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I snuggle up with her and glance at Drew when he hands her a full glass of wine. He looks annoyed, but she needs me more than he does right now. I briefly consider letting him know he can go back to his own place, and I’ll take it from here, but as soon as the thought pops into my head, I wince at the thought of having him out of my sight. I swear, every time he leaves, I’m afraid he won’t come back.
But I also can’t have him questioning my loyalty to Elodie or the marriage. Not tonight.
She takes a long gulp of her wine and sighs. “I wish I could go out and show this shiner off all over town. But I can’t because everyone’ll think you did it.”
I jerk. “Thanks for thinking of me.”
“I fucking hate this feeling.”
“Me, too.”
“Which feeling?” Drew asks.
“Just—like—being trapped,” Elodie says. “Like I spent so long after I lost my mom being pissed off at the world that I missed my chance to do anything with my life. Now I’m totally dependent on my fucking asshole dad, and I have nothing.”
“So—pardon my ignorance, but how do things work up here? Does everyone your age live off their parents?”
I cut another glare his way. “No,” I tell him. “But some of us don’t mind taking over a well-established company when our parents retire.”
“With no college degree?”
“You don’t need a college degree when everyone you employ has one,” I say.
“Did you ever want one?” he asks me.
“Did you?” I clap back.
“Hey—I’m not the one being forced to marry someone so I don’t have to move out of my fancy penthouse. And Elodie, you know you can still go to school, right?”
“No offense, but why is she gonna take advice from a doorman?”
Drew’s brow’s lift. “Really?”
Maybe I need a glass of wine to calm down, too. I severely regret saying that, but an apology might not quite cut it. “I said no offense.” And then I close my eyes because I am as close to wanting to kill myself as I have ever been.
“Tell you what,” Drew says as he rises from the coffee table. “I’m gonna head back to my place tonight. Let you two figure this out.”
Fuck. “Drew, no?—”
He whips his hand away as soon as I try to grab it. Elodie elbows me in the stomach as I watch him walk around the couch. “Apologize!” she mouths, looking as horrified as I feel.
I chase him up the stairs. He doesn’t respond to any of my attempts to stop him or slow him down. When I reach my bedroom, he’s already got his sweatshirt on and is one leg into his jeans.
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“Of course you did. You don’t want me involved—message fucking received. Call me when you’re ready to act like an adult. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the lobby sometime.”
He zips his jeans and grabs his phone charger from the nightstand.
“Drew, stop it. I’m very sorry. Stop leaving.”
He stuffs the charger into his pocket and walks toward me, flipping that stubborn lock of hair out of his face. “What happens after you get married, anyway? You think that’s gonna change what your parents want you to do? You think you’re all of a sudden gonna be free? You’re not trapped in an arranged marriage, Olivier—you’re trapped because you’re completely dependent on them. Unless you inherit on the day of your wedding, they still hold all the money—all the cards. You’re even more broke than I am.”
I suck in a breath as what he’s saying lands like a bomb in my brain. He’s not saying anything I don’t know, but he’s putting all the facts together into a picture I think I’ve deliberately avoided stepping back to look at.
“What am I supposed to do?” I ask him.
“You know, right now, I’m too pissed off at you to answer that. I’m going home. If you want to try to figure this out like a grown man, give me a call in the morning. We’ll set up a time to talk. Otherwise—I’m gonna need a minute.”
