Page 61 of Three's a Crowd
She’d just have to lock all thoughts of him out of her head forever and be grateful for what she did have. Whatever that turned out to be.
14
Things were really rocky on the way home.
Adam studiously ignored her for the whole journey, only giving one-word answers if she asked him a question.
She gave up in the end and tried, but failed, to sleep and block out the overwhelming sadness that pervaded her. The flight seemed interminably long and Daisy was hugely relieved when the plane finally landed in London.
As soon as they set foot through the door to their flat, Adam headed off to take a shower, leaving Daisy to lug the heavy cases into the hallway. She trailed miserably into the living room and slumped down onto the sofa. After a while, she heard him exit the bathroom, then go into the spare room, slamming the door behind him. Closing her eyes, she dropped her head into her hands, overcome with exhaustion.
They were in for a pretty rough time, she felt sure of it. Adam was usually very quick to resolve any issues between them – in fact, historically, it had always been him who had pushed for a truce – but this time, it felt very different.
It was going to be tough for them to come back from this. And honestly, did she even want to?
Things hadn’t been great between them for a while now, which she’d put down to a rough patch, but was it more than that? Had their relationship run its course?
How could she possibly rescue things with Adam when she was in love with someone else?
Because she was, of course. Adam had been absolutely right about that.
Her head had been a total mess, but everything was very clear now.
She was in love with Zach.
She knew it now for sure. She’d always known it, really, she finally admitted to herself.
So, she was with the wrong man.
But how on earth was she going to deal with this situation? Even though she knew she wasn’t in love with Adam, she still loved him deeply as a friend and the thought of hurting him made her feel sick.
She had to finish it with him, but she didn’t feel she had the emotional strength at the moment. Perhaps if she left it a few days, it would finish itself somehow.
Goddammit!
If Zach and Adam hadn’t been such good friends, things might have been more clear cut.
Not that there was anything she could do about Zach. He’d made it very clear he was done with her.
Sighing, she stood up from the sofa.
She had to reconcile herself to the fact that she would never be with him. He was gone for good and it was unlikely she’d ever have cause to bump into him now that bridges were burned between him and Adam as well.
With this terrible thought circling her head, she retired to her room and slipped beneath the cold covers, hyper aware of how alone she was.
In the end, the cold silence went on between them for nearly a week, neither of them willing to make the first move and start the long and painful process of splitting up.
Daisy buried herself in work and they only saw each other in the evenings, and these appearances were few and far between from Adam, who tended to roll back in very late without explanation of where he’d been.
At first, Daisy was relieved to not have to be around him and the frosty atmosphere he brought with him, but by the end of the week, with them sleeping in separate rooms and barely communicating, she felt she had to say something about it.
He came stomping into the living room late one evening, bringing with him a smell of cigarette smoke and the scent of sweet honey and rose that brought Daisy up short. She knew she’d smelled it before and it took her a moment to realise where it had been. He’d smelt exactly the same the night of the premiere when he’d come back from the Petite Majestic, and wherever else it was he’d been that afternoon. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he’d been with the woman she’d seen him with in the bar. The beautiful woman who’d so captivated his attention. Perhaps she was here in London, visiting a film festival that was currently running, or maybe she actually lived here and he’d kept in contact with her since meeting her in Cannes. She decided to test her theory. She didn’t appear to have anything left to lose any more, after all.
‘Adam, where have you been? I was expecting you back ages ago,’ she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
‘Out,’ he stated. ‘With a friend.’
‘Agirlfriend?’ she asked, her voice shaking a little with nerves.
