Chapter 59 Seperate Ways, Same City
If I could measure the cold radiating off Scarlett on the flight back to New York, I’d call it Antarctic.
She sits across from me in the private jet, her earbuds jammed in, staring out the window like the clouds are far more interesting than having to talk to me.
She shifts sometimes, crossing and uncrossing her legs, but she never once looks at me.
This is our first real fight since we started dating, and I have no bloody idea how to handle it.
I’ve tried speaking twice. Both times she gave me a single, flat warning look that said, "Don't you dare." So I stopped. I gave her the space she wants, hoping she forgives me soon.
The silence stretches all the way across the Atlantic.
When we finally touch down at Teterboro, Elias is waiting on the tarmac beside the Maybach, crisp as always.
“Mr Moore, Miss Thorn. Welcome home.”
“Thank you, Elias,” Scarlett says, her voice warm and sweet in a way she hasn’t sounded toward me in twenty-four hours. “I missed you.”
He smiles, charmed, and I frown, shaking my head sharply before sliding into the car.
Once she’s settled beside me, she says in a cool voice, “My apartment, please, Elias.”
I glance at her sharply. Elias meets my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“I wasn’t informed, ma’am. Mr. Moore said…”
“Change of plans,” she cuts in smoothly, still not looking at me.
I reach over and press the button. The privacy partition glides up till we're sealed in.
“Are you leaving me?” I ask, my voice tight.
Scarlett rolls her eyes in pure exasperation. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
A sigh of relief escapes my mouth.
“I’m mad at you, Lawrence, not breaking up with you.” She finally turns to face me. “I just need my own space right now.”
“For how long?”
“As long as I need.”
I go quiet. Fair enough. I hate it, but it’s fair.
“I’m sorry,” I say again, softer this time.
“I know you are.” Her voice is flat.
“So why are you still leaving?”
“Because sorry doesn’t magically make this okay.” She sounds exhausted. “When you do something like this… something this big… I need to process it. And I can’t do that when you’re right there."
“Why not?” I ask, genuinely confused.
“Because you'll be trying to manage it. I need air," she explains.
“I could give you all the space you want inside my apartment. You wouldn’t even have to talk to me. You wouldn’t have to see me if you didn’t want to.” I offer quietly. “I’ll stay hidden… work from my office, sleep in the guest wing, whatever you need.”
Scarlett turns her head slowly and stares at me like I’ve completely lost my mind.
Maybe I have.
In the short time we’ve been living together in London, I’ve grown dangerously used to her presence.
I've grown dangerously attached to everything about her—the sight of her red hair scattered across my pillows every morning. The sound of her humming in the kitchen or bathroom.
The way the penthouse finally felt like a home instead of just another cold, expensive box I own.
Hell, the idea of her going back to that apartment alone feels like a crime.
“It doesn’t work like that,” she mutters, exasperated.
“Yeah, it could,” I grumble. “You just don’t want to be around me right now.”
Scarlett shakes her head. “I’m not dealing with your attitude right now.”
She turns back toward the window, effectively ending the conversation.
The rest of the ride stretches out in thick, tense silence.
When Elias finally pulls the Maybach up in front of her building, the air in the car feels ready to snap like a twig.
“Scarlett…” I start to say, but she cuts me off.
“I’m keeping my job, Lawrence.” Her tone is firm, brown eyes locking onto mine. “Find something else for Amanda. Some other role. Because I am not quitting.”
She pushes the door open. “And I don’t want to see you until you’ve figured out how to stop making decisions for me like I’m some child.”
Scarlett steps out and slams the door behind her so hard I flinch and Elias gasps.
I sit there in the sudden silence for a while, staring at the space where she’d been.
My hands ball into fists on my thighs.
Fuck, the penthouse is going to feel like a tomb without her in it.
After a while of sitting there, thinking of my predicament, I press the button to lower the partition.
“Drive,” I tell Elias. My voice is flat.
He nods once and pulls smoothly away from the curb, leaving Scarlett’s building.
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SCARLETT
“Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence,” Jay says dramatically, but happily when I go down to his floor to see him.
I didn't bother wasting any more time at home. When Monday came, I showed up at the office, ready to pick up my duties where I left them off.
He gets up from his chair and pulls me to a tight hug, lifting me off the floor.
“Oh my gosh, Jay,” I squeal as silently as I can. “Please put me down.”
He lowers me gently to the floor, beaming. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming back,” Jay says, leaning casually against his desk, wearing his adorable grin.
“It’s so weird how Mr. Moore was suddenly gracious enough to give you all that time off.”
I force a light shrug. “What can I say? He put me through absolute hell when he first got here. Let’s just say this was his version of repayment.”
Jay chuckles, but his expression softens into something gentler, almost concerned. “I really hope your grandma’s stable now. It’s so sad that she's sick all the time.”
Guilt makes my stomach churn.
His voice drops. “And… did you hear that Lawrence lost his mother recently too?”
“I did. It’s really sad.”
“Must be why he’s been MIA too,” Jay continues, shaking his head. “I just hope when he finally comes back, grief doesn’t turn him into even more of an ice-cold bastard. You know what I mean? Grief changes people.”
“Yeah,” I whisper, glancing around the IT floor. “I know what you mean.”
It's filled with so many computers and tech stuff.
I miss Beverly like crazy. Unlike me, she actually has a sick aunt who needs her right now. She’s been out for days taking care of her. Without her bright energy and gossip, the office feels hollow.
“Hey,” Jay says, brightening again as he straightens up. “I was thinking… maybe we could grab dinner after work? Just the two of us. You know, to catch up properly. You’ve been gone for what feels like forever.”
“Yeah, sure. That sounds great, Jay.”
“Awesome. I’ll swing by and grab you later.” A notification chimes on his system, and he drops into his seat. “Sorry, gotta go now. Work calling.”
“Sure. See you later.”
I turn and head back upstairs to my floor, where I sink into my chair.
It feels good to be back.
But it also feels awkward without Lawrence.
My eyes keep drifting to the closed door of his office. Unable to resist the urge any further, I get up and walk inside.
The scent of his expensive cologne mixed with leather wraps around me immediately, and I let out a little sound of contentment.
The room is spotless, his massive desk perfectly organized, the chair waiting the same way he left it.
Being in here alone makes my chest hurt.
I drop into his big leather chair and spin slowly, staring up at the ceiling as the familiar creak fills the silence. For a second, the anger I’ve been carrying since London softens.
I miss him. Then the anger returns… because how could he do this to me?
How could he, in that London penthouse, just casually decide my entire future?
My job, my role, my everything without even giving me a real say?
Like my career was just another asset he could rearrange however he wanted?
Annoyed all over again, I plant my feet and stop the chair mid-spin, gripping the edge of his desk.
This fight is far from over.