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I loved Hailee.
I loved her to my core, and my father stepped in, thinking he knew better. Then he’d watched me be heartbroken over it for years, but he didn’t care because career-wise, I was at my best. Even if that meant my soul was dying.
I shook my head. “I mean everything I’m saying. I’m done with you. She was my world, and you convinced her to walk away from me. You forced her to close that door when she was already vulnerable, and then you kept that secret from me for years!”
“Aiden,” he pleaded.
“I’ve been drowning!” I shouted as my voice cracked. Emotions overtook me as the realization settled into me more and more. “I’ve been drowning for years, lost and confused, and you could’ve pulled me up, but instead, you shoved me deeper under the water.”
He cussed under his breath.
Mom stepped toward me, but I held a hand up. “I can’t do this right now. I have to go.”
“Where are you going?” he asked.
I thought that was an easy enough question for him to figure out on his own, so I walked out and slammed the door behind me.
Where was I going?
To find her.
29
Aiden
I arrivedat Hailee’s place before she made it home. Penny was on her way out for the night as I showed up. She let me in, so I sat on the steps inside the bakery that led up to her apartment. My feet tapped rapidly against the wooden steps as I waited for her. I created different scenarios of the conversation we’d have once she arrived. Of how I’d convince her to give me a shot again, to give us a real chance. How I’d give up everything, every penny, every dime of my career if it meant I could have her forever.
That was all I wanted—forever. Forever with her.
I wasn’t thinking straight. Why was forever even crossing my mind when I should’ve been trying to make it to our next conversation? Why did the idea of forever always show up when it came to Hailee Jones?
When she arrived, she had a bag of groceries in her hands. She looked confused as she stared my way. “Aiden. What are you doing here? You shouldn’t—”
“I’m pissed at you,” I blurted out.
She arched an eyebrow. “That seems to be a reoccurring event between the two of us lately. Can I ask why you’re pissed this time around?”
“Why did you break up with me?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I thought we decided we weren’t going to rehash that anymore and—”
“Why did you break up with me, Hailee?”
Her bottom lip trembled. She was nervous. She looked down at the floor, unable to hold eye contact. “Aiden…”
“Did my father tell you to end things with me?”
Her shocked expression when her head rose told me everything I needed to know. The way her eyes glazed over and emotions hit her spoke volumes. “After that Thanksgiving years ago, things were hard. My life was messy, and your father thought with my messiness, I’d screw up your world. That was the last thing I ever wanted to do, and when you mentioned you were going to turn down that role to stay back with me, I knew had to break up with you.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I did.” She nodded. “I wasn’t going to let you ruin your career because of my issues.”
“I would’ve quit acting.”
“Which is why I did what I did. I wasn’t going to be the reason your dreams didn’t come true.”
I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’m pissed off. Mostly because I know if the roles were reversed, I would’ve done the same thing. I would’ve wanted you to have your dreams come true. I just wish you had realized that my dream wasn’t acting. It never has been and never will be.”
