Chapter 11
I had accumulated years of memories in this penthouse, but in the end, what mattered fit
d fit into one suitcase.
0
The rooms were filled with expensive things Adrian had bought after regaining his memory–designer clothes, jewelry, furniture.
None of it held traces of Rain, of the man who’d made paper flowers because we couldn’t afford real ones]
“Travel light to go far,” I whispered, touching the rough wooden box Rain had made for me one last time.
Everything here screamed of Adrian’s need to erase our simple past with expensive replacements.
I was leaving it all behind – both the man who’d loved me and the one who’d forgotten how.
[
Adrian was waiting in the living room when I emerged, his eyes locking onto my single suitcase. Something frantic flickered behind his practiced coldness.
“Most of my things are staying,” I said quietly.
“You can throw them out if they’re in the way.” I meant it practically–Sophia would need the space – but something dangerous flashed across his face.
He laughed, the sound hollow and sharp.
“What the fuck is this
is now? The check didn’t work, so you’re pulling this runaway bullshit?” His voice cracked slightly, betraying the
panic beneath his rage.
“How long is this supposed to last? Three days? Ten? Until I come begging like some fucking idiot?”
I wouldn’t be coming back at all. This wasn’t just leaving Adrian – I was finally letting Rain go too.
But telling him now would ruin everything, so I stayed silent, wheeling my suitcase toward the door.
The crystal tumbler exploded at my feet, alcohol and glass spraying across the floor.]
“For fuck’s sake, Biley,” Adrian’s voice shook with barely contained fury, but his eyes were red rimmed, desperate.
your emotional bullshit You
“You walk out that fucking door, we’re done. No more games, no more chances. I won’t keep dealing with yo want to leave? Fine. But don’t you dare come crawling back.”
I stepped over the shattered glass without looking back. Each step took me further from both of them the gentle soul who’d saved me and the cold stranger who’d replaced him
Behind me, I heard more crashes- Adrian’s composure shattering like the objects he was destroying.[]
The sounds followed me to the elevator, each crash a reminder of the two men I was leaving behind-
Rain, who’d died in that accident three years ago, and Adrian Chase, who’d risen from those ashes to break my heart.
