Chapter 30
Fracture
A knock echoed through the stillness of Kate’s suite. Her heart leapt. Was it Nick? No, that was ridiculous. He wouldn’t come here, and he wouldn’t be using the front door. Still, a spark of hope smoldered.
She tiptoed to the door, heart thudding against her ribs like a trapped bird, and peered through the viewer. A bellman stood there, a note clutched in his hand. Her heart sank.
With a shaky breath, she unlocked the door and opened it. “Yes?” Kate asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Good morning, Ms. Danvers. I have a note for you.” He handed her the envelope, his expression polite, before disappearing down the path.
Shutting the door behind him, she stared at the envelope. Her name was printed on the front, nothing else. Unease coiled in her gut, tightening with every second like a snake preparing to strike. She tore it open and pulled out a single sheet of paper. The words hit her like a punch:
Go back where you belong. This is your only warning.
Dread swelled inside her, a dark wave crashing over the last remnants of hope. But then, something ignited beneath that dread, a surge of anger burning hot in her chest. Great. Just what she needed—vague threats from some coward.
She crumpled the note viciously, the sharp crackle of paper tearing loud in the quiet room before she tossed it away like yesterday’s trash.
The clock chimed ten; the sound cutting through her despair. She grabbed her phone with trembling fingers and dialed Callie’s number. Desperation clawed at her throat, urging her to reach out, to find some solace in her friend’s voice.
Isolation clung to her like a heavy blanket, smothering and inescapable. Ever since she’d run from Nick, the weight of her decision had pressed down on her lungs until she could barely breathe—she’d cried enough to fill an ocean. Emotions still swelled within her, threatening to spill over.
“Callie...” As soon as Callie picked up, the dam broke. Tears spilled down her cheeks, hot and fast, each sob laced with disbelief that tore from somewhere deep inside.
“Oh god, what’s happened? Tell me, Kate.” Callie’s voice snapped with concern.
“I broke up with Nick,” she sobbed as she sank onto the sofa, the cushions enveloping her like a cloud even as sorrow weighed her down like lead. Images of the bar, of Jessa, flashed in her mind—shards of hurt and anger swirling together in a dizzying kaleidoscope.
“Last night, I went to the bar for dinner. It should have been a nice evening, but I was sitting there chatting with Walter when this disgustingly gorgeous blonde strutted up to the bar. She looked like a model straight out of a magazine, and she demanded to know where Nick was. She said she was engaged to him, and my heart just… stopped.” The words caught in her throat, jagged and painful.
“Holy shit, Kate. Are you serious? That slime! How could he ask you out when he was engaged?” Callie’s outrage crackled through the phone like electricity, pulling Kate back from the edge of despair.
“That’s what I thought!” Kate replied, her voice shaky, a knot tightening in her stomach until nausea rose. “I confronted him this morning at the beach. I told him everything, how Jessa had come up to the bar and how could he possibly do this to me? He denied knowing a Jessa.”
“Really? That’s odd. Tell me more. Let’s start at the bar. Did you speak to the bimbo?” Callie urged, her tone encouraging yet probing.
The memory of that blonde’s smug smile burned in Kate’s mind like acid, each painful detail replaying as she tried to gather her thoughts amidst the storm of emotions churning within her.
“Jessa. No, she was talking to Walter, the bartender. I was right there and heard it all.” Her voice came out thin, stretched tight.
“Okay, how did Walter react? Bartenders know everything. He must know you’re staying in Nick’s guest suite, at least.”
“Yeah, he does. He served me at Tiki Beach the other day.” Kate took a deep breath, her lungs expanding against the constriction in her chest as she replayed last night in her mind, anxiety and confusion flooding through her veins like ice water.
“Actually, he looked concerned. He kept glancing at me, like he sensed something was off. I'm sure he’s heard the rumors about Nick and me being a couple.”
“And he didn’t know this Jessa?”
Kate searched her memory for Walter’s expression, the lines of bewilderment on his weathered face. “No, I don’t think so. He didn’t act familiar with her at all.”
“Okay, so what happened next? That brings us to this morning, right?”
“Yes.” She let out a shaky breath, remembering the endless hours of staring at the ceiling in the darkness, sleep a distant impossibility.
“I got up at dawn and went to the beach, hoping to clear my head. Instead, the same thoughts went round and round like a carousel. Nick always seemed so sincere, so genuine, yet Jessa was so adamant. She didn’t know me, didn’t know I’d care about what she said to Walter.
Why would she lie?” Confusion and doubt twisted through her gut like broken glass.
“You’re right. Your relationship isn’t public, even if the staff are gossiping about you staying in his suite. Tell me again about when you talked to Nick this morning. What exactly did he say?”
Kate furrowed her brows, trying to pull the memory into focus through the fog of pain.
“He denied it all. Said he didn’t know what I was talking about, and that he’d never been engaged.
Or even serious about anyone.” She took a deep breath, the air stuttering in her lungs.
“He said he cared for me and asked for a chance to prove it. But I can’t get past Jessa’s presence.
She obviously thinks they have a serious relationship. ”
“Hmm. I don’t know what to say, Kate. I haven’t met them, so I can only go by what you have said. It sounds like he was surprised, but he could have been surprised that you found out about Jessa.”
Callie’s voice dropped a little, genuine sorrow threading through her words.
“I’m sorry, Kate. I know how much you liked him.
I really wanted this to work for you. And maybe it still will.
Maybe this is all a mistake of some kind.
Are you sure you don’t want to talk to Nick some more and get more definite answers? Give him the chance he asked for?”
Kate’s aching heart answered for her. “I don’t think so.
” The words came out flat, heavy, each syllable weighing a thousand pounds.
Would an answer this morning have made a difference?
Her thoughts raced, swirling around like leaves caught in a restless wind, never settling, never giving her peace. “I don’t see a solution here.”
A familiar ache of loneliness settled in, hollow and echoing. “Anyway, I need to go. I need to write.”
“Okay, hon. We’ll talk later. Call whenever.”
As Kate hung up, silence enveloped her, thick and suffocating like a shroud.
She turned toward the window, a film of tears threatened to spill over, blurring the outside world.
The palm trees and blue sky melted into watercolor smears.
She had known this would happen. Deep down, she had always known it.
She’s just not enough. She’s never enough.
The thought stabbed through her like a knife, sharp and familiar, an old wound reopened.
Her breath hitched as tears welled in her eyes again, burning hot behind her lids before spilling over to trace paths down her already tear-stained cheeks.