Chapter-59

ELYSIA

With the weekend gone, I found myself back at work. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, their fluorescence irritating to my eyes, not helping the headache I had awoken with in the least. Ducking my head, I considered putting on sunglasses, but I decided against it—I didn't want to look like I was trying to hide a binge drinking weekend. Easing my way toward my office and soft-pedaling feet, I peeked into Remy's office. His back to me, I noted he was poring over a sea of spreadsheets and numbers.

As I shifted slightly in the hall, the floor beneath my feet creaked and Remy looked up, his expression unreadable. "Good morning," he greeted. "Any change?"

At his question I was thrown back into our conversation we'd had a few weeks earlier about my visit to the Voodoo Priestess.

I'd entered my office, a little surprised at finding Remy waiting inside. 

Lounging in one of the overstuffed chairs, his leg draped over the arm and bouncing rhythmically to whatever he was listening to, he'd jerked the ear bud out of his ear at my entrance, and blurted, "Well? Did you see her?"

With a roll of my eyes, I'd muttered, "Good morning to you too," before making my way over to my desk, I'd pulled out my chair and sat down. Then, placing my purse on the floor by my feet, I'd kicked it under my desk. Finally, looking up, I'd murmured, "Yeah, I went to see her. It was... an experience."

He'd leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving mine. "And?"

"And..." I'd paused, trying to find the right words. "I feel… different," I had admitted. "But not how I expected."

His eyebrows had shot up. "What do you mean?" he asked

I shrugged. "I can still feel it, the pull towards Alex. It's not as intense, but it's definitely there," I'd told him, the words having felt like a confession.

Remy had studied me for a moment, his gaze searching. "Perhaps it's not meant to be fully severed," he'd finally suggested, his tone gentle. "Maybe it's a part of you that needs to be acknowledged and understood, rather than eradicated."

The idea had been unsettling, but not entirely surprising. The bond between Alex and me it seemed had been forged in more than just the physical realm; it was a connection of the soul.

Shaking myself from my thoughts, I returned Remy's smile. Then with a vague, "No change," I continued to my office. Soon after, I heard Remy's phone ring, then his footsteps as he left the office. At the sound of the door closing behind him, I let out a relieved breath, not yet ready to discuss the night before with anyone.

~~

The rest of the week passed in a blur of numbers and client meetings. Yet, every time the phone rang or a shadow fell across my desk, I couldn't help but think of Alex.

On Thursday, as I was about to leave the office, a bouquet of roses arrived. They were a deep, rich crimson, the color of the blood moon that had loomed over the city. Attached to them was a simple note. "I'm sorry," it read, in Alex's scrawling handwriting.

My heart skipped a beat, the gesture touching me in ways I hadn't expected, nor wanted. I took the flowers home, their scent a gentle reminder that, though I might be able to forgive his actions and treatment, there were other factors that stood in the way of anything but a tentative friendship…like a fiance.

However, come the end of the week, I once again found myself at the mansion.