Page 53 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

Godspeed.

Final Day.

I didn’t sleep.

Again .

After I looked in on Carmen, who was still asleep, I was at the office by seven, sitting at my desk with a coffee I hadn’t touched and a spreadsheet open I hadn’t looked at. Everything felt loud and too quiet at the same time.

Carter showed up around nine and tossed his bag on the chair across from me.

“H.R. called. Congratulations, Vince officially resigned. I have a list of potential applicants for his—” he stopped himself when he took in my appearance. “You look like shit.”

“Good morning to you too.”

He didn’t let up. “What happened?”

I didn’t answer. I just kept staring at the numbers on my screen, like they meant something.

“Is this about Carmen?”

My jaw tightened.

“You two good?” he pushed, and I stayed quiet.

Carter sat down slowly. “Please tell me you two didn’t break up.”

“We did.”

His chair creaked when he leaned forward. “What?”

“We broke up.” I finally looked up. “I told her I think we should end things, and she leaves today. I’ll pick her up soon to drop her off at the airport.”

His eyebrows shot up. “And you’re gonna let her leave?!”

I didn’t respond. I just leaned back in my chair and rubbed my face.

“You love her,” he said, like I needed reminding.

“I do.”

“So why would you let her go?”

“What am I supposed to do?” I said, clearly exhausted. “I proposed and she returned my ring. It’s for the best that she goes back to New York.”

“Theodore,” he sighed. “I watched you build a fucking life around her. You love the fuck out of that girl. Now she pushes back one time, and you fold?”

“She didn’t just ‘push back’,” I snapped, more defensively than I meant to. “She was hurt. And I hurt her. She didn’t trust me, and she had every reason not to.”

“So that’s it? You punish yourself and let her go?”

“It’s not punishment,” I muttered, staring down at my desk. “It’s reality. I crossed a line with her. I made decisions that weren’t mine to make. I became someone she didn’t recognize. Did I expect her to give me back the ring? No. But her doing that told me everything. It’s best to call it off.”

He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “You don’t get to pull the noble martyr card, man. You messed up. So fix it. That’s what you do when you love someone.”

“I don’t think she wants me to.”

“Did she say that?”

I hesitated. “She did when she gave me the ring back.”

“That’s not an answer, Theo. That’s a reaction.”

I stood up, needing movement, or space. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see her face. She looked at me like I’d taken something from her.”

Carter watched me pace. “Did you?”

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “Her trust.”

There was a long pause.

“I don’t know how to come back from that.”

“You do,” he said. “You just don’t think you deserve to.”

That stopped me cold.

I looked at him, every inch of me stretched thin, barely holding. “Maybe I don’t.”

“Then what was the point of building all this?” Carter gestured around the office and the city skyline beyond it. “Why are you still here, and not spending every waking moment trying to earn her trust back?”

I didn’t answer. Because I didn’t have one.

Carter stood. “If she’s still here, talk to her. As the man who loves her. Own what you did and don’t run from it.”

“Carter, just—” I started before pinching the bridge of my nose. “Gimme a minute alone. Please.”

He stared at me for a minute before he picked up his bag and paused at the door. “If you let her walk out of your life without fighting for her, you’re gonna regret it every damn day.”

Then he left.

And I stood there, staring out the window.

I didn’t go back to my desk after Carter left. Couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t think.

So I stepped out and took a walk around the building.

The space moved fast around me, but my mind kept circling the same silence I’d left behind that morning. I checked my watch; 10:37 a.m.

It was almost time to pick her up, and I wondered if I was making the right choice.

By the time I got back to the office, I picked up my phone, almost expecting a missed call or something from Carmen, but all I found was a text from Kassandra.

Kass : You free to talk?

I sat at my desk and hesitated for all of three seconds before calling her. She picked up on the first ring.

“Hey,” she said.

“ Hey ?” I echoed. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks, and all you have to say is ‘Hey’?”

“I’ve been preoccupied, if you haven’t realized.”

“Oh, I realized.” I leaned back in the chair, pressing my thumb against my temple. “You still mad at me for what happened?”

She sighed. “I was never mad at you, Theo. You’re my little brother. I never should’ve involved you in my mess to begin with. I didn’t expect him to call you.”

“I know. I should’ve played dumb. Or just not answered.”

“Theo,” she said gently, “it’s good. You’re good. Please. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” I paused. “How are you? With the courts and everything?”

There was silence before she said, “Well…we decided to call off the divorce.”

“…What?”

“Yeah. We talked. Outside of everything, and decided to give it another go.”

My face screwed up in confusion. “And…he just forgave you?”

“No.” Her voice was honest. “No, he just agreed to try again.”

I blinked, letting that land. “After everything? He still wants to give you another chance?”

“Theodore.” She dragged like she used to do when I was in trouble. “Listen to me. Relationships are really fucking complicated. Especially when the trust has been broken and everything about your relationship is put to the test.”

“Don’t I fucking know it,” I mumbled under my breath. My gaze wandered to the ceiling, where it stayed for longer than I noticed.

“Theo,” Kassandra said, “you still there?”

“Yeah.” I rubbed my jaw. “I’m just…surprised, that’s all.”

“Trust me, nobody’s more surprised than me. But sometimes distance gives you perspective.”

I swallowed hard, shifting in the chair. Her words hit a little too close to home.

I didn’t say anything, and Kass kept talking.

“We’ve both changed a lot over the years, and I think we stopped seeing each other clearly. I don’t know how it’ll end, but I know I want to give it a real shot again. Not just for Ava. For us. Because we loved each other enough to try again.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. My fingers tapped a slow rhythm against the armrest.

Carmen had seen me clearly.

That’s what scared me. She saw through all my big gestures and good intentions and still said no.

“You’re quiet,” Kass said.

“I’m listening.”

She let out a soft laugh. “That’s a first.”

I cracked a tired smile. “Don’t get used to it.”

We fell into a short silence, but it wasn’t the awkward kind. Finally, Kass said, “Mom called me.”

My hand paused mid-tap.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She told me she talked to you. And she was…different. Like she’s trying.”

I exhaled slowly. “She says she’s trying.”

“I know.” Kass’s voice softened. “But I’ve decided to try too. I don’t want to hold on to that bitterness forever. It’s exhausting.”

Huh.

“She apologized to me,” Kass added. “A real one. First one I’ve ever gotten. I’m not saying things are perfect, or that they ever will be. But I’m working on it.”

I nodded again, staring down at my hands. “She told me she’s hosting Thanksgiving this year. And that she wants me and Carmen to come over so that she can apologize. I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

Kass paused. “Are you okay, Theo?”

I gave a weak laugh. “I will be.”

I looked at the clock and realized it was time to pick up Carmen. “Look, Kass. I gotta handle something, alright? I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Tee,” she said bluntly. “Take care of yourself. Please.”

I scoffed. “Yeah. I will.”

˙???˙

The silence in the car was dense.

She sat beside me, arms folded, head leaning against the window, eyes tracing the blur of the Italian countryside without really seeing it.

I kept my focus on the road.

I’d only glanced at her a few times—once when she sighed, once when she adjusted her seatbelt, and again when she brushed her hair behind her ear. I couldn’t tell if she’d been crying again. She didn’t look at me long enough for me to find out.

Still.

She was quiet.

So was I.

My hands tightened slightly around the steering wheel before I finally spoke.

“You okay?”

It was a stupid question to ask, but still an important one.

She nodded, barely turning her head. “Yes. I’m fine.”

Liar.

I didn’t push back, though.

“I—” I cleared my throat, eyes on the road again. “I paid off your credit card. Deposited some money into your savings, too.”

“You didn’t have—”

“Carmen.” I cut her off. “Please. No more arguing. It’s already done. The lease on your apartment is paid for the rest of the year, also. So there’s no need to worry about that.”

A pause.

She nodded again. “Thank you.”

I gave a short nod. “No worries.”

I didn’t mention that I also covered her health insurance for the rest of the year. Or that I planned to make sure her rent stayed paid even after that. I didn’t ask if she still had the ring. My mind didn’t need confirmation.

She didn’t.

Outside, the morning sky was clear. Too clear for a day like this. I wanted rain. Something dramatic. Something to match the wreckage I was holding in my chest.

Instead, everything looked golden.

“I’m sorry, by the way.” It just came out before I could stop it.

“What?” she asked.

I cleared my throat again. “I’m sorry. Back at the house, I was a little rough with you when we had sex. And I’m sorry. I know I’m usually gentle with you.”

She was quiet for what felt like forever, and I would pay millions for a peek into that mind.

“It’s okay. Did you forget I slapped you? I think we’re equal.”

I scoffed. “Still. I’m sorry.”

“Well,” she muttered. “I’m sorry too.” She looked at me then. “What’s gonna happen with the house? What are you gonna do with it?”

“Hm,” I thought about it for a second. It never occurred to me what would happen to the house. I built that house for her. So it would wait for her.