CHAPTER FIFTY
Riley — 22 years old
This is stupid. I don’t know how I let Lila convince me to come here— to visit a fortune teller. I don’t really believe in palm reading or fortune telling, yet I’m here. Standing outside Caroline Sanchez antique shop.
Lila had a coupon that was expiring today. She wanted me to use it, since she can’t. Lila is still in Manhattan, with Maddox. I don’t know when she’s coming back…
Her relationship with Maddox is messy right now and they are still trying to figure things out. I hope they do, because if anyone deserves a happy ending— it’s Maddox and Lila.
It’s been two weeks since the night of the Christmas gala, since Grayson has walked back into my life, asking for another to fix us.
I was furious at first, but since then… my anger has calmed.
Now, I’m just filled with uncertainty.
Grayson left Manhattan a day after Colton and I came back to Boston. Since then, he’s been living in a hotel, just five minutes away from my apartment.
And he waits for me every day in the park, right outside the building I live in. From seven in the morning until five in the afternoon. For ten hours, he sits there and waits.
I’ve texted him many times and told him to leave, but he hasn’t.
I don’t know how he does it.
Grayson has the patience of a saint.
The choice should have been easy…
Because while Grayson has hurt me; he broke my heart and a piece of me resents him for it. For all the pain he’s given me. Yet, there’s a deep corner in my fragile heart that still loves him
That piece of me, still breathes for his warmth and tenderness.
But I’m scared to hear his truth.
Grayson told me that nothing is as it seems, and that if I give him a chance to explain… I’ll understand why he had to leave me behind, why he had been forced to break us.
What if his truth starts making sense to me?
I’m scared…
Because I know how weak my heart is for him.
I know I will forgive him.
But what happens then? What happens after I forgive him?
What happens to Colton… and me?
God, I am so confused.
My head hurts with a dull pain.
My heart aches terribly.
There’s something special about first love. It feels right; it looks right. It’s perfect in every way, until it isn’t. Grayson Hale is my first love.
Colton sauntered in my life, with great arrogance. He is a perfect facade. Rich, devastatingly beautiful…and everything that I should have stayed away from. But his obsession led to my carefully laid plans crumbling at my feet. He’s changed from his arrogant, selfish and asshole ways. He’s more… gentle now. Colton Bennett is my second chance at love.
I had given up on finding my soulmate a long time ago, but now I have two men in my life and they are both important to me. I’m torn between Colton and Grayson.
The angry horn of a car snaps me out of my thoughts. I guess this is why Lila told me to come here . She said maybe Caroline will be able to help me find the answers I’m looking for.
I scratch my neck, debating if I should enter the shop or not. I’m still thinking when the door opens, and the chimes jingle.
An older woman, maybe in her early fifties stands at the entrance. She’s almost as short as Lila. Her flame hair is piled up in a messy bun and she’s wearing dark jeans and a green sweater. Her pale skin is covered in freckles.
“Would you like to come in?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.
Oh, shit. “Are you Coraline?”
She pops her gum, smiling. “I sure am, Sugar.”
“Uhm, my friend has a coupon,” I tell her cautiously, still hesitant about all of this. “She visits you every year but she can’t come today. She told me I can use her coupon instead.”
I grimace when I realize I haven’t told her who my friend is yet. “Her name is Lila, I don’t know if you remember her.”
Coraline tugs on her hoops earring. “Of course I know who Lila is.”
Oh, good.
She shifts away from the door, motioning for me to come inside. I take a tentative step forward and she closes the door behind her. “Don’t be afraid, Sugar. I don’t bite.”
I’m not scared…
But I don’t really like meeting new people.
Especially fortune tellers. They can see too much.
I wring my hands, glancing around the small antique store. The air feels slightly stuffy. I start to sweat under my arms. Swallowing, I follow Coraline to the back of her shop. We walk through a beaded curtain and there’s a wooden table pushed up against the wall. And two chairs. I notice the stack of tarot cards on the table. “My name is—”
“Riley, I know.” Caroline smiles. She takes a seat on one of the chairs.
Baffled, I can only blink at her. “How do you know?” This is so creepy.
“I had a dream last night. I knew you were coming.” She points toward the opposite chair. “Come here, take a seat.”
Still reeling from the shock that her words have brought me, I quietly take a seat. “Don’t you want to know why I’m here?” I scowl when she starts sifting through her tarot cards. “Won’t you ask?”
“No, I already know why you’re here.” She stretches her arm toward me. “Can I have your right hand, please?”
I give her my hand and she grasps it. Caroline quietly reads the lines of my palm. Her brows are pulled together, almost thoughtfully. She releases my hand, nods to herself and then goes back to her tarot cards.
I don’t understand anything about fortune telling or tarot cards reading, so I watch her quietly. She pulls out three cards, spreading them over the table.
Exactly thirty seconds later, Caroline looks up with a grim expression. “You’re in a state of confusion,” she remarks softly before she slowly tilts her head to the side, watching me closely. “And you’re undergoing a love trial.”
“A love trial?” I squeak. What is that supposed to mean?
She nods. “There’s a lot of fear in your heart that muddles what you truly desire. You can’t see past that fear and that’s the cause of your confusion.”
My heart stammers. “I don’t understand.”
“I see two men in your life. One is your tragedy and the other is your heartbreak.”
I suck in a harsh breath at her words. “Which one is who?”
Coraline shakes her head, smiling tightly. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Can you really see my future?” I croak through the heavy lump in my throat.
“No, I can’t.” She frowns. “I only get glimpses of the future through my dreams. They are called visions. I don’t see the future, though sometimes, I can predict them. But I can’t predict yours because your fear has created a blockage. A wall between your past and your present. If your present is uncertain, it can cause an unsettling future.”
The air whooshes out of my lungs. Coldness seeps into my bones, and I’m shaking on the inside. Her words echo in my ears and my heart burns . “But… what am I supposed to do then?”
Caroline gets up. “Wait here, I’ll bring you something.”
I suddenly feel very suffocated.
She disappears through the beaded curtains and then comes back a minute later, holding a cup in her hand. “Drink this.”
I take the cup from her hand, frowning. “What is this?”
She smiles warmly. “It’s just herbal tea. It will help calm your mind, and maybe tonight you will see what you need to see. Who your heart truly desires. It will all make sense then.”
I know it might be foolish to trust Caroline. I don’t know her.
But still…
I drink the tea.
***
My eyes flutter open, and I’m staring at the most beautiful sky. It’s so bright, so blue. The warm breeze caresses my skin and a ghost smile whispers across my lips.
I stay like this, lying on the grass.
There’s something peaceful about this place. I can smell the flowers, I can hear the birds chirping and I can hear the distant sound of rushing water.
Warmth spreads through my body but then I come to a slow realization.
What am I doing here?
What is this place?
Why am I here?
I slowly sit up. Is this a dream?
This doesn’t make sense.
I remember going to bed early last night. I had been so tired, my mind weary and my body feeling sluggish. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was deeply asleep.
And now I’m here?
I rise to my feet and I spin around in circles, taking in everything around me. My lungs squeeze when I finally notice where I’m standing.
In a meadow of yellow lilies.
I’m surrounded by the most beautiful yellow lilies I’ve ever seen.
“Riley.” His familiar, deep baritone voice calls out to me.
My breathing stutters.
My heart ricochets against my ribs.
I hastily spin around and I see him. Standing just a few feet away, in the middle of the meadow. He stretches his arm out, waiting for me to take his hand.
I take a step toward him. He grins… and oh God, he’s devastatingly beautiful.
“Come to me,” he rasps.
I wake up with a gasp, my heart beating in my throat and my pulse racing. I frantically look around me, my hand fluttering to my heaving chest.
I’m in my room.
Not in a field of yellow lilies.
It was just a dream.
But… that dream…
Oh, it can’t be real, right? I don’t understand.
My eyes flicker to my phone, a shocked gasp spilling from my lips when I see the time. I slept for twelve hours straight, what the fuck?
I don’t remember the last time I’ve slept this long and this deeply.
Caroline Sanchez. She must have done something to me.
Frowning at my thoughts, I climb off my bed. It’s ten in the morning and I never wake up this late. I have to see Caroline, I have to ask what she has done to me.
I get dressed in a record of time and rush out of my apartment.
Ten minutes later, I’m standing in front of her shop. This time, I don’t hesitate. Pushing open the door, I walk inside with a scowl on my face.
She’s standing behind the counter, and when Caroline notices me— she smiles in greeting, as if she had been expecting me all along.
“What did you do to me?” I hiss, placing my hands on the counter and leaning toward her. “You put something in my tea. Did you drug me?”
The accusation floats heavily between us.
Caroline is quiet for a second, before she tosses her head back and laughs. “Oh, I love hearing this every time.” She shakes her head, her eyes fill with mirth. “No, Sugar. I did not drug you. The herbal tea is really just tea, nothing else. But it’s a healing tea. It’s supposed to soothe your body and calm your mind.”
I blink, confused. “I had a dream. Was I supposed to have a dream?”
“Yes.” Caroline nods. “The dream is supposed to be your moment of realization.”
My chest hurts, the pain almost crippling. I make a sound of distress in the back of my throat and Coraline stares at me, her brows pulled together in slight confusion.
“You’ve seen your choice in your dream,” she tells me slowly. “ It showed you who your heart truly desires. Love is not meant to be this complicated. Your dream was clear. So why are you still stalling?
I swallow thickly, past the lump in my throat. “Because my dream means that I have to break his heart.”
“Love is always accompanied with tragedy. It’s inevitable.”
“He doesn’t deserve it.” I shake my head. Hot tears sting my eyes as I hold them back from spilling over my cheeks.
“Heartbreak is part of life.” She tsks.
Caroline pats the back of my head, giving me a sympathetic look. “Make your choice before it’s too late, Riley.”
I stumble away from the counter, my chest tightening with despair.
Make your choice before it’s too late, Riley.
Her words echo in my ears.
… before it’s too late…
I numbly walk out of Caroline’s shop. Standing outside, in the cold winter air, I take out my phone and call him.
He answers on the first ring. “Riley,” he breathes, and I hear the relief in his voice.
“Grayson.”