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“When I first signed the contract,” Melinda began, “I was skeptical of you. Rather than meeting me somewhere normal, you sent a helicopter to pick me up to deliver me to your yacht. Then we sailed down to your private island. You were arrogant, and confident. Too confident. I didn’t think any man could possess so much wealth and still remain grounded.
“But I was wrong.” She smiled faintly. “You’re incredible. One of the best men I have ever known. Obviously I didn’t know you when you were younger, but it seems like you’ve done the impossible: you remained yourself despite having all this wealth. You didn’t allow it to change you.”
I smiled, waiting for her to say the words that I knew were coming. That she loved me.
But I was wrong.
“There’s just one problem,” Melinda said. “I’m not that strong.”
I blinked. “Pardon?”
“I’ve allowed all of this,” she gestured at the Bellerophon, “to change me. I’ve been dressing in expensive clothes, and have grown accustomed to having servants bring me whatever I want. I wear jewelry that costs as much as most people’s mortgages. I was oblivious to the way I was acting at the wedding last night, stealing the spotlight from my little sister.”
“You can’t help being beautiful,” I protested.
“No,” she agreed. “But I could have been more aware of it all. And that’s the problem, Pierce: it’s changing me without me realizing it. The changes are small, subtle. It scares me. You’ve been able to stay true to yourself all these years, but I’m terrified that I won’t be able to. Especially as publicity increases surrounding your new business venture, whatever it is.”
I stared at her, speechless. This wasn’t what I had expected at all, and it hit me like a punch to the gut.
“Perhaps this is because you have had too much idle time,” Tristan suggested. “You’re an intelligent woman who needs stimulation. If we acquire New England Digital Marketing…”
“That’s another problem,” she interrupted, suddenly more heated. “I don’t want your company to acquire theirs and put me in charge. I won’t get any satisfaction or stimulation out of that. It feels like cheating. That’s not who I am, and it’s definitely not who I want to be. I want to beat them fair and square.”
“Okay…” I said. “We don’t need to acquire them. That’s not a problem.”
“The problem is that I was going to let you do it!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t even realize how it would make me feel until I had this revelation after the wedding. Because I’ve already changed more than I want to.”
Behind her, two of the Bellerophon’s servants appeared. They were carrying her bags.
“What’s this?” Andrew asked, jumping to his feet.
“I have to go,” Melinda said softly. “It’s the only way to remain myself. I can’t be your surrogate, Pierce.”
And then she walked away, toward the helicopter pad.
“We have to stop her,” Andrew said.
“She is wrong,” Tristan said. “This is a mistake.”
I was too shocked to move. Both of them waited for my guidance.
“Let her go,” I finally said. “If this is what she wants, then it’s for the best.”
They both rounded on me. “How can you say that?” Tristan demanded.
“I’m going after her,” Andrew said.
I grabbed his arm before he could. “I said no. Let her go.”
“She’s making a horrible mistake! We have to tell her how we feel.”
But there was something about what she said that had hit me the hardest. A secret I had been keeping from her… and from my two closest friends and confidants. Before I could go to Melinda, before I could reveal it to the woman I loved, I needed to come clean with Andrew and Tristan.
“I need to tell you something,” I said, sitting back down.
“What could possibly be more important than the woman we all love getting away?” Tristan asked.
“It’s about my next business venture,” I said. “I’m finally going to tell you what it is.”
