Page 165 of Rather: The Therapist

“That’s untrue.”

He shook his head, again.

“The day I met you was the best day of my life,” I confessed, “And though good things come in threes, I find it hard to believe I’ll get to meet you twice.”

He lowered his chin to his chest and smiled. He was stunning. He was a dream. He was my dream.

“Goodbye, Rather.”

In the middle of my driveway, with a face full of tears, Priest left me. I retrieved my heart from the concrete. It was barely recognizable. He’d stumped all over it. He didn’t understand it was his to have. He didn’t know that it belonged with him.

I entered my home and quickly locked the door behind me. I pushed my back against it and pressed the file against my chest. I was sore all over.

“That’s a dangerous game you’re playing, baby.”

I lifted my head. A single blink cleared my blurred vision. My brows cinched near the center of my forehead. The emotions I’d kept at bay erupted at once.

My legs stretched across the floor at full speed. Papers fell from my hand and littered the space around us. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. Not until I was in his arms, my feet were off the floor, and his voice was against my cheek.

He soothed my soul. He eased the pain in my heart. He healed my wounds.

“Teddy!” I gasped, unable to form a full sentence.

Without words, he held me closely and swayed my body from one side to the other. In his arms, I wasn’t the woman he’d helped me become. I was the little sister who needed the comfort of his presence and the shelter his limbs provided.

Just like that, we stood until I was able to stand on my own two feet, again. He lowered me to the floor and stood back to observe me.

“I’ve missed you.”

“You have no idea,” he tittered. “I’m no good at being away from you.”

“I thought you were coming tomorrow.”

“As much as I’d like to talk about the shit that’s on your mind, there’s a more pressing matter at hand, baby.”

I shook my head and sealed my lids. The disappointment in his voice was preparing to cause irreparable damage that not even the heartbreak I was experiencing could compare to. Chemistry’s questionable gaze shrunk me three sizes.

“I have it under control. Just– just please don’t look at me that way.”

“Rathe–”

“I’m marrying Kofi. I will fall in love with him and we will live happy lives, Chemistry.”

“I’ll give up everything if it means your ha–”

“Please,” I begged, “That’s not how this wo– how this works,” I wept, “You can’t save me this time, Teddy. It’s time somebody saved you and if it has to be me then so be it. I’m getting down that aisle and I’m marrying that man. Because, if I don’t, the order will be no more.”

“We’ll lose our claim to Clarke. That family’s foundation will crumble. And, Priest, he’ll no longer be head of the Valentines. I’ve been around them long enough to say with confidence that there’s no better person in their family who is qualified for the job.”

“I’m not leading with my feelings, Teddy. I’m leading with my head. The two are not aligned yet, but I promise they will be. I promise.”

He finalized that portion of our conversation with a nod.

“Now, where’s my mother, and where the hell is my niece?”

I pushed my feelings into a deep, dark place where they were to remain. My father trusted me. He believed in me. And, I’d promised to save my sister and our brother by sacrificing myself. Nothing would change. I’d be fine. Eventually.

“Upstairs waiting to see Tee Rather.”

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