Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
She blinked a few times. “Oh.”
“Are you unhappy working for me?”
“No, I love it.” She smiled. “I didn’t know you loved me so much, though.”
“I only like you a lot, Madeline. I don’t love you.”
"Not as much as you love your wife, but there's some love there." She hugged me. "I can feel it."
"Madeline..."
"Shhhh." She hugged me tighter. "Just let this emotion radiate off us for awhile.”
I sighed and returned her hug before letting her go.
“Thanks for clearing up my assumptions,” she said. “I need to make a few phone calls about your VIP guests so I’ll come back and see what you need later.”
“Wait.” I moved in front of the door. “What did you mean when you said it was more selfish than what I did to Tatiana?”
“Huh? I don’t remember that.” She was a terrible actress. “I was probably speaking out of anger and trying to make you feel bad.”
“It worked. What did you mean?”
“Nothing. It was angry talk, I swear.”
“I don’t think it was.” I narrowed my eyes. “Tell me.”
“Promise not to fire me first.”
“I literally just said I want to keep you.”
“You might change your mind after hearing what I have to say.”
“I won’t.” I was too desperate to get my wife back. “I promise.”
“Okay, look. Can you imagine dating a woman who is your opponent’s younger sister? Not just some regular opponent, but the guy who always knows exactly how to beat you? The guy who remains number one in the world, no matter how many times you’ve almost come close?”
“It’s a little different in my sport.”
“But the conflict is the same. So, no matter how deeply you love that person, how many times you try to convince yourself otherwise, the issue doesn’t go away.” She stepped closer. “I bet she never told you how she really felt about losing to Penelope when you were dating did she?”
I said nothing.
“I bet she hardly mentioned much about her career because you were supporting Penelope. Like, before you got overly cocky and rich, everything you did and every move you made was for Penelope. Girlfriend or not.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I doubt that she—”
“I’m not finished.” She held up her hand. “She kept that part of her life back because she knew that she would always be second place to Penelope when it came to you, too.” She paused. “I heard you say it recently, Mr. Carter. You’ve always put Penelope first, so Tatiana still feels like she’s coming in second place.”
Silence.
I held my head in my hands, exhaling again and again.
How the hell did I not see this before?
Madeline moved past me and opened the door. “So um, I’m not fired, right?”
“Right.”
“In that case, can I give you a little bit more honesty?”
“Don’t push it.”
“Okay, I’ll save it for later.” She stepped into the hall. “You’re welcome.”
I remained silent as she shut the door, and for the first time since the day I met Tatiana, I rewound our memories and understood things from her point of view.
ACT 15
BACK THEN
TRAVIS
Chicago, Illinois
“Your sister will struggle to regain motor functions and suffer sustained memory loss for a very long time,” A doctor tells me one morning. “You’ll need to be there for her during every step of this recovery.”
“I will,” I say. “Can you leave me alone with her for a while please?”
“Of course, sir.” He nods. “I’ll be back this evening to go over the methodology of her next surgeries.”
“Wait. When exactly will she be able to skate again?”
“Sir, I…” He shoots me a sympathetic look. “You’ll be lucky if your sister walks again.”
I refuse to believe that and move closer to Penelope. I take out the necklace I’d bought her for today’s occasion, a diamond-encrusted locket with “Congratulations on reaching number 28!” with a picture of her and my mother inside.
Laying it next to her, I press a hand against her forehead. “I’m so sorry, Crown. You’ll still be the winner of twenty-eight championships to me.”
At some point—I’m too fucked up to keep up with the time—Hayden comes into the room and insists I go for a walk.
I begrudgingly accept his advice.
I take the elevator outside and head toward the hospital’s walking trail. I can’t focus on much of anything right now, and I desperately need to talk to my other best friend.
My girlfriend.
Pulling out my phone, I call Tatiana via video chat.
It rings once.
It rings twice.
Her beautiful face appears onscreen seconds later, but she looks unhappy to see me.
She looks like she’s been crying for weeks.
“Hey,” I say. “What’s wrong?”
She doesn’t say anything; she just stares.
“I had a dream that you broke up with me,” I say. “Isn’t that crazy?”
“I did break up with you, Travis.” She lets out a breath. “I told you that days ago.”
“You were here? At the hospital?” My brain is running on vending machine snacks and lousy coffee; I can’t keep anything straight.