REDEMPTION | MAFIA ROMANCE | SMUT

CHAPTER THIRTY

Letting go of Kathy is the most complex challenge to date. We were best friends once upon a time. I needed no other with her at my side. Losing her is like losing a part of myself. Her death was more than bereavement. It felt like abandonment.

If only I could have found her sooner.

I have lived in my sister's shadow since the moment I pushed onto two feet and wobbled behind her. I traipsed in her footsteps and learnt from her mistakes and solved her problems while she solved mine.

I would sell my soul to the devil if I could reach into the past and bring her back.

Now, I have to exist in a world without her, and that hurts more than she will ever know.

I sealed the final box of Kathy's belongings. I held onto photos and keepsakes, but everything else had to go.

For me to move on, I had to open a new book and start the first chapter. Who knows how the story ends? It will be an adventure if nothing else. I get to rewrite the past and control my own destiny.

A member of the syndicate conveyed boxes to the car, ready for the charity shop. I hope someone finds value in her possessions.

"Anything else?" the straight-faced man asked.

"No." Watching the Suit set the last box into the car boot, I hugged myself. "Thank you."

Not wanting to stand on the side of the road and watch him drive away, I returned to the penthouse and spent the afternoon cleaning. Well, I faffed with cushions, emptied the dishwasher and polished marble furniture. Liam's home is immaculate, so it's hard to find any mess.

Nonetheless, the quick potter helped to take my mind off everything.

After a long shower, I sat cross-legged on the bed. I had to escape these four walls before I drove myself around the bend. Changing into the club's uniform, I applied makeup and spent extra time on my hair as it lacked lustrousness. Slipping my feet into heeled shoes, I grabbed the spare key card for the penthouse and freed myself from grief.

***

"You're back?" Josh hauled me in for a tight bear hug the second I arrived at the club. "I missed you way too much for it to be considered normal." He tucked his hands into his trouser pockets. "It kinda sucks arse when you're not around."

I am not in a good place mentally or emotionally, I am far from over my sister's death. In saying that, I need some level of normalcy in life.

"I missed you, too."

The night I returned to work, everything passed in disorienting fuzziness. I zoned out numerous times, smashed an excessive number of glasses and even allowed Natalie to continue her blabbering disapprovals without counterattack.

Liam called me to his office and expressed stern gratitude for my return. His nonchalant and platonic demeanour had puzzled me, considering we'd slept together the night before, but I suppose his professionalism at work made sense.