Page 131 of Unmasking Love
"Well, after you broke up with me-"
"You mean after you cheated on me." I correct.
"Potato, Potahto," Iraise an eyebrow at him and want to scream but instead I cross my arms over my chest and decide to bite my tongue.
I taste blood.
"You were removed from the website."
"You can't do that!" I protest, wishing I had more of an argument.
"I can, once I told Dad how you ended things by yelling at me in front of your client, who still hasn't bought a home by the way, he put you on probation which means you're not listed on the website. It's company policy."
"Is it also company policy to get blow jobs from your assistant at properties we're representing? Is it also policy to not tell an employee you're removing them from the lead flow?"
"Hey," Crispin looks pissed. "Don't talk about Raquel like that."
I scoff. "Seriously? I can't believe this. Okay, I'm taking my clients and I won't be back."
"You can't take your clients, those belong to the agency!" He yells after me as I storm out and slam the door again.
I laugh like a maniac as I grab the few personal items I keep at my desk.
I laugh as I put them in my car and return the car magnet with the firm logo on it that we use for illegal parking purposes.
I laugh as I drive away from the office.
The tears only come as I drive past my house on my way to Wes's. I pull over and park out front. The walls inside are up, they're finished with the floors. Electrical is new. Plumbing is updated. The windows have been replaced. And while the house still has the same exterior appearance I know it's different inside.
A shudder runs through me.
What if I'm the same? What if the time I spent with Aiden was just a facelift? It didn't really improve me, it just felt good to change things up a little bit.
A part of me refusesto believe that. What Aiden and I share is special and it has changed me. That's why I'm feeling so torn up about this rift between us.
When I broke up with Crispin I was more upset that Aiden didn’t get to see the house. But this time, I am infinitely more upset about the loss of Aiden than I am concerned about my job.
Yes, I've been upset about past breakups but nothing compared to the cold depth I feel inside without Aiden.
I wipe my tears and pull away from the house. I can’t handle going inside yet. Aiden gave me the confidence to make this home what I always envisioned it could be. And without him I'm not sure how homey it will feel.
***
"Harper Emily Daniels. What is the meaning of this?" Wes scolds as he steps over a duffel bag I packed hastily two weeks ago.
"Sorry.” I scoot off the sofa and pull the bag over to the side and out of the way.
"No, I mean what is the meaning of you leaving Aiden? And then ghosting him? The boy is a damn wreck."
I know he is.
Tonight he called before his game. It’s the last of this road trip and he sounded exhausted in his voicemail. He begged me to see him tomorrow and I closed the rest of the message because it was too painful to listen.
I forced myself to watch his game tonight. I couldn’t stay away. I’m in this purgatory where I don’t have him but if I go back to him it could end. His messages are full of “miss you”s and “want to talk to you”s but I’m not convinced he believes his words. I walked away because he couldn’t do the hard thing and leave me.I did it for him because he didn’t want to tell me about the assists record. I made the decision after he held things back.
But my heart still longs for him. He looked stiff when he took the ice tonight. His usual fluidity and relaxed set to his shoulders was gone. He played with an aggression I hadn't seen from him before.
They won. He stopped all forty shots they threw at him.
