“Carmen.” I cut her off. “Please. No more arguing. It’s already done. The lease on your apartment is paid for the rest of the year, also. So there’s no need to worry about that.”
A pause.
She nodded again. “Thank you.”
I gave a short nod. “No worries.”
I didn’t mention that I also covered her health insurance for the rest of the year. Or that I planned to make sure her rent stayed paid even after that. I didn’t ask if she still had the ring. My mind didn’t need confirmation.
She didn’t.
Outside, the morning sky was clear. Too clear for a day like this. I wanted rain. Something dramatic. Something to match the wreckage I was holding in my chest.
Instead, everything looked golden.
“I’m sorry, by the way.” It just came out before I could stop it.
“What?” she asked.
I cleared my throat again. “I’m sorry. Back at the house, I was a little rough with you when we had sex. And I’m sorry. I know I’m usually gentle with you.”
She was quiet for what felt like forever, and I would pay millions for a peek into that mind.
“It’s okay. Did you forget I slapped you? I think we’re equal.”
I scoffed. “Still. I’m sorry.”
“Well,” she muttered. “I’m sorry too.” She looked at me then. “What’s gonna happen with the house? What are you gonna do with it?”
“Hm,” I thought about it for a second. It never occurred to me what would happen to the house. I built that house for her. So it would wait for her.
“Nothing,” I said finally. “It’s your place, Carmen. I built it for you. It serves no purpose without you.”
“Theo. I—” She looked away again. I could practically feel her mind running a mile a minute with all the things she wanted to say. “I hope I can come back to it—someday.”
Yeah.
I pulled into the private entry and drove up to the jet waiting for us.
“I’ll walk you up,” I said quietly as I stopped the car.
“No need,” she replied, unbuckling her seatbelt. But I got out of the car anyway.
She didn’t argue.
I helped her grab her bags from the trunk. The same suitcases she’d packed two weeks ago, back when we were still joking about how she overpacked.
Now she couldn’t wait to drag it away from me.
I stood there while she double-checked she had everything before handing her things to the crew. My throat felt like it was closing up. I had so many things I wanted to say.
None of them were worth sharing at this moment.
She looked up at me—eyes glassy, jaw tight.
“I’ll… I’ll text when I land,” she said.
“Okay.”
