Page 129 of Company Ink

Dressed in a three-piece burgundy suit, holding documents in his hands, Adrian stops in front of me, breathing heavily.

"What're you doing here?" I ask, looking around, my eyes landing on Ness and Lucy who slowly back away, leaving me defenseless. "How did you know—"

"Kitty told me where I could find you," Adrian admits guilelessly. "I had to see you. Talk to you. Cassie, I—"

"Talk about what, Adrian?" I sigh, mentally cursing Kitty. "We've talked, we've said goodbye. I have a flight to catch, I don't have time to talk anymore."

Adrian hands me the stack of documents, his eyes full of anguish. "These are divorce papers," he whispers. "I'm going back to Spain in two days to end the agreement with Mariela."

"What?!" I exclaim, my heart thudding in my chest. "Are you serious? Adrian... I—why?"

"Why?" Adrian asks, shaking his head. "Isn't it obvious? Because I wantyou, Cassie. I don't care about anything else; I don't care about the family business. I want you, and this way,maybe, we could have a fighting chance."

He's going to get a divorce? So, he cantryand make things work with me? I narrow my eyes. "Why are youjustbringing this up now? When I'm leaving, when we've said our goodbyes? Adrian—" I pause, his words ringing in my head. "Wait—what happens to your family's business if you end the arrangement?"

Adrian grabs my hand, holding it tightly like he's afraid I'll vanish. "It doesn't matter, it's not important. I thought I was doing the right thing, letting you go, but I can't, Cassie. I don't want to be without you."

My heart is racing, my palms sweaty. "But itisimportant, Adrian, because if you're going to destroy the lives of everyone in your family for achanceto make it work with me, I'm not okay with that. I'm not. Tell me, what happens?"

Adrian, swallows, his eyes scanning my face. "Mariela and Giovanni would get full control of the company—"

"No!" I interject, my voice rising. "You can't do that! You can't put me in this position, Adrian. You're not thinking straight, you're not thinking about the consequences of your actions,again! This isn't just about you, this involves your brother, your father, your mom. Adrian—" I place my hand on his cheek. "You can't do this. Not for me. Not because ofme."

Adrian leans into my touch, his hand enveloping mine. "Cassie," he whispers. "I lo—"

"No!" I hold my finger up to his lips, my eyes welling up with tears. "Don't say it. Please don't say it. Don't finish that sentence, please Adrian, don't finish it."

Everything around me is muddled, slow motion, his voice a dull echo. Why is he doing this to me? Why did he have to come here? We said our goodbyes. That door closed. I closed it. It was shut. And I was dealing with it. I was moving on.

"It's true, Cassie," he breathes, cupping my face, dragging his thumb along my cheeks, capturing my tears. "I do."

I shake my head, trying to catch my breath. "I'm sorry, Adrian, I really am, but you can't do this. You can't just throw away your family's legacy on theoff-chancethat we somehow end up together." I lower his hand, my fingers linked through his. "Adrian, I can't promise you a future, I can'tguaranteeyou that we'd work, that we'd somehow overcome all of this shit. I don't want to be responsible for ruining your family's livelihood. Have you thought about them? What they'd do if you went through with this?"

Adrian's jaw clenches as he sucks in a sharp breath. "They'd be fine, Cassie. My family is well-off."

"But you'd be giving up the company your grandfather workedsohard to build," I say, tilting my head. "Adrian, I know how much your family means to you, you'd regret this decision at some point. There's no winning here. If we don't work out then all of this would have been for nothing, and if we did, you'd resent me, maybe not right away, but at some point, you would."

Adrian's quiet, staring at me withthoseeyes. The ones that make me want to take everything I said back, that make me want to leap into his arms and celebrate, but I can't. I won't.

"You really have no faith in us, do you?" he finally says, taking a step away from me. "Do you not feel this? This connectionwe have? Do you not—" He shakes his head, closing his eyes "I'm a fucking idiot."

I release a long exhale, my heart clenching. "You're not an idiot," I whisper. "I feel it, I do. But—"

"Why does there need to be abut, Cassie?" Adrian asks, running a hand through his hair. "You feel it, I feel it. Let's justtry, Cassie. We have to at leasttry."

Searing guilt spears through my body, decimating my heart, my brain, my lungs. He's being so vulnerable, so real, so God damn honest,for once, and I hate that I'm causing him pain. He's willing to risk it all for me, forus,but I can't bring myself to say yes, not when my heart is damaged, split in two, not fully his.

"No, Adrian," I whisper, taking a step towards him and lifting myself up on my tippy toes. "We have to let it go." My lips connect with his stubbled cheek, his face clenching under my touch. "It's time to let it go."

"Cassie, please," Adrian begs, grabbing my hand. "Don't go."

I squeeze Adrian's hand, a sad smile forming on my face. "Ihaveto go," I say, pulling out of his grip. I can almost hear his heart breaking and it kills me.

Adrian shakes his head. "No," he murmurs. "Cassie..."

"Take care, Adrian," I say softly and walk away, leaving him standing there, calling out my name.

Don't look back. Keep walking.I did the right thing. He wasn't thinking. He wasn't being rational.

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