Chapter 89

Adrian

The ceiling of my bedroom is the most interesting aspect of my life right now. I have had to sell a lot of my furniture and decorations in my home to stay afloat after paying off as much as my company’s debt as possible.

It has simply accumulated into my own debt.

Guilt has taken over the entirety of my life. I regret having to lay off the majority of the company’s workers. There is not much that I can do, though, and have to live with the consequences of my own actions.

I tear my gaze off of the white ceiling and can no longer bring myself to memorize the cracks in the paint and structure.

I sit up with a sigh and look to the side. My phone sits at the foot of the bed. A sense of urgency fills me to reach out for the device, to go to a familiar name and call her.

I know I can’t. She has me blocked and has officially removed me from her life. To her, I am just a man she used to be with, someone she merely tolerated and gave her body to in exchange for scraps and paychecks.

My heart twists in my chest. I close my eyes and reach for the phone, bringing it back to my face. I turn on the screen and am met with hundreds of missed calls and text messages from Clara instead of the woman I wish would reach out to me.

Is it selfish of me to want to talk to Stella? To remain as a figure in her life, someone who wants to see how she succeeds and to help her along the way? Or is this some sick fantasy of mine for her to be the one to continue to take care of me after all of these years.

In another life, I think I would have loved doing mundane tasks with her. Laundry, taxes, doing the dishes, cooking dinner, cleaning our home…we do not have that anymore and it pains me to my core.

My phone vibrates in my hand. I look down and see Clara’s face. She looks beautiful in her photo, a bright smile on her face and her makeup is beautifully painted onto her face.

It is a sight that I used to revel in, to bask in the light of her attention and love. But now? Now all I want to do is hide away from her, to reach out into the darkness of the night for Stella’s touch instead of hers.

I watch as the call goes to voicemail once again. Clara’s face disappears from my screen and I let out a breath of air that I did not even know that I was holding in. Just as I am about to stand up and leave, Clara calls again.

Should I even answer? She wasn’t there for me when I needed her the most. She left me in my home after I broke down, my silent cry for help clearly going unnoticed.

Stella would have noticed.

I suck in a breath and slide my thumb across the screen. I slowly bring the phone to my ear and remain silent, listening to Clara’s breathing from the other side of the call.

“Adrian? Adrian are you there?” Clara’s voice is bordering on being annoyed and worried. I think she is more annoyed than anything else.

“Yeah, hi, Clara,” I break my silence and pinch the bridge of my nose.

“Where have you been? Why haven’t you been answering any of my calls or texts? It is so unlike you,” Clara laughs. It rubs me the wrong way.

“I have been busy with work. I told you about it,” I groan and roll my eyes.

“Work can wait! I need to see you!” she continues. In the background of her side of the call, I can hear her shuffle through her jewelry, the clinking of the metal familiar to my ears.

“Why? Is everything okay?” I ask. I stand from my bed and cross my bedroom, entering the bathroom.

The light flicks on and I am met with a tired expression on my face. My eye bags are prominent, sunken into my face, and my blonde hair is disheveled being belief. My eyes are red from irritation.

I look dead inside.

“I was wondering when we can go public with our relationship now that you are free from my bitch of a sister,” Clara’s voice is warm and light despite her words being so demeaning and sharp.

“She’s not a bitch,” I sigh into the phone.

“Yeah, sure, okay Adrian. You don’t need to be on PR mode with me,” she snorts.

The memories I share with Clara, the times when we were children running in a park to the awkward encounters of secret times together in high school seem dull to me now. I used to bask in the memories, constantly replaying them in my head whenever I needed a boost of strength to get me through.

But now they feel dead. A facade that Clara has put on to weasel her way into my life and wealth.

I swipe out of the call and move back to the investment firm’s website. All of the assets that Stella has gifted back to me is more than enough to cover the debt and help bring back my company from the brink of death.

Stella has gifted me a saving grace. I should thank her, right?

My mind wanders while Clara talks, her voice being drowned out in my mind. I think back to what Stella said, her quiet warning of people in my life only being near me for my money and influence.

Could Clara be the person she is warning me of?

I tilt my head back to my phone, my mind finally allowing Clara’s words back into my head.

“Adrian? Where did you go? I swear, if you haven’t been listening to me I am going to scream!” Clara screeches into the phone. I flinch at the sound.

“Hey Clara,” I begin, “what’s my favorite color?”

“What?” Clara laughs. “I don’t know…yellow?”

“It’s blue,” I sigh. “What’s my favorite meal?”

“That’s easy! It’s salmon from that one restaurant!”

“No. It’s roasted chicken and vegetables,” I place the phone on the counter, my hands gripping the edge of the cold countertop. “What’s your stance on having kids?”

“Ew, gross, no thank you,” she immediately responds with a fake gagging sound. Irritation blossoms inside of my chest.

“Clara, what is your favorite memory of us together?” I ask. This should save her, right?

“Oh! That’s easy! When you took me shopping after I woke up!”

I fall silent. No words leave my mouth and I am unable to form a coherent, or respectful, thought to speak into existence.

“I don’t understand why you’re asking me these questions, Adrian, I feel like you’re trying to humiliate me! I have been in a coma for years—”

“You’ve been awake for long enough,” I cut her off.

“Ugh, whatever,” Clara scoffs. “I’m going to swing by later and grab your credit card. I want a new outfit for when we step into the public eye and make things official. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Before I can even respond, the call ends. I stare at my black phone screen, unable to do a single thing.

I have made the worst mistake in my life and there is no way for me to fix it.