𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 (𝟏𝟖+) √

24

ROSE

The dinner went as smoothly as it was possible. The horror on mother's face when Ryland announced he would be retreating and allowing me full ownership over the company was something that was bound to become a dear memory of mine. Her eyes held so much confusion that was almost laughable how pathetic it looked.

Of course, dad's expression wasn't too far off from hers. Instead of horror, it was shock. While Ryland was busy explaining everything that was going on, of course, lying his ass off, dad's eyes were on me.

I was never the one to quiver or to feel intimidated at the mere eye contact, but it was fun seeing him slowly getting pissed off that I was silent, not looking at him and not interested in the topic. I was sipping on the wine, hiding the smirk behind the glass.

''And neither one of you thought of consulting us before this decision was made?'' Although mother tried to sound pleasant, her voice was definitely anything but.

I rolled my eyes. 'When, exactly? Before or after I was shipped to my lovely grandmother? Or, perhaps, was it supposed to be squeezed somewhere in between your divorce announcement?''

''You little—''

''What?'' I challenged her, with a calm expression whilst she had nothing but fury on her face, ''what is it that you want to call me? You've already called me every name under the Sun, do you seriously have any more?''

Her teeth gritted together. ''I didn't raise you to act like this.''

''You didn't raise her at all.''

I was dumbfounded. Ryland stood up for me, for the first time in my life. For a solid minute, I thought it was my imagination playing tricks on me. I couldn't remember the last time I saw him having such a serious look on his face. Most of the time, he was an asshole who was inconsiderate, arrogant and self-centered.

Though, I wasn't delusional enough to confuse his words for caring. Ryland was doing this for his own, selfish reasons. One of them being the lack of freedom he also suffered from. This would ensure he could spend his best years doing anything he wished for, until it was time for him to settle down and get serious.

My rebellious phase didn't last long and truthfully, I had enough of being a rebel. It brought nothing but heartache, and I had to learn the hard way that irrelevant of how much I put my mind to something, a lot of things won't work just because I wanted them to.

A painful lesson, but a lesson nonetheless.

''Enough,'' dad's stern voice broke the staring contest between a mother and a son, and both of them turned their attention to the man speaking. ''If that's what the two of you wish, I have no reason to oppose to it.''

I sighed out in relief.

''However,'' of course I was happy too soon, ''I'll have a contract ready. I want us to have a family meal at least twice a month.''

The animalistic sound that left my mouth had all of them flabbergasted. Blinking, I glanced at my brother who was as confused as I was.

''Was that not something you should've thought about before you two filed for a divorce?''

Dad was definitely fed up with my bluntness. He gulped down the wine, before pouring another one. It felt like an eternity had passed before he was done drowning himself in wine, and decided to grace us with his response.

''Just because our marriage did not work out, it doesn't mean our family has to completely fall through.'' He paused for a moment, ''So, what do you kids say?''

Ryland's eyes were wide, as if begging me to for a response. I shrugged my shoulders, not sure whether or not to accept this deal.

On one hand, it was manageable. It would be four hours a month, maximum. Nice restaurants, silence and good food. But, on the other hand, lord knew how long he wanted it to last.

''For how long?'' I cleared my throat upon asking the question.

''A year.''

''Deal.'' I spoke before consulting, silently, with my brother, but he didn't seem to mind it. Mother was too quiet, and for the rest of the evening, she did not utter a single word. Although Ryland did direct some questions towards her, she would simply look away, or down at her plate.

Now that the company issues have been resolved, all it left was for me to mend my broken heart. Honestly, how could I have been so stupid?

As stupid as it sounded, I regretted it all. Regretted setting my eyes on him, meeting him, loving him. He was never destined to be mine, and had I been smarter, I would've seen it from the beginning.

The main reason I regretted it beyond words was because I was aware of just how much he had affected my life. If he appeared in front of my door right now, I would take him, open arms, and would never let go.

That was just how pathetic I was.

—

''What do you think about this?''

Sam's voice rang in my ears. Slowly, I looked away from my phone and tilted my head to the side. She was trying to find an outfit for a wedding that was going to take place next month. This was the fifth dress she tried on in the last hour, and I was getting tired.

''That's the one!'' Despite being bored, I didn't allow her to notice the lack of enthusiasm.

Sam deadpanned. ''You said that for every single one.''

''They all look great on you. And, it's still a month away, you have more than enough time to carefully look through, or even buy something new.''

''True.''

Sam packed up all the dresses she brought to my place, and got ready to leave. It was getting late, and for whatever reason, my headache was simply not going anywhere. It felt as if someone was constantly slamming a damn hammer into my head.

''Hey,'' Sam called out from the door, ''You have a package.''

My brows furrowed as I stood up, ignoring the pain. It was definitely too late for anyone to drop it off. I took it out of her hands, and bid her goodbye. The door slammed loudly, and it only provoked another wave of pain.

''What in the world is this?'' I was mumbling to myself. Sitting down on my bed, I looked at the box carefully. It was a dark blue box, and nothing was written on it. It was wrapped in the same colored bow, and I was too eager to find out the contents of it.

I threw the lid, and it fell next to my feet with almost no sound.

My hands were shaking, and brows furrowed. It had nothing but a small recorder and an envelope. I blinked, and took the paper out, opening it, and revealing a letter.

My heart raced. My mind went into an over drive. Could this possibly be from Tobias?

Despite the rational side of my brain discouraging the delusion, my heart told me otherwise. I recognized his handwriting. I didn't even start to read the content of it, yet, my eyes watered. The letter in front of me was getting blurry and I was desperate to shake the tears off, yet I couldn't.

Why?

Why did he send me this?

Why?

Why did he want to torture me like this?

Why?