep them all straight.
But I did faintly recall a phone call she’d wanted me to handle.
One I’d had to duck out on—not by choice, but because a torch that was even bigger and flamier had been falling right toward my head and I’d needed to catch it.
“Oh, come on,” I replied. “I was in the middle of a Carter crisis, and I apologized to you. And the repairs were needed.”
“Yeah, you checked in with Arlo way after the work had already begun. Huge help, Ashford. Appreciate the support.”
I ignored her sarcasm. “So where are you going then?”
“Why do you care?”
“I care because …” I trailed off since I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer the question. I’d barely admitted to myself how I was feeling about our scenario, so there was no way I could put words to what was basically undefinable.
She frowned at me as I tried to come up with a reason to make her stay.
“Because Winston needs to be in his habitat.”
Emilia reached into the bin and gave Winston a scratch. “Aw, you’re so lucky, buddy. He gives a shit about you!”
“Come on, stop it.”
“We’re going to stay with Nora,” she said.
“There’s no reason for us to be here at this point.
The wedding is tomorrow and once it’s done, my commitment to you will officially be over.
When we’re at the resort and the cameras are rolling, I’ll keep playing the part, but there aren’t any cameras here.
And from what you said earlier, it’s clear that there’s no relationship here, either. So there’s no point in me staying.”
Her leaving was the last thing I expected. Just thinking about it left a yawning feeling in the pit of my stomach, like the floor had dropped away.
“Leaving now is a dumb idea,” I said. “Don’t make Winston suffer.”
“What difference do a few hours make?”
Why did she have to be so stubborn? “Emilia, don’t be ridiculous,” I sighed.
“The ridiculous thing would be to stay,” she said, her voice hard. “This isn’t where I belong.”
It was this morning! I wanted to yell at her. “All because we had a difference of opinion?” I said. “One little argument, and that’s it? You’re done?”
“Done with what?” she said. “What even was this? Because you made it very clear that you aren’t in the market for anything serious or committed.
” She stood up straighter. “I don’t want a fling.
And from what you’ve said, it seems to me that that’s all you’re capable of offering.
Since that’s the case, I’m done wasting my time. ”
It felt like she’d slapped me in the face.
For a few long beats, neither one of us moved. The only sound was tortoise shell on plastic as Winston roamed around the bin. He was probably confused as well, poor guy.
“Are you sure you don’t want the ring back now?” Emilia asked. “Seems simpler to pass it off now, so you can put it somewhere safe. Trust me, no one will notice if I’m not wearing it.”
I glanced down at her finger, to where my mom’s original engagement ring winked back at me. It looked so natural there. I’d caught Emilia staring at her hand with a soft smile a few times, like she knew it too.
“Absolutely not,” I said quickly, with a little too much conviction. “Dorian sees everything, and if he gets a hint of scandal he’ll be relentless trying to find out the scoop. I can get it back from you at the end of the day tomorrow, when we finalize everything.”
Despite my show at nonchalance, my heart seized as I envisioned how it was going to play out.
We’d have to pretend that nothing was wrong during the event.
In theory, that wouldn’t be too hard since we’d be busy.
But I’d gotten way too used to seeking her out when I needed a pick-me-up.
All it took was a quick kiss to bolster me for whatever bullshit I had to face.
I studied Emilia, trying to determine how she was feeling. For someone who usually wore her heart on her sleeve, all I could sense was stone-faced determination. Like leaving didn’t even matter to her. Like she was the one who’d never been invested at all.
Fine then. It was better this way. A swift severing, then cauterization.
I wasn’t sure how I’d react if she broke down, because I hated seeing her in pain.
And the fact that she didn’t seem to be hurting was all I needed to convince me that she agreed our split was for the best. I hadn’t expected the end of our relationship to be quite this…
abrupt, and it was a little jarring to have it all fall to pieces so fast, but even if it had me feeling a little unsettled here in the moment, I was sure I’d move on quickly.
I always did. Romance didn’t last, and that was something I’d always known.
Emilia was right to say that there was no sense in dragging things out. If it was over, then it was over.
Although … why did it have to end tonight?
“Fine,” she said simply. “I’ll wear this thing through the end of the event. Can’t risk pissing off my benefactor, you know.”
“Stop.”
“We’re off the clock, I don’t have to listen to you, Bossman.”
There she was. The sassy, take-no-shit woman who’d been standing up to me since the moment we met.
I felt something dark waking up inside of me as she glared at me with her arms crossed. Frustration, because she was throwing all of this at me at the worst possible time. And hurt, even if I was careful to hide it, because she was about to walk out of my life for no good reason.
Well, if she was so eager to move on, so be it.
“Fine,” I said. “Go.”
Her shoulders drooped a little, like she was hoping for a different outcome.
“Yeah, thanks. Planning on it.” She pointed to Winston’s bin. “Obviously.”
Emilia looked around the enclosure again then picked up the bin and walked away without another word.
No tears or parting shots, just a silent retreat that made everything feel unfinished, like I’d missed a cue or screwed things up, even though I knew that wasn’t true.
This wasn’t on me. She was the one who’d chosen to leave.
Despite the size of my home I felt like there was no place where I could avoid her as she finished packing, so I opted to sit on the lounge chair flanking my pool. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done it. With Winston on his way out, I wasn’t sure when I’d spend time in my yard again.
I’d cope with her leaving the way I dealt with any life challenge; I’d work.
I’d been spending way too much time at the Carmel resort, but once the wedding was over and done with and the “curse” was broken, it wouldn’t need my oversight anymore, and I could refocus on other regions.
Being in a new location would make it easier to forget her.
There was plenty to do in Manhattan. And DC.
I’d considered opening a resort in Hilton Head, maybe I could put my energy towards making it a reality?
It struck me that I was aiming for work on the east coast, like I had to put the entire country between us in order to move past our time together.
I could tell by the sounds coming from inside my house that she was nearly finished packing. I wasn’t sure about the protocol for our goodbye. She had the keycode so I’d obviously have to change it once she was gone.
But then I almost laughed at the absurdity of the thought. Emilia was one of the most honest people I’d ever met. I knew in my core that I could trust her not to come back and trash my house.
The end of our situationship would come with a whisper, not a bang, as it should. What we’d shared had come to an inevitable conclusion, and it was for the best.
I leaned back against the lounge and closed my eyes.
The moment she left I’d pick up my phone and start looking at available real estate in Hilton Head.
It would be the perfect distraction. I’d fly out within the week, probably, and this house would be locked up and left behind.
The open space on the bathroom counter where she’d left her hairbrush and elastics wouldn’t even register if I wasn’t here to see it.
I let out a humorless laugh. As if anything could distract me from her.
Her footsteps inside echoed out to where I was sitting, which made me wonder if she was stomping on purpose. Like she was trying to signal that I had one last chance to rush in and stop her.
Nope. Wasn’t going to happen.
We were exactly where I knew we’d wind up. Romance didn’t last, and once it faded all that was remained was pain.
“I’m leaving.”
I’d been so deep in my thoughts that I hadn’t even heard her walk over. I sat up.
“Fine,” I said with a curt nod. “Do you need help with anything?”
“Nope. Just wanted you to know. I’ll be at the resort early tomorrow.”
I nodded again, because what was left to say?
Emilia paused a beat, scanning my face, then walked away without another word.
The slam of my front door sounded like an exclamation point. An abrupt end.
I picked up my phone. It was time for me to get back to work.