Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Pain moved through my chest. “I don’t know if that’s in the cards for me.”
“Primrose moved on because she thought you had broken up with her,” Candace said. “But I guarantee you, she doesn’t regret having her daughter, despite everything.”
“Of course she doesn’t,” I agreed.
“You don’t need to be hopelessly in love with someone to start a life and have children.” She looked around. “Imagine being able to create a new story for this place.”
“I thought you were hoping for a miracle with Primrose. Now you think I should knock someone else up?” I challenged.
“Well, of course I’m hoping for a miracle. But the reality is, you can’t wait your entire life for her to come to her senses. There’s always the chance that she’ll just love you in secret and marry her daughter’s father. I think if she goes through with this wedding, that should be your sign to move on.”
I nodded.
“When is the wedding?” Chandler asked.
“A little over five months away.”
He sighed. “Well, then, you’ll know fairly soon, right?”
“Right.”
Candace frowned. “Well, like I said, if she marries him, you do need to find a way to move on, even if you fake it ’til you make it.”
I’d done a lot of faking it in my lifetime but never when it came to my feelings. Not sure how I’d pretend to be in love when my heart belonged to someone else.
***
Later that evening, the phone rang. When I saw Primrose’s name on the screen, I couldn’t pick it up fast enough. “Hey.”
She let out a breath. “Hi.”
“I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
“I know.”
I wiped sweat from my forehead. “What’s up?”
“How have you been doing since returning to California?”
“Things are okay. Trying to acclimate to the mansion again. Spent the day with Chandler and Candace, actually. They stopped by.”
“Ah.” She paused. “That’s great that you have them nearby again.”
There was something off about her tone. Dread filled me, and I tightened every muscle in my body in preparation for the worst. “What’s going on, Primrose? I sense something in your voice.”
When she didn’t immediately say anything, I realized what was happening here before she managed to get it out. Trying to sound strong, I said, “I’ve got all night...take your time. But I have a feeling I know what’s coming.”
“You do?”
“You’re marrying him. You’re trying to figure out a way to let me down easy. Am I right?”
Rather than dispute it, she remained silent. That was all the confirmation I needed.
“There’s no such thing as making this easy for me, Primrose. I’m never going to want a life without you. But I have to accept whatever you decide is best for you.”
Acceptance was one thing. But it would be a while before the devastation wore off. The feeling of having been punched in the gut made me realize just how much I had been hanging on to the dream of getting to be with her again. I certainly hadn’t expected her to come to this conclusion so soon.
She finally spoke, her voice shaky. “I want to give my daughter the life I never had. That’s what’s most important right now. And you don’t deserve to be strung along. You’ve been through enough. I didn’t want to waste any more of your time.”
I closed my eyes, reluctant to speak. She’d hear the pain and sheer devastation in my voice.
“I’ll always cherish you, Dorian. I…just need to do what’s best for my family.”
I’d somehow thought I was still her family. But I wasn’t. The trauma from my abandonment had influenced this decision, too. She’d never be able to trust me the way she trusted him, a man who had no history of letting her down. And she’d never be able to give Rosie the life she felt her daughter deserved if she were to choose me.
I understood it. Even if it killed me.
I’d prepared for this moment, yet I didn’t know what to say now that it was finally here. I hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to be rejected by the only woman I’d ever loved. I felt foolish for having fantasized about her showing up at my door, telling me she couldn’t live without me and that despite everything, we could make it work if we loved each other.
Someone else would get to see her walking down the aisle toward him. Someone else would get to love her. Primrose and I were done.
We’re really done.
“You need to do what you need to do, Primrose,” I managed to mutter.
“I feel terrible for doing this to you after everything we’ve been through, but I didn’t want to put it off.”
“I’ll be fine,” I told her. The last thing I wanted was to make her feel guilty for putting her child first. It was hard to argue with that decision. “You’re not doing anything to me. Don’t look at it that way. You’re just choosing to continue living the life I interrupted when I came to Ohio. Everything that transpired has been my fault, my doing.”