Page 94 of The House Guest

CHAPTER 26

Dorian

A week after I returned to Orion Coast, I invited Chandler and Candace over to tell them about my trip.

I opened the door to their smiling faces. “Hey!”

“I’m surprised you’re back so soon,” Candace said as she stepped inside.

“Yeah. Leaving when I did felt right.” I looked down, expecting to find their little ones, but they’d come alone. “Where are the kids?”

“With my mother,” she said.

“You should’ve brought them. They could’ve gone swimming.”

Candace shrugged. “We wanted to get the full scoop in peace. They don’t give me a moment to think straight.”

“You love that, though,” Chandler told her.

“I do.” She smiled. “So…we’ve been dying to know what happened with Primrose.”

“She cried when she found out you were okay.”

“Really? Oh my God. That makesmewant to cry.” Candace sighed. “She was always so nice. From the moment I met her, I loved her.”

I spent the next hour rehashing my trip. But it wasn’t the fairy tale they’d hoped for. Certainly wasn’t what I’d hoped for, either, though I had more peace now than before I went. Bittersweet was the best way to describe the experience.

Candace squeezed my shoulder. “I’m proud of you for knowing when it was time to go. But please tell me you haven’t given up hope.”

“He can’t just sit and wait forever for her to come around,” Chandler countered before turning to me. “She may very well decide to stay with this guy, and then where does that leave you?”

“I have a lot to think about. But I feel at peace with her knowing the truth about what happened. I said what I needed to say, even if I didn’t exactly get closure.”

Candace grimaced. “I couldn’t imagine being in her position, finding out that everything you thought was true about the love of your life simply wasn’t. But now you’ve already moved on and have a child. As a mother, I can totally relate to her deciding not to break up her family.”

Chandler wrapped his arm around her. “You’re supposed to be on Dorian’s side, babe.”

I sighed. “I don’t even know ifI’mon Dorian’s side.” I thought of Rosie’s sweet little face and how she’d waved at me. “Haven’t I disrupted Primrose’s life enough? And that’s without the guy or the little girl knowing I exist. Although, we had a near-miss with that. Almost accidentally met them.”

“What do you mean?” Candace leaned in.

“Benjamin and I went to the supermarket, and the three of them were there. At first, it was just Primrose and her daughter, but before I could say anything, he appeared, too.”

Chandler’s eyes widened. “No freaking way. What did you do?”

“I pretended to be a stranger asking her whether the store sold wine.” I shook my head. “Then Benjamin and I got the hell out of there before he suspected anything. But not before I turned around and saw her little girl looking back at me. Practically staring through my soul.”

Candace clutched her chest. “Oh, my heart.”

“Yeah. It messed me up inside.”

“What are you gonna do now?” Chandler asked.

Throw myself into the mansion so I don’t have to feelanything else. “I’m gonna try to breathe life into this place again. I have a gardener coming tomorrow to help me replicate my mother’s rose garden.”

“That’s amazing.” Candace beamed. “I could totally help with that. I’m so glad you were able to buy this place back.”

“It’s what my father would’ve wanted. More than that, it’s whatIwanted. It’s bad enough that I gave up the company. The house is the last shred of what once was. It’s a legacy I can handle, unlike the business, which was eating away at my soul.”