CHAPTER 24 — GRIEF AND LIQUOR

Lennox's home was a penthouse. It stood out, even more so in the dark. It was by far the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. And despite the breathtaking sight, it was simple. And calm. And I tried not to show my awe as he led me through the large lawn and into the house.

The interior was even more beautiful; spacious with all-white walls that accentuated the paintings hung up on them. All of this was illuminated by the bright light of a chandelier. I was pretty sure a hundred of my apartment could fit in here.

I expected the servants to be asleep at this hour, but they stood discreetly in their places, probably awaiting their boss's return. Lennox waved them away, dismissing them for the night.

"I'll go check on Shaye. You can make yourself comforta—"

"I'll come with," I said quickly, not wanting to be left alone.

He sent a sly look my way. "Can't get enough of me, huh?"

"Get over yourself, Wilder. I want to see Shayetta."

He looked like he didn't believe me, but I said no more of it.

Surprisingly, Shaye was still awake. Although she looked a little sleepy.

"V!" She exclaimed when she saw me, jumping out of her bed to hug me.

I couldn't help but laugh at Lennox's shocked expression as he watched Shayetta and I talk. When I saw her yawn, I knew she needed to go to bed.

"Shaye, you look tired. Would you like to go to bed now?"

"Uh huh." She yawned again.

I smiled. "Okay. How about I read you a bedtime story?" I suggested.

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

Pausing, she glanced at her father. I saw him give a small nod.

"Okay." She giggled, slipping under the covers and handing me a storybook from the small collection by her bed.

A few minutes into the story, I found that she had fallen asleep. Smiling, I shut the book and replaced it, adjusting her blanket and giving her a light kiss on her forehead.

Turning, I saw Lennox staring at me, his expression distant. My heart skipped a beat and I wondered if I had gone too far by tucking Shaye in. But he smiled, nodding at me as he gave his daughter a kiss and switched off her bedside lamp.

After we left Shaye's room, I went into my room for a quick change then returned to meet Lennox in the sitting room. For some reason, my chest bubbled expectantly as I saw him curled on the sofa, hair wet from a quick shower. I tried to calm myself. It probably didn't mean anything. I was just over thinking it.

"Thanks for helping out with Shaye," he said as we relaxed into a sofa.

"It was nothing. She really is a good girl. You just need to find the right spot." I smiled. “But you should still make out time to spend with her. She misses you."

He gave a sad smile that made me want to wrap him in a hug and comfort him. To be honest, I wanted him on me in more ways than one.

"You're doing great." I assured him. "Shaye loves you a lot. You just need to show her that you do."

Lennox stared at me with a glint of genuine admiration in his eyes and just that single look from him filled my chest with fluttering butterflies.

“You look beautiful with your hair down.” He drew closer and lifted his hand to push back my hair behind my ears, staring more appreciatively at me. The slight brush of his fingers brought me an appealing shiver.

“Don’t flatter me.” I rolled my eyes, trying and failing miserably to hide that furious blush that had taken over my cheeks.

He chuckled deeply, vibrating off his chest and twinkling in his eyes. “You mistake me as the type of man who’d throw around empty compliments? I mean it, Verity. You are beautiful - in every fucking way. You have a good heart and the last time I’d seen that in anyone was when…Andrea was still here.” His tone faltered and when I looked deeply into his striking blue eyes, they painted a broken image of a man who had carried his crippling grief for too damn long.

In a quiet, cautious voice I said, “You know, you can tell me about Andrea…I guess.”

He went silent and a certain heaviness had dropped in the room. Lennox seemed to clench his jaws painfully and a pained expression crossed his eyes, making me believe that perhaps I’d crossed the line. The more he searched my gaze, the more a strange resolve seemed to build within him. Abruptly, he shot up from the cushion and my heart drooped. He was leaving, as usual.

Lennox left the sitting room, not sparing me a single glance back. My heart drummed heavily in my chest, and I pulled my legs up the couch and towards to my chest. God, Verity! Why did you have to bring up Andrea? That was red area and I’d obviously chased him away-

The goddamn gorgeous man sauntered back into the siting room, holding onto two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. My jaw dropped. He was actually back. Warmth swarmed through me, and my heart skipped a ridiculous beat.

Lennox passed me a weird glance and a ghost of a smile played at his lips when he plopped down to join me on the couch once again. “Liquor is a grieving man’s best friend.”

The shock never left my face as I watched Lennox pour out two glasses of the alcohol for us. When he glanced back at me again, he pulled up an inquisitive brow. “Can you possibly share why you’re staring at me like I killed Santa or something?”

An abrupt small laugh escaped my lips, and I shook my head lightly. “It’s- it’s nothing. I…just thought you left-”

“As usual?” He rolled his eyes and passed me a glass. “I guess not. Drink up, it’s going to be a long night.”

The liquor helped. The burn took away the burdens that had paralyzed my mind for days. Once I was done with the first, I refused another. However, Lennox was on his third glass, downing it’s content like it was some sort of energy giving drink.

“Andrea died 4 years after Shaye was born.” Lennox began without a premise. He just stared straight into thin air, eyes narrowed on nothing and his glass of wine hovering around his lips. His very much attractive lips. “She wasn’t sick. She didn’t have an accident. She just simply passed away one night. Kind of poetic when you think about it.” He chuckled bitterly.

A chill went down my spine. “But, how…how was that possible? Just like that?”

“Seemed like it. We were supposed to celebrate our 5 years anniversary the next week. She had already planned out this small dinner party with both our families. But, well…you can see how that failed miserably. I had her autopsy done and she died of a cardiac arrest. You know what the worst part was, the fact that I was never ready for it. The last time I’d held her in my arms, I’d never imagined I’d be losing her by morning.” His grip on the glass tightened and a part of me was scared to have to witness the glass shatter under the pressure.

“I…understand.”

His hard gaze swung to me. “Do you really? Do you know what’s it like to have the only thing that mattered in your life snatched away from you? Do you the type of hell I had to face when the media began speculating that I killed my own wife? Do you understand the fucking pain I had to see my four-year-old daughter go through when I’d told her she wouldn’t be seeing her mother again? Andrea wasn’t supposed to die off that easily. She was a fighter. A woman who’d never go down without giving death one hell of a tough time. Andrea was one of the only good ones left in this selfish world. She was my Andrea…” His voice broke off, battered and bruised with the anguish that took over his features. He drowned the remaining liquor in his glass in a blink.

I wrapped my arms around my knee, feeling the strings of my heart pull agonizingly. It felt suffocating, not just because of Lennox’s story but the painful memories they triggered in my mind. His words reminded me of reliving the hell of a nightmare that my life became when I lost my sister, Penny.

“I understand, Lennox.” I turned to him with a tender expression. “In one way or the other, we’ve all lost someone dear to us. I lost my sister to an accident. An accident that was supposed to end the both of us but for some reason, I survived. I wish it was her, not me…”

“What? Why?”

My throat tightened and breathing in without letting the tears slip from my eyes was a struggle I wasn’t winning. “Why not? Penny would have made the most of her life if it wasn’t snatched away from her. She had always been the better sister, you know. She was a better dancer, better student, better…daughter. Penny would never have ran away from home or cause our parents to worry for over four years. Penny had dreams and actual goals. She had a plan, fully laid out and she was determined too. Penny was made for the spot light and me? I just forged myself to be a rip-off version of who Penny was, yet I keep failing every day at it.”

I didn't get to finish because Lennox had pulled me in and crushed his lips on mine.