AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Courtesy of Mr. Ford,” he said with a smile.
She blinked. “Oh. Okay.” He held out his hand, and she hesitated, then gave him her bags.
“Mr. Ford has asked me to drive you to your hotel. He’s booked you a suite.”
“Which hotel is that?”
He named one she could never afford on her own and a sob almost burst from her. Why was Zac doing this? Because he cared, or just because he felt guilty? She managed to hold back her tears and shook her head. “I can’t stay there. Would you be able to take me somewhere else? If not, I can get a taxi.”
His brows drew together. “I can take you wherever you need to go, Ms. Elliott. Just tell me where that is.”
She named a budget hotel in Spring Valley, ignoring how his brows met his hairline. It was a significantly different destination. But it was closer to where she’d be searching for an apartment.
He nodded and reached for her bags. “I’ll be happy to call and cancel Mr. Ford’s booking on your behalf if you’d like.”
Cassie thanked him and followed him to his sleek black car.
As they drove, she stared down at her phone.
She bit her lip, then typed out a quick message to Zac.
Cassie: I appreciate you sending the car and booking me a hotel room, but I’ve decided to stay nearer where I’ll be looking for an apartment. Thank you, though. And good luck with recording your album.
She grimaced. It was awkward and stilted, but she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to talk to the man she was in love with. The man who’d made it clear he couldn’t love her back.
With a deep sigh, she gazed out the window, not seeing the passing cars and buildings as her mind drifted back through all that had happened in the last few months.
Zac hadn’t replied by the time she pulled up at the hotel. The driver helped her out of the car, collected her bags, and walked her inside. She thanked him when he left her at the front desk, but he refused a tip, telling her that Zac had handled everything.
After checking in, she carried her bags into the elevator and ascended to the third floor. The room was basic, but clean and comfortable—better than many of the places she and Bryan had stayed in during the early years.
She sat down on the bed, her shoulders slumping as she thought about what her next step was going to be. Find an apartment, get her stuff from her old one, get a job. Maybe one where she didn’t have to travel. The thought of going on tour again seemed to have lost its appeal.
Her phone beeped, and her heart surged into her throat at the sight of Zac’s name on the screen.
Zac:I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable and safe.
Cassie:I am. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.
She threw her phone down on the bedspread and fell back onto the mattress. She lay there, listening for another message notification until sleep tugged at her.
None ever came.
* * *
A few days later, Cassie had managed to lease a small apartment. Only then did she venture back to the one she had shared with Bryan for the last two years.
She asked the cab driver who dropped her off to come back for her in an hour, then headed up in the elevator to the top floor, hoping that she’d get lucky, and Bryan wouldn’t be home.
After letting herself in, she came to a sudden halt in the entryway. Her breath caught in her lungs as she was overtaken by a wave of memories: how excited they’d been when they’d first moved in, the furniture they’d bought together, the many nights of planning and dreaming over the dinner table.
But even with the onslaught of what had been happy memories, there was a different feel to the apartment now. Walking in here didn’t fill her with warmth. It no longer felt like her safe little refuge from the world, with Bryan by her side. Even as regret over the way things had ended pierced through her, she felt a whole new world of opportunities opening in front of her. A world that no longer relied on having Bryan with her.
Cassie dropped her purse on the kitchen table. The apartment wasn’t that big, and the silence told her that Bryan wasn’t at home. She breathed out a sigh of relief and made her way to the bedroom.
Unfortunately, her relief didn’t last. She was in the middle of packing a suitcase when she heard the front door slam. She looked through the open doorway to see Bryan staring at her. His lips were thin, his jaw as hard as granite. He didn’t speak to her. He just walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge, and went out the sliding door to the balcony. It shut behind him with an extra hard thump.
Cassie looked down at the blouse she was holding, then let out a sigh and kept packing.
