Page 69 of A Very Happy Thanksgiving
When he woke, he wasn’t surprised to find her gone. But he did feel a profound sadness. The first time around, the heartbreak had been tinged with anger, but now gloom blocked out the Indonesian sunshine.
He found Emmy in Heath and Serena’s suite, eating breakfast.
“Have you seen Phae?”
“She said something came up, and she had to fly home.”
“Did she leave a message?”
Emmy shook her head. “Try not to take it personally. Her life isn’t an easy one.”
Being kidnapped had never been on Marc’s bucket list, but it had come with one significant benefit: the gift of insight. Now he knew why Phae had walked away, and he understood it hadn’t been as easy for her as he’d always assumed. He also knew she’d never change. Rex Roebuck had broken something in his little girl, and those flaws drove Phae now. She’d turned weakness into strength and hurt into determination.
She’d never stop.
And he’d never stop loving her for that.
Serena put a hand on Marc’s arm. “I’m sorry she didn’t stay.”
“Yeah, so am I.”
CHAPTER 25
Phae
“Hey, did you see this?”
Dice walked into the kitchen, wearing a snake as a necklace. Thankfully, not a venomous one, but Tulsa still moved hurriedly to the other end of the room.
“See what?”
“Marc’s ‘goodbye’ note.”
“What?”
I snatched the iPad out of her hand, and the snake hissed at me. Yes, I’d figured Marc would be upset after I left again, but suicidal? No. No way, he couldn’t be. Two days ago, he’d gone on Talk! With Reba Miller for what he claimed would be his one and only interview on the kidnapping debacle, and he’d seemed stoic but okay. Although he was an actor. What if he’d been putting on a show, hiding the pain with?—
Oh, phew, he wasn’t about to off himself.
To my dearest #Gregorias,
I wanted you to hear the news from me rather than waiting for rumours to circulate as they always do. The events of the past month have affected me deeply, and I’ve spent the past week reevaluating my life.
I’ve made mistakes, many of them. I’ve been trapped in a world of my own creation rather than seeing the one I live in, and now it’s time to make that right.
What does that mean?
It means that after my current projects wrap up, I’ll be moving away from acting and focusing on nature. On conservation. On reconnecting with things I left behind. We all need to take care of the planet around us, one small step at a time, and I’ll be putting my social media accounts on hiatus until I have something worthwhile to say.
Goodbye for now,
Marc
Well, damn.
Marc was quitting showbiz?
“That man is gone for you.”
