Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“I went in for my yearly screening the other day,” she mentioned shyly. Almost as if she were afraid to speak to me. “The cancer hasn’t come back. I don’t know why I figured I should say that, but…well, yeah. It’s still gone.”
I nodded. Uncertain of what she wanted me to say. Uncertain of what I was supposed to express. Words seemed hard to find at that very moment.
We got off the elevator.
Her voice cracked a little as she stepped toward me. I stepped backward.
“Sorry,” she muttered for approaching me.
“I’d rather you keep your distance.”
“Are you happy, Kai?” she asked with tears. I didn’t know why she was on the verge of tears. Maybe the fact that we were done with one another was hitting her as the divorce became finalized. Maybe she was reliving the past years we’d spent together. Or maybe the guilt of her choices was finally catching up with her. No matter what, it was no longer my job to give her comfort. She was no longer my person. If anything, she felt like nothing more than a stranger.
“I am,” I told her. It felt good that my answer was true, too. At one point, the idea of me being happy seemed so far removed. It seemed like an unattainable goal. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”
“Is there a woman in your life?”
“That’s none of your business, Penelope.”
“Right. Of course…” She fiddled with her hands and shook her head. “Sorry. I should be going.” She pushed her purse strap up her arm and began heading toward the front door.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as she opened the front door. A weighted sigh rippled through me. “Penelope?”
“Yes?”
“Your hair is long.”
“Yes. It’s been growing a lot.”
I crossed my arms against my chest. “I’m glad I get to hate you while you’re alive. I hope I get to hate you for many years to come.”
She snickered a little and combed her hair behind her ear. “Is that your way of saying you’re happy the cancer didn’t come back?”
“I’m happy the cancer didn’t come back.”
She smiled at me. “Thank you, Kai. For everything. I don’t know if I would still be here if it weren’t for you. I know you probably don’t believe me, but I did love you the best I could.”
I believed her. At a point in my life, I didn’t think that. Yet, I was learning that people could only love others the same amount that they loved themselves. Penelope struggled with her self-love. It was apparent the more I studied her. Just because someone loved you to their highest ability didn’t mean they deserved to have you or knew how to treat you right. They couldn’t even treat themselves correctly.
I said my final goodbye to Penelope, closing that chapter forever.
“All done?” Holly asked as I met her at the coffee shop around the corner from the court meeting. She was sitting at a table with her laptop out, typing away.
“All done, but don’t stop writing if you’re on a roll. I can sit quietly and drink a coffee.”
“Nope,” she said, shutting her laptop. “I already sent the interview questions back to my publisher. I’m all yours now.”
Holly had officially finished writing her latest novel. Publisher’s Weekly was calling it the book of the summer. It would publish in the next three months, and I was ecstatic to celebrate her stepping into her rightful place as a solo author. I was lucky enough to read the book ahead of time, and all I could say was that she was good before with the books she wrote alongside Cassie. But that novel? It was something special. I could tell she poured her whole heart and soul into it, and I couldn’t wait for the rest of the world to see it, too. She was destined to be the brightest star in the galaxy, and it was a privilege to watch her shine.
“How do you feel?” she asked me as we walked out of the coffee shop and headed for the bus stop to head home.
I took a deep breath and felt my smile reach the farthest it ever reached. “Free,” I told her. “I feel free.”
Her grin warmed me up as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “I love how freedom looks on you.”
The wildest thing about it was she was the one who came along to remind me of said freedom. She was the one who taught me how to fly again. Without her, I’d still be the grumpy closed-off man who forgot how to love.
I knew there would come days when one or both of us struggled to be in a new relationship. We’d still had triggers from past relationships that would require us to work through some of our hardships. Reassurance would be necessary; patience would be a prerequisite. Yet, that didn’t scare me. I wasn’t afraid to put in the work to make sure I was the partner that Holly not only wanted but the partner that she deserved.