Chapter 22: The Aftermath

Matt pulled up in the front of the hall, Luna got into the car and he drove off again.

“How was the party?” Matt asked as he merged with the city’s traffic.

Luna knew he was only asking as a courtesy, so she managed to drum up a smile for him.

“It was nice,” she said.

Matt nodded. “Good.”

Luna gave him another managed smile, Matt continued driving, in silence.

Luna rubbed two fingers on her forehead, there was a slight headache already brewing there. There was a dull pounding in her head too, but Luna knew that was the aftermath of the glasses of champagne she had downed at the party.

And she was tired, not so much physically, but mentally. She was tired in her soul. Her heart was sick, she rubbed a hand over her chest where her heart was, there was a stinging pain there and she didn’t know what to do about it.

She thought she had passed that phase. She thought she’d passed the phase where Moira’s words could still get to her and hurt her, she thought she’d passed the stage where Justin’s love life had the power to affect her. She thought she’d gotten to the point where even if it was announced that Justin was getting married, and she’d happened to hear the news where she was golfing or doing some other relaxing sporting activity, she would just toast to the news and go on to make a hole-in-one. She’d thought she was past all these, damn it.

But apparently, she wasn’t. If her night at the party had made one thing clear to her, it was that.

Luna blew out a heavy breath and stared out the window of the car as Matt drove through the city.

There was no point in asking herself when she was going to be rid of her emotional entanglement with Justin, or his mother, Luna thought dryly to herself. She would never get the answer right there in the car. But what she could do was be mad at the situation.

For one, it was well deserved, and two, it was better than being sad. Oh, it was way better, Luna thought to herself as she let the feeling spread slowly through her. She would rather be mad than sad, because then she could call Justin all the colorful names she had in her mind for him. She could curse him to hell and back and imagine all sorts of punishment she would heap on his head.

In her mind, Justin was not the ruthless and powerful billionaire that he was. In her mind, he got punished for making her life a living hell all those years ago. In her mind, she got retribution for all her pain and suffering. In her mind, her heart doesn’t hurt so much.

Luna let out a quiet sigh as the city lights blink past her eyes. She wanted to be in the headspace of her mind, in real life. She just wanted to heal.

Revenge wasn’t what she had thought it would be. She’d thought it was going to be fun to get back at Justin and infiltrate his company so that he had to see her every day and regret his actions. But she hadn’t taken into account the fact that she would also have to see him every day. And be in the same room with him, go to the same parties, and socialize in the same circles. She hadn’t thought all those parts through.

And now she was the one who saw him too often, and instead of regret, which would have been Justin’s feeling, she was feeling stifled. Everywhere she turned, memories of the past threatened to knock her down.

Damn you, Logan, she thought with a fresh burst of anger. You are not going to get the best of me. You are not going to make me miserable all over again. She refused to be miserable.

Matt drove up to the gates of her house, the impressive building rising up into the night sky, came into view. The gates slid open as Matt drove to the front of them and he steered the car in.

The driveway was a long sprawling paved road, the yard in front of the house was wide and spacious. Different rows of flowers were planted on one side of the yard, with a marbled fountain in the center of them. The lights surrounding the house were on full, and they illuminated the flowing water and the flowers, making them visible in the dark night. On the other side of the yard was a clean trimmed carpet grass, with just a few flowers planted around the edges to give it an enchanting look.

Matt drove the car up the driveway, which led to the front of the house. He turned off the ignition, and Luna alighted.

On the main house itself, tresses of wisteria hung on the windowsills and walls. The big mahogany door gleamed, a welcome sight to Luna as she made her way towards the door.

“Luna,” Matt called out to her as climbed the short steps to the entrance.

She turned to look at him. “Yes?”

“You look beautiful tonight,” he said.

Luna stared at him, he was looking at her like he knew the heavy thoughts that were in her heart. Like he knew the party hadn’t been ‘nice’ as she’d said it was.

His driving skills were not the only reason Luna had hired Matt, she also hired him because of his intuitiveness. And she knew he had complimented her to make her smile, because he was a good friend.

So she gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Matt, good night.”

“Good night,” he said back.

She watched him get back into the car and drive away. She turned towards the door and went in.