I looked at her for a moment and smiled sadly. “I’m going to betray you, Nari. When that day comes, forgive me, okay?”
“No.” She frowned. “Why should I forgive someone who betrays me?”
“Because you know if I could have avoided hurting you, I would have done it…bad choices can be forgiven if they are done because of love, right?”
“You’re not a bad person. You are the worst type of person.”
“And what kind of person is that?”
“Conspicuous,” she replied, punching harder into the bag. “Looking at you is like looking into a mirror.”
“Why does that make me the worst type of person?”
She punched twice. “Because not all of us want to face ourselves.”
I couldn’t reply because she just hit harder. I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I didn’t press her more on it. She needed to vent and blow off steam, and I just wanted to relax and pretend I wasn’t a little bit of a hypocrite. She wanted to get strong, be more useful, and I told her not to reach too high…even as I was reaching, everywhere.
I’m good at giving advice…taking it is another thing altogether apparently.
WYATT
“I’ll be at my penthouse.”
She had texted me early in the day, and I couldn’t reply with anything but “okay.” That was hours ago, and now I found myself outside of her door, not sure if I should knock or not. I hadn’t ever thought about it before, but it was strange doing so now.
This is insane. I frowned, entering the pin before opening the door. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but her leaning there against the couch in a silk emerald green gown wasn’t it.
“I was wondering how long you were going to stand out there.”
“How long were you going to have me stand out there?” I questioned, sliding my hands into my pockets.
She shrugged. “For as long as you wanted. I already made the first move, it’s impolite to make me do more than that.”
This is what I like about her…her answers were very clear. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you. What time does the play start?”
“In an hour. Why?”
“Because before we go any further, I’d like to be completely honest with you.”
I paused. “Should I sit down?”
“It’s better if you don’t. It would be easier for you to turn around and walk away.”
She’s serious about this. But what the hell could she have done that she thought was so serious to tell me now of all times?
“Ready when you are.” I nodded for her to go on.
“The day I went to the manor, I was prepared to abandon my crush on you and focus on helping the family…Dona had called and reminded me that while Ethan was away you were going to need help.”
“I’m glad to see all the concern,” I said, somewhat annoyed. “Do I seem like I’m doing such a bad job without Ethan now? And here I thought Rome wasn’t built in day.”
“And it wasn’t built by one person.”
“When I need help I’ll ask for help, Helen.” I eyed her carefully before crossing my arms over my chest and continuing, “Okay, how about we skip to the point. Why are you bringing this all up now—”
“Because if we are going to go forward, we’re going to do so as partners, and you need to hear and see all of me. You’ve just scratched the surface of what it means to be the boss of this family—”