The board called an impromptu meeting, the request coming through to my phone at five in the morning.
I didn’t catch a moment of sleep. The last two days have been pure hell.
The moment I left Lex and Amelia in the lobby, I did so to distract Lex from thinking something is going on between Amelia and me. I went back to my office, only to have to deal with Luciana, who witnessed it all. I half expected her to lecture me on dating someone younger, but she simply expressed her sympathy, then left me alone.
Lex never showed up for our meeting, and Amelia disappeared. I tried calling Ava, but she had no clue what was going on. After attempting to call Amelia repeatedly, the calls end up going to voicemail. I sounded like a goddamn maniac.
Andy finally texts me, telling me she’s safe with Charlie but needs some time alone.
Fuck. Charlie came to the city.
Deep inside, I know we’re in troubled waters, that our relationship is about to be tested, and we aren’t the only ones involved. Amelia finally texted me and made it clear that she needed a break from us.
The anger and pain soared through me, even more so because she didn’t respond when I asked her if I was worth the fight.
With only my phone in hand, unshaven with no sleep, I slip into the boardroom to see my entire executive team at the table. I sit at my usual spot before everyone straightens their posture when the king himself walks in.
I lower my head, refusing to give him any respect, directing my attention to Jeff, who calls the meeting to begin.
“Let’s make this quick since this meeting wasn’t planned for today,” he begins, sliding a piece of paper in front of me. “We need you in London, now. All shareholders in our newly purchased European division have signed on the proviso that you’re stationed in London effective Monday of next week. You’ll need to leave tomorrow.”
My jaw begins to ache, my teeth pressing down hard, causing a shooting pain up the side of my face. The conditions on the contract jumble my mind, not able to comprehend. All I can compute is the five-year lease on the building and penthouse in which I’m expected to reside.
The silver tip of the pen hovers above the piece of paper in front of me.
My lips press together in a slight grimace as all eyes inside the boardroom fall upon my every move.
All I have to do is sign my name—a simple task I’ve done many times.
Yet, the repercussion of such an easy action will onset tremendous suffering. I felt it the moment I stepped into the room only ten minutes ago, to last night when I lay wide awake unable to shut down my thoughts. Everywhere I turn, and every breath I take isn’t without a constant ache that has long buried itself inside me.
This pain, unbearable and consuming, is what we have become.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Romano?”
My gaze lifts, the head of our legal team, Jeff, quizzing me with a frustrated stare. His team worked non-stop to make this deal happen. Our company was against all odds, yet we persisted and won the final bid. Purchasing this other company will expand our name in the tech industry and officially make us a billion-dollar empire.
This is everything I’ve worked hard for in my career—the long hours, non-existent social life, constant travel, and stress associated with starting up a new company. All of it has come to fruition.
Then she walks back into my life.
Amelia Edwards.
She’s no longer the annoying kid who would torment me with her childish games, and I’m no longer the teenage boy who would entertain her to avoid the wrath of my mother and aunt.
Our families have ties, strong ties, something neither of our mothers let us forget over the years. Unlike many other families, we’re bonded by the timing of the past and not connected through sharing the same blood or gene pool.
Perhaps, in the chaos of what we have become, it’s our way of justifying our actions.
The biggest surprise I never expected to take my breath away that afternoon several months ago is how Amelia turned into this beautiful woman. The very reason why my emotions fucked with my head, causing me to hesitate in front of our executive team.
Her body isn’t supposed to be so irresistible to the point that I crave her every goddamn moment. I’ve been with many women, but no one has ever owned me like she does when we’re alone. And maybe I shouldn’t have succumbed to my desires and taken her selfishly to satisfy my craving her innocence.
But in return, she did something which rendered me speechless. Something a man, older and more experienced, should’ve known better.
She made me fall in love with her.
“I repeat Jeff’s question since perhaps you didn’t hear it,” Lex voices coldly, unforgiving with his tone. “Is there a problem?”
Across the room, the most powerful man I know watches me with an uninviting stare. His fingertips drum against the woodgrain table. The shade of his usually vibrant green eyes has turned almost black.
Anyone else caught in his unrelenting stare would’ve recoiled and signed the contract. But as the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach begins to alleviate, it’s instantly replaced with resentment.
He left me no choice.
My company’s future is in his hands. We need him to invest to complete this purchase, and all I have to do is sign this contract and move to London.
Away from Manhattan and away from his oldest daughter.
Beside me, my phone vibrates with a text appearing on the screen. Slowly, my eyes shift across to the notification. I keep my expression flat as the words tear through me like bullets ricocheting from a loaded gun.
Amelia: I will always choose him.
With these five words end everything between us. I’m left with no choice. Even if I give this all up for her, she’ll never be happy unless her father approves.
And I know for a fact he doesn’t want a man like me to be in a relationship with his daughter. We’ve been friends well before this, and for many years, he’s been a mentor and a father figure and treated me like his own son.
He knows I never cared for women unless it was for my own selfish physical needs. We often joked about my inability to settle down with anyone since all I care about is work. We’ve spent many nights just sitting at bars, drinking while talking about life. He knows me better than my own father, better than any man I’ve called a friend over the years.
But then it all shifted.
A complete turn of events in which, if he knew the extent of our relationship, he’d never approve.
I’m not stupid. He taught me everything I know, and when the master himself has taught you all his tricks, you know well enough that his proposal for me to move is because he knows the secret we’ve been keeping.
The forbidden affair between his nineteen-year-old daughter and me.
My throat begins to tighten, the same time my knuckles turn white around the pen still resting in my hand. Pressing hard against the paper, the pen glides across as the blank spot above the line is filled with my signature.
Without a thought, the pen falls against the table as my head slowly lifts to the ruthless stare of the man who pulls all the strings.
The same man who Amelia chooses over me.
Her father.
Lex Edwards.
The new stakeholder in my soon-to-be billion-dollar company.
I rise from my chair without a single word and exit the boardroom. Instead of going to my office, I walk the streets aimlessly, desperate for this pain to subside. Trying to gain some sort of control over this, I head back to my apartment to pack.
Inside my living room, all I see is her. Laying on my bed, all I see is her. Everywhere I look, the memories become as painful as the next. I stomp toward the liquor cabinet, not bothering to pull out a glass and drinking straight from the tequila bottle. Desperate to numb the pain, I busy myself by packing my suitcases, standing them near the door.
Lost in my misery, there’s a knock on the door.
Still dressed in the suit I wore today, I open the door to see Amelia on the other side.
Just like me, she appears worn out, even more so than the last time I saw her. I ache to touch her face but restrain myself, willing to shield myself from further pain.
“Can I come in?”
I pull the door completely open as she walks past me, keeping her distance.
“Will,” she breathes, lowering her gaze while tugging her sleeve. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for? Choosing your flesh and blood?”
Her lips press tight, still avoiding eye contact with me. “It’s too hard, we’re too hard together.”
My hands clench into fists until my head falls, hanging with a pained expression. The truth is we’re too hard together. We are tearing each other apart and fighting for something which neither one of us have the strength to fight anymore.
“I’m going to London.”
Her gaze lifts, then falls on the suitcases near the door. “You’re leaving?”
“I think it’s for the best.”
Silence falls between us, but then I allow myself to stare into her eyes one more time.
“Amelia, I never wanted to hurt you nor make you choose. But we’re at different stages in life. I can’t have you give up everything for me.”
“And I can’t have you give up everything you’ve worked hard for just for me.”
Our breathing echoes in the room, the weight of our gaze locked into a catatonic state. Neither of us blinks an eye until my hand reaches out to caress her cheek. She rests into my hand, a tear escaping her.
“Don’t say goodbye,” I tell her. “I need you to walk away.”
“But, Will…”
“I’m begging you,” I plead, struggling to control my emotions. “Please walk away to a life you deserve.”
Some may call it selfless to encourage Amelia to go live her life without me holding her down.
Or maybe I’m the selfish one. The second I step foot on English soil, I’ll have leveled up to billionaire status.
Lex Edwards officially won the bet.
Yet all the money in the world means nothing if I can’t have the woman I love.
The beautiful woman still standing in front of me.
Amelia Edwards.
