Chapter 10
I closed my laptop with a soft click, ending the Skype meeting I’d just wrapped up with a client about a project deadline. Work had become my sanctuary lately, a way to block out everything else. Across from me, Abby sat munching on a bag of chips, her eyes narrowing in disapproval.
“You know, you‘ ve been working too hard,” she said, shaking her head. “You‘ re practically burying yourself alive in it just to get over your previous life.”
“That’s the best way for me, Abby,” I replied, my voice steady but distant.
“It’s not,” she countered, popping another
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chip into her mouth. “Moreover, I think
Niklaus has been begging you to come back to him.”
I flinched slightly at the name but kept my expression neutral. “Yes. He’s stalking me too.”
“So?” she pressed, leaning forward with an
arched brow.
“So?” I repeated, avoiding her gaze. “Won’t you give him another chance?”
“My heart is locked,” I said flatly, though the lump forming in my throat betrayed my
emotions.
“Really?” she asked skeptically, her brow quirking higher.
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I shut my laptop harder than necessary, taking a deep breath to steady myself. “Even though I’m yet to completely get over him, it doesn’t mean I want to be in his life again.”
“You know him,” she said, exasperated. “He’s a billionaire, Rosalyn, and he’s been on your heels. Yet you‘ re rejecting him? That‘ s… a lot.”
‘So what?” I retorted, shrugging. “His money doesn’t change how I feel.”
Abby threw her hands up in mock surrender.
“I don’t care, but I know your mother won’t like to hear that you‘ ve ended things
with him.”
She was right. My mother adored Niklaus, practically idolized him. Since the day he
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came into our lives seven years ago and helped pay her medical bills, she‘ d
considered him the son she never had. That was why I hadn’t yet told her about the breakup.
“She‘ ll understand when I do tell her,” I finally said, though my voice wavered slightly.
Abby’s doubtful gaze lingered on me until a
knock at the door broke the tension. She jumped up, heading to answer it. A moment later, her voice rose in surprise. “You?”
I turned toward the door and froze. Cherry walked in, her presence instantly unwelcome. My stomach tightened. What was she doing
here?
Cherry’s eyes met mine, her expression
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unusually calm. “Please, can we talk, Rosalyn?” she asked softly.
Abby’s blunt response came sharp and swift. “What could you possibly have to say to her? Leave.”
Cherry ignored her, focusing entirely on me, her eyes silently pleading. I sighed. “Abby, give us a moment.”
Abby shot me a look that screamed are you serious? but eventually shrugged. “Fine. I’ll be in the other room if you need me.” She left reluctantly, closing the door with a loud
click.
Cherry glanced at the chair in front of me.
“Can I sit?” Her calm demeanor caught me off guard–where was her usual cockiness?
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I nodded stiffly, folding my arms as I watched her sit down. Her shoulders were hunched,
her movements tentative.
“What do you want, Cherry?” I asked coldly. “I’m no longer connected to you or your family in any way, so I can’t imagine why you‘ re here.”
She looked down, fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve. “It was me,” she said quietly.
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Cherry raised her head, her eyes glistening with guilt. “It was all my doing, Rosalyn. I pushed Niklaus and Melanie together.”
“What do you mean?” My voice was sharp, demanding answers.
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She inhaled shakily. “My boyfriend- Melanie’s cousin–said that if Melanie married Niklaus, she’d talk to her father about giving him a promotion at his company.”
I blinked, stunned. “Are you kidding me?”
“No,” she whispered. “I wanted Melanie to end up with Niklaus because she came from a family of higher status too.”
I leaned back in my chair, my arms tightening around myself. “I see. But that doesn’t matter to me anymore.”
“It does,” Cherry insisted. “Because Niklaus–he’s been living badly for weeks. His life is unstable, full of misery since you left him.‘
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“So he sent you to come talk to me?” I asked bitterly.
She shook her head quickly. “No. But I told my mother the truth about what I did, and when Niklaus found out, he lost it. Our relationship is fractured now. He’s angry, and… I just wanted to tell you the truth.”
“Why be so selfish, then?” I asked, my voice laced with contempt. “You destroyed lives for your gain.”
Her lips trembled as she whispered, “I didn’t mean to. But I care about my brother. I can’t stand watching his life fall apart because of my selfish desires. He wants you back in his life to function well.”
I stared at her, my expression unyielding.
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“I’m sorry, Cherry, but I can’t go back to him.”
Cherry’s eyes filled with tears as she
reached out toward me. “Please, Rosalyn. He needs you. He loves you. Don’t punish him for my mistakes.”
I shook my head, my resolve firm. “He’s a grown man, Cherry. He made his choices, just like you made yours. I’m done being a part of this.
Cherry sobbed quietly, her hands clasped together in desperation. But I remained unmoved, rising to my feet.
“I think we’re done here,” I said coolly, stepping past her toward the door.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, her voice
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breaking. “Please don’t walk away from him.”
I paused, my hand on the doorknob, but I didn’t turn around. “Do use the door, Cherry,” I said softly before walking out, leaving her sitting in her guilt.
