Page 33 of Seventeen Years Ago

I wanted to brush them off her face. Tell her that I had no idea, which was the truth. I had to fight the urge to hold her close and beg her for her forgiveness. Tell her how much I care about her. But because I did care, because she was important to me, I had to hold back. She needed the right to hate me, and I couldn’t take that from her.

She added, “Don’t worry, Steven. I never broke my silence and I’m not about to. So, if you want to take on that project with Reesa, I won’t stand in your way. And if you want to leave, I won’t stand in the way of that either.” She brushed away her tears and said, “For me, this was over a long time ago. I don’t want to look back anymore.” I saw the sadness in her eyes as she looked up at me. “Goodbye Steven.”

She walked away and I knew this wasn’t just a good night. She had the truth and never wanted to see me again.

Why the hell would she?

I didn’t chase after her. There was nothing more I could say or do. But nothing about this felt good. I hurt her for the second time, and I was not sure which time was worse. From her eyes, I would almost think this was.

It seemed that it didn’t matter if I brought smiles to her face, they weren't worth the pain I also brought into her life.

I wish there had been another way. I wish my father had put me up for adoption. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to constantly worry if I am an asshole down deep and it just hasn’t blossomed yet.

After a few minutes, I made my way back up the beach towards the hotel. As I approached, Caydan came towards me, a deep scowl on his face.

Fuck. He’s pissed.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” he snapped; fists clenched.

Maybe if he hit me, I'd feel better. “I told her the truth. That’s all.”

“And what truth is that exactly?” he questioned.

He didn’t know, and I wasn’t telling him. Aiza knew that she could tell whoever she wanted to and whenever she wanted to. “I told her I’m leaving. I’m going back to the states.”

“And you broke her heart because you didn’t listen to me and got involved anyway. I told you that Tabiqian women are different from who you normally date. They don’t have casual relationships. Now how the hell are you going to fix this?” he asked.

“There is no fixing it. I’m leaving and she’s okay with it,” I replied as I passed by him.

“You’re a fool if you believe that. I saw her eyes. She was anything but okay,” he said.

I knew that. She’d just learned the ugly truth about who I was. But she could take solace in the fact that I was never coming to Tabiq again.

Caydan called out and asked, “What about the project? Are you in or out?”

“Out,” I replied.I’m exactly the kind of man Tabiq doesn’t need.

I headed to my room and started to pack. The only thing I needed was to charter a jet to get me the hell out of here before I caused her any more pain.

But as I sat in my room, calling everyone I could think of, I learned no one was coming to fly me out of here. There was a major storm brewing over the ocean, and nothing by air or sea was heading my way. Whether I liked it or not, I was stuck in Tabiq for at least a couple more days.

Do I let her know? She's going to find out from someone else if I don’t.

Aiza had told me goodbye. That was her way of telling me this was over, and it was final. I couldn’t reach out to her again, no matter how badly I wanted to.

I could ask Caydan, but he’d just lecture me. Bennett would demand to know what happened, not that it was any of his business. That left one last person I could call without asking me about Aiza.

I called Reesa. It was after hours, but she’d given me her cell phone number.

“Hi Steven, I was hoping I’d hear from you. With good news that is,” Reesa said.

“No. As I mentioned, I don’t believe I'm the person you need as an investor. I’m more of the hands-on type,” I replied. “I was actually calling to notify you that I will be leaving Tabiq. I’ll be here for a couple of more days due to a large storm over the ocean right now and no flights are coming into Tabiq.”

“I’m watching that storm very closely as well. I know they said it will miss the island, but I’m not so sure. I think it is too close to call. But back to why you were calling. I’m glad you’re not leaving immediately. I’d really like the opportunity to talk to you further about the project. Finn and I discussed it in length after dinner the other night. He agrees with me. You bring something to the table that others don’t. It’s like you have a genuine care for Tabiq, even though you’ve never been here before. I’m not willing to let you walk away from this that easily. I’m sure there are some terms that we can negotiate and compromise on,” she stated.

“Guess we have until the storm passes to find out.”

“Never thought I’d be thanking bad weather for my good fortune,” she chuckled. “I’ll have Aiza schedule some time for us tomorrow if that works for you.”

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