Page 4 of Rhett Redeemed

So I made a choice.

And that choice brought me to here, to right now.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?” Sin asks, breaking me from my thoughts. He sits down next to me on the couch, beer in hand. The clubhouse is all of our homes, and it always has been my happy place.

“I was thinking about the time you all told me I was going to be the next president,” I admit. “I remember feeling like it was a warning.”

“It was,” Sin replies, smirking. “Being president isn’t for the faint of heart. We wanted to make sure that we were making the right decision.”

“And did you?”

He takes a swig of the beer before answering. “I think so, but only time will tell. Are you regretting the decision?”

I shake my head. “No...but I feel like I’m already making sacrifices and I’m not even officially president yet.”

“Ah... Cara?”

I give a stiff nod.

“Have you spoken to her yet?”

I shake my head.

“You should. The two of you have a bond, and you need to repair it, even if its form has changed. She’ll forgive you eventually.”

“I know.”

And I will.

When I’m ready.

“How have you been?” Dad asks, sipping on his whiskey. He found me at my go-to bar, and I know he just wants to see where I’m at mentally right now. Sin must’ve said something to him.

“I’m okay,” I lie.

The truth is, I’m struggling.

I’ve never experienced the gut-wrenching pain from a breakup before. Cara has been my only committed relationship, and although I’ve had plenty of other women, she’s the only one I have ever called mine. The pain from losing her, even if it was my own choices that led to that decision, is more than I could have imagined.

I think the hardest part of it all is that she was more than just my lover—she was my best friend. And although we promised to try to maintain that friendship, I know things will never be the same.

And that’s on me and my decision not to tell her the truth and give her a choice.

I can only blame my damn self.

And no amount of alcohol and women is making it better, and trust me, I have tried. I’ve been spending my newfound single status fucking any woman who wants to, and drinking as much as I can. I know that the Wind Dragons are unimpressed with me. I’m supposed to be taking over and leading a new generation of Wind Dragons, letting the older, OG men retire. Yet here I am, partying and fucking and forgetting my responsibilities, the same ones I let go of Cara for. How fucking ironic. But Cara was my home, and now I’m homeless.

I rub my chest, over my heart, like I can physically feel the damage I’ve done to my vital organ.

But you know what? Cara deserves more. She deserves someone who comes home to her every night, someone who can make her his number one priority. Someone who can give her the life that she wants.

She deserves everything I can’t give her.

She might have grown up in this life, but that doesn’t mean that’s what she wants her future to be.

I’ve contemplated going after her mºs, begging for her to take me back, but she’s happy now, and I’m not going to be selfish. This all happened for a reason, and I know it will be the right one for both of us.

I see the way she looks at Decker; it’s the way she used to look at me. A mix of awe, admiration and unconditional love.

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