Oh no. There was no escaping it. I had to admit it to myself...
I was actually in love with him.
I shook my head, not believing how stupid I was. I had guarded myself heavily my whole life, always focused on the work because I’d known better. I’d been smarter than this. Now, I’d made the biggest mistake of my life, and this was the price—my shattered heart.
I got up from the bench, feeling worse than ever. I was such a fool for actually falling for him. I didn’t know anything about him, yet I’d let my stupid heart get the best of me. I’d let my emotions overrule my reason, and this was what I got. Nothing.
They would tear down this building and with it my dreams and my heart.
I couldn’t go back to the office now. I couldn’t stand to see Charles again. If I did, I would break completely, and I wouldn’t let that happen. I didn’t want to listen to his lies anymore, and I certainly didn’t want to let him use me for his pleasure only.
That was finished. No more.
After everything, I lost my motivation and will to make this place better, and I felt unusually empty. I didn’t know what I was going to do from now on. I would have to quit, but I was too broken now to do that. I would have to calm down and resign when I became able to think about everything more clearly.
I decided to go back to my apartment and stay there for the rest of the day. Fighting with my tears, I got in my car and drove off from the place that would soon disappear—like it had never been there.
17
Charles
Where the hell was she?
I held onto my head as I felt some unusual anxiety fill my chest. I’d never felt like this before—not even during the most stressful projects. I had some sick feeling that something bad happened, but I had no idea what that could be.
I couldn’t find Rebecca anywhere. I called her phone multiple times, but she didn’t answer it. She wasn’t at the office. My secretary told me Rebecca had arrived to her office this morning, and then she left a few hours later, but she never came back.
Lunch time had already passed and she was still absent. I was already hung up on her and so worried. Did something happen to her? There must be a reason for her sudden absence.
“Shit,” I hissed and hit my fist against my desk.
Where was she?
This was bad. I knew I’d already fallen hard for her. I still couldn’t quite believe it, but it was true—I cared about her and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I was seriously going crazy. I couldn’t remember the last time I cared about a woman this much—if ever.
Even though I’d told myself to let it go and wait for her to come on her own, I couldn’t do that. This was stronger than me. I needed to see her. I didn’t know where she lived, so I had to do a search and find out her address. I was sick with worry and desperate to see her as soon as possible.
I logged into the company’s files and searched through our employees’ directory. After several tense minutes, I found her name and her address.
I got up, picking up my jacket, and rushed out of my office. I couldn’t wait until I finished with work. I had to see her right away. Hopefully, she would be at home and nothing was wrong.
I left the office and went to her apartment. Then again, if she was at home, why did she leave her work? Why didn’t she come back?
“Ugh,” I grunted and exhaled, feeling frustrated beyond words. I drove fast, speeding through the city as the rising anxiety got the best of me.
I parked my car on the nearby parking lot and got out, looking around the area. I quickly found her building, which was a brown brick façade that consisted of five floors only, and climbed up the stairs until I reached her floor.
My heart was beating fast when I arrived in front of her door, and it had nothing to do with me running to come here. I was so nervous, and when I knocked on the door, I even gave myself a small pep talk that everything was going to be alright.
I waited for several moments, but there was no answer. I knocked on her door again, fighting against the negative thoughts.
“Come on, open the door. I need to see you,” I muttered, tapping my foot.
A few seconds later, she opened the door, and my heart felt like it was going to burst when I finally saw her. Relief filled me when I saw she was alright and in one piece, but then I frowned when I noticed the way she looked. The first thing I saw were her bloodshot, puffy eyes and extremely pale face. She looked like she’d been crying. She was dressed in her pajamas, and for a moment I thought she got sick with the flu or something like that.
Her face changed from the initial surprise to anger, and my heart missed a bit. What had happened?
“Rebecca, angel, are you alright? Are you sick?” I took a step toward her, but she sent me a glare that froze me in place.