AGAINST THE TIDE Book #2

Chapter Eleven: Understanding

Marcelle's POV
"Seats were invented for sitting." Ethan pointed out after watching me pace for quite some time. He patted the spot right next to him. "Or anywhere else you want to sit."

I sat in the armchair looking at a portrait of him and Ella. When he told me he's in Manhattan, I came over because I didn't want to be alone in a hotel room and do something stupid. I don't trust myself right now. Vee is at the penthouse and it's the only property I own in Manhattan. By the end if this day I would like to know where this relationship goes. Five hours us long enough for her to decide.

"I think my relationship with Vee is over."

"That's uh... sudden and it sounds final."

"It is. How can a relationship thrive in the absence of trust?"

"Trust is key in any relationship." He agrees with me. "Why doesn't she trust you or are you the one who doesn't trust her?"

"I trust her. She does not trust me. She seems to be convinced that I will cheat on her."

"And have you given her reason to think so?"

I squeezed the bridge of my nose. "No. Not that I know of other than being constantly harassed by women. Reina paid her a visit. Then some woman stole my phone and had the nerve to answer when Vee called. Other than that, she seems to have a reason that I can't seem to understand. Have you met Vee?"

"Yeah. At the fund raising of Bale Industries. It was your first public appearance with her. She's beautiful."

All of my make friends think so. I want to introduce her to one of my closest friends. He'll be in Manhattan tomorrow. If we will still be together, they can meet.

"Be straight with me on something. Am I in over my head with her? Is it even going to work?"

Ethan sighed. "Honestly, she's too young for you. That's just my honest opinion. However, who can question the way hearts work? I hear she's an orphan."

"Yes she is."

"And she grew up in an orphanage with nothing that was her own."

"Yes."

"Then she met you and you introduced her to a very different world from what she was used to. Your world where material things are in abundance. You didn't just take a poor girl and put her in a penthouse at the heart of the Upper East Side, you gave her something she has never had."

"And what is that?"

"Something of her own." Ethan smiled at me. "You gave her somewhere to belong and someone to call her own."

"And what his wrong with that?"

"In itself, nothing. In fact, it's a great thing for someone like Vee. She must value everything in her care. But the problem is that she may never accept it. She can't accept that she doesn't have to struggle anymore. She's struggling to accept that you are part of her life. She probably fears that someday she will wake up and you'll be a dream. If her mind is wired that way, then it's fear that is the biggest obstacle between you two. The fear of losing you hinders her from trusting that what you have is real. So she ends up questioning everything."

"When did you become a shrink?"

He burst out laughing. "I hear it runs in the family. But seriously, Ella works with orphans and sometimes I help out. Talking to these kids has taught me a lot."

My mom and sisters are all part of a foundation that helps homeless people, orphans and abused women.

"So it's not that she doesn't trust me."