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There’s no need for my silly, fleeting feelings to ruin that.
For the time being, I need to secure a backup plan.
I pull my laptop off my desk, lie back in my bed, and use my sore, cut-up fingers to typeZillow.cominto the search bar.
One way or another, I’ll take my life back. Even if I have to go at it alone.
Chapter22
Matthew
Molly’s phonegoes straight to voicemail again. I toss my cell onto my lap. The sound of passing cars rushes by me in my Rivian’s driver seat. My temples pound, and my neck strains under the weight of a headache. I should’ve rested before driving into the city to see her, but we need to talk.
Immediately.
All the lights inside of her townhouse are off. She’s probably already asleep, and I’m peering into the windows of her home at three o’clock in the morning like some kind of madman.
What has gotten into me?
Molly.
I beat my palms against my steering wheel, attempting to cool the worry in my veins.
There’s no point in denying it. That damn dinner with her parents has left me feeling unworthy and inadequate.For fuck’s sake. I haven’t felt quite this small since I told Laura about my azoospermia. Those memories sting despite how much I want to say I’ve moved past them.
But the moment Vivian brought up heirs and carrying on the Greene family name, I felt myself shatter.
Do Molly’s parents know about my infertility? Could they be looking out for her best interest?
They only have one daughter. Some part of her must want to carry on the esteemed line—a gift I wouldn’t be able to give her.
Lance, on the other hand, can provide the Greenes with money for their expansionanda grandchild. Vivian’s words burn in my mind.
A much more suitable match.
My teeth clench. That boy has no respect for Molly. She’d be better off with anyone else. Dammit. This would be easier if I didn’t care so much.
In the painting studio, something shifted between Molly and me. There’s no point in denying it. Sure, it’s only been two weeks, but I felt it. I’m certain I did.
My confusing feelings are distorting reality.
We can’t have a future—not one in which she has everything she deserves. With me, there’s only a partial life. Half a man who could only provide her with a small family of two.
I’m not even ready to tell her about my infertility. Seeing Molly look at me with pity and reject me will plummet me back to the time when Laura left. It will break me all over again.
Focus on the promise you made to her.
The trust.
I will do anything to get Molly her money. I made her a promise. After witnessing her parents’ behavior at dinner, I realized that, now more than ever, she deserves a chance at a life that resembles the ones she reads about in books.
Sure, I could push my reforestation project off a few more years. But there’s no point in denying that the twenty-five million would be helpful now. This week alone, one of the deadliest fires in over a hundred years occurred. EcoDrones can help repair the ecosystems and homes that are being destroyed worldwide.
We need each other. There’s no way around that.
A light sparks up in one of the upstairs windows. She’s awake. I rush out of my car, wrapping my wool coat around my body. The crisp October air stings my cheeks.
I rap my knuckles against her door.
