Let It Be Me (Triplets book 1)

Chapter 21

The road trip, which was designed to keep Ophelia away until everything blew over, did not go as planned. The news about her and the Richards men had gone down a rabbit hole with multiple sources making up new stories hourly. Someone had even alluded to the fact that she was having an affair with Paloma too.

Ophelia arrived back in L.A. ten days later, and much to her relief Sullivan had had to go to New York for business reasons. It only took Ophelia a few days to realize that her presence was a hindrance and in no way helpful. Reyna was in a rehab center, and the center had requested that she cease visiting her for the time being because her arrival caused too much chaos.

With sadness in her heart, she gave Reyna and Pops her resignation.

There were tears, words of love and support, and the promise that when it all blew over, she would come back and things would be normal again, but Ophelia knew that you could never go back. If Oak Island had taught her anything, it was that very fact.

It took her a day to pack up her belongings and another day to write all the necessary passwords, phone numbers, and any additional useful information down for her replacement. When it came time to leave, Sawyer helped her load up her boxes and then held her while she cried. There were no words of comfort that would make it better, and he knew better than to bring up Sullivan. He promised her he would take good care of Polly until her master returned and that he would make sure to help Reyna and Pops with everything they needed.

As she drove away, she refused to look back, and when she reached the gate, the press made it impossible to do anyway.

Ophelia spent the next few months traveling around the country, seeing some of the places she always wanted to see, New Orleans, Memphis, Santa Fe. She drove without rhyme and reason, never staying in one place too long. Eventually, she stopped seeing her face on the tabloids' covers and figured it was time to settle somewhere.

Shay was the only one she had remained in contact with during her travels. She had to turn her work phone into Reyna, which left her with her personal phone only, and she asked Shay to repay her favor and keep her number to herself, but Ophelia would call her weekly and ask for updates on Reyna. Reyna was home and had made a full recovery, although she wasn't quite ready for work yet. Pops had taken a roll as an Army general and was in fine form, bossing everyone around. Shay said the girl who had taken Ophelia's place had bitten her nails to the quick and could barely string two words together whenever Sullivan or Sawyer were around. Sawyer was well and taking some time off to hang out in Florida, although he wouldn't say why, and Sullivan was busy editing his masterpiece film that had wrecked the family. Shay was unusually quiet about herself.

Realizing it was time to settle down before she completely drained her savings, Ophelia landed in New York. It was as good a place as any to get lost in a crowd. She had worked as a live-in personal assistant for a while, but her employers were not Reyna, and it was miserable. After about six months, she had enough saved to take a lesser paying job.

It was the first time in a long time that fortune had smiled on Ophelia. She landed a job at a unique bookstore that was also a coffee shop and art gallery. There were frequent open mic nights, art showings, and Indy-film showings. It was a stimulating place.

It was located in an old four-story brownstone. The basement was the bookstore and coffee shop, the ground floor was where the galleries were located, and the second and third floor housed an office, living area, kitchen, and five bedrooms. These bedrooms were given to staff willing to take a much lower rate of pay for their room and board. Ophelia lucked into one of these rooms.

Ophelia loved her new job. She did everything from making coffee, stocking shelves, setting up for events, to cleaning bathrooms when necessary. The owner, Annsa, was a forty-something woman with vibrant red hair who always wore flowing clothes that surrounded her like a cloud.