Chapter 16

Quinn wasn't sure how the woman did it but somehow they ended up in the kitchen, alone.

"So Quinn," She started. "Where are you from?"

Alright. Easy questions first. She could do that. "I'm from New York, ma'am—I mean, Cindy."

Cindy laughed, chopping a carrot. The kitchen had been full of women a while ago and somehow it was only two of them present. Even Gemma was nowhere to be found.

"Did you grow up here?"

"Born and bred." She said proudly.

"Haven't you ever wanted to leave? See the world?" She chopped an onion next, throwing it in the boiling pot.

Quinn shrugged, chopping bell peppers. "I would have loved to, but my family wasn’t rich. We struggled to eat most of the time talk less of travelling round the world."

"Oh, I know a lot about not having much to eat." Cindy commented, smiling at her.

Quinn was suddenly interested in knowing what she meant. Cindy didn't look like she'd ever know poverty. If she had, she sure had moved on from it, but she obviously hadn't forgotten it.

"Tell me about it." She urged, staring at her.

"I wasn't always rich. My mother died giving birth to me and my father barely made by with the measly income he earned from being a carpenter. I was an only child so that was a relief. Imagine having siblings who shared the little food that was available. I met Michael when I was eighteen. He was a software developer, and I was a seamstress. We got married when I was nineteen and built Rhett Holdings and Inc. together from the ground. It wasn't easy but we accomplished it. Now I have two children who I gave everything I didn't have. I want them to be happy."

Quinn took a deep breath. It was a touching story. Cindy would've had to be a strong woman to have gone through all that and still come out on top. "That's amazing." She said, meaning it with all of her heart.

Her own parents had died when she was eighteen, barely enough time to see their children happy. "My parents died when I was still a teenager."

Cindy reached forward to touch her hand. "I'm so sorry, darling. Losing a parent can be tough."

Truer words had never been said.

"So, you and Michael." Cindy said, going back to the chicken she was spicing. "Tell me more about that."

Quinn took her time to think about what she was going to say. She didn't want to lie to the woman, not after the heartfelt experience she'd just shared with her. At the same time, telling her that she'd been fucking the brains out of her son wasn't exactly ideal.

"Uhm... We just have an agreement."

Cindy didn't look up. She poured some soy sauce unto the chicken, gently massaging it into the skin. "What sort of agreement?"

Quinn licked her lips. "Uh... Well, I'm not entirely sure what it is we have going on but it's..." She drew out, not sure how to say it.

"Are you sleeping together?" Cindy asked, raising her head to look at her.

Quinn's heart began to beat sporadically. This wasn't a normal conversation, not by any standards. A mother was asking her if she was sleeping with her son. Did she think she was a whore?

Nevertheless, she nodded.

"Do you care for him?"

"Yes." She said almost too quickly. "I do."

"Do you love him?" Cindy asked, halting her movements.

Did she love Michael? It was a question she'd been asking herself since he'd made his declaration. She was sure she cared for him, liked him even. But love? It was a strong word.

"I don't know." She said in a small voice, confused. "How do you know when you're in love?"

Cindy suddenly smiled, washing her hands under the tap in the sink. She drew closer to her, grabbing a kitchen towel and drying her hands. They were roughly the same height, so they were looking each other eye to eye. Cindy placed one hand on her cheek.

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. All those slow songs finally make sense. Your heart beats faster then they're in the room and you smile wider because there's just that thing about them that makes you feel better. You want to care for them and be there for them even if it hurts you. Love is the greatest force of nature. It makes you want to bend rules and break regulations, move mountains and push boundaries. It doesn't care if you're rich or poor, ugly or beautiful, short or tall, dead or alive. Love is that thing inside here," She placed her hand on her chest. "That drives you."

Michael made her happy. Ever since that day she'd walked into his office, her life had completely turned upside down. She'd always been safe and careful, never letting loose. Always following the status quo, never branching out. Michael had changed all of that. He'd pulled her out of her darkness and given her a new light.

He was caring and loving and sweet. Always listening to her yap on and on about whatever, he spoilt her with gifts—which Quinn soon realized was one of his love language—and he tried his best to make her laugh. It was enough for her. More than enough.

"I do love him." She said with newfound clarity. "I really do." She felt her eyes water, felt the tears pour down her face.

Cindy chuckled. "I think you've known for a while now. You just couldn't accept it."

"But..." She stuttered. "What do I do? I've never been in love before."

"Oh, sweetie." Cindy wiped underneath her eyes. "There's no manual to love. We all learn on the job."

Quinn sobbed. "He told me he loved me today and I rejected him. I feel so horrible."

Cindy held her as she broke apart which was why Quinn didn't see the smile on her face. "Then go. Find him and tell him how much he means to you."

And he meant the world to her. But after her rejection this afternoon, would he still want her? "What if he'd changed his mind or something?"

"Then I'll beat some sense into him."

Quinn laughed through her tears, her heart feeling lighter. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her. She was elated. Michael. She had to find him.

"I have to go tell him. I have to find him."

She pecked Cindy on both cheeks. "Thank you so much."

"Are you kidding? This is the best birthday ever. My baby finally found a good woman. I'm so happy for you both."

Quinn smiled at her, spinning on her heels, and walking away.

She'd never had a mother to tell her about boys. Her mother had died before she'd left for college and even before that, there had been no discussion about men. Everything she knew about boys, she'd learnt from her friends. It was the first time she'd truly experienced what it was to talk freely with a mother figure.

She would appreciate her enough later but first, she needed to find Michael.

———

"I don't know what else to do, man. She doesn't want me."

They were laying on sun loungers by the pool, staring up at the grey skies. Michael closed his eyes and reopened them, wishing he could just forget the events of the day.

Stephan chuckled. "I don't think that's true."

They could talk freely as the rest of the family had retreated to the living room to continue the celebrations. Gemma had told him that Quinn was with their mother and he sighed. He knew what she was trying to do. She'd done it with Delia. His mother was going to be disappointed when Quinn finally told her how she really felt about him. At least this time, she wouldn't be deceived.

"Her exact words were 'get away from me'. Does that sound very much like someone who desires another person?" He was aware how he sounded; like a whining child who didn't get the last piece of cookie in the plate.

Stephan laughed. "Oh God. I would've loved to see the look on your face. On a scale of one to ten, how extremely stupid did you feel?"

Michael flipped him off though he muttered an annoyed "I broke the scale."

Stephan laughed harder. "I swear she has your thongs in a twist."

"Not helping, Stephan."

"I wasn't trying to." He raised his hands up. "But really, why do you think she rejected you?"

"I don't know." Michael sighed. "Maybe she's just scared or maybe she doesn't feel the same way."

"That day at the office," Stephan shook his head. "I saw the look in her eyes. She has feelings for you, I'm sure of it."

Then why had she rejected him? God, he'd felt so stupid. The past few days had been the best ones of his life. He'd had it in his head, some hope-springs-eternal that she felt for him an inkling of what he felt for her.

He knew at the back of his head that he was taking a chance and there was every possibility that it could end pretty bad for him. The last time he'd taken this chance, it had left him shattered. He'd sworn never again to fall in love. Women became a thing of pleasure to him.

Take, use, dump.

It had been just sex. That was all they were good for. All they wanted from him was his money and that was alright, as long as they were honest about it. Being rich had its advantages as well as its disadvantages.

Quinn wasn't materialistic. She was content with the little she had and that was all that made the difference to him. She was sincere and pure hearted, and he'd never heard her say one bad one about anyone.

"They're so different." He thought out loud. "I loved Delia. More than I loved myself. I never thought I'd love anyone the way I loved her. She was everything to me."

Stephan was quiet. "What about Quinn? Do you love her with that intensity?"

He thought about it. "I don't think I want to love her like that."

He thought he heard a sound but when he looked back, there was no one there. He turned around, sighing. "The way I loved Delia was toxic. It was a love where I felt like I had to do the most to make her happy. She wanted the world and she thought I was the best way to get it."

"A poverty alleviation scheme, you mean."

"With Quinn, I'm more myself, at peace. It's a wild yet tranquil feeling. I don't have to move mountains to see make her smile. I bought her chicken once and she almost grinned her cheeks off. The little things matter with her."

"Plus the fact that she's independent. That painting, it was exquisite."

Michael smiled. Yes, it was. Hell, it made him cry. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried over his father. It had been much needed and Quinn had been the one to give it to him. He'd been so emotional that he'd stupidly told her how he felt. He hadn't wanted to scare her, but he feared that was exactly what he'd done. After today, she wasn't going to speak to him again.

"I think you should go for it." Stephan suddenly announced. "I mean, look at me and Gemma. I knew I loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her. I almost lost her. Because I was willing to paint my feelings as unimportant, she almost married someone else. That woman loves you. She just doesn’t know it yet and you'd be a bigger fool than you already are to let her go."

Michael rolled his eyes at him though his words reverberated through his entire body. He'd be a fool to let her go.

Gemma suddenly appeared looking apprehensive. "She's leaving, Michael and she's crying. What did you do to her?"

———

Oh, God. She'd gone outside looking for him to finally tell him she was in love with him, and she'd heard him. She'd heard it all. He'd said Delia was everything to him. That he didn't want to love her the way he did Delia. She knew it. This was what she'd been scared of. Finally opening up to someone and getting hurt. He might have loved her, but he didn't love her enough and she was about to be anyone's second choice.

She had to leave. She didn't belong here, not with all these people. Her place was in her apartment, with her friends, with people that actually loved her.

She was almost at the front door when his voice stopped her.

"Quinn."

Slowly, she turned around to face him, seeing his eyes widen at the sight of her tear-streaked face.

"What happened?" He stalked closer to her. "Did my mom say something to you?"

By now, the entire house had gathered behind him with wide eyes and earnest faces. She didn't want to hurt them. They deserved better.

She shook her head, feeling the tears fall harder. She couldn't stop it; her heart was breaking. "No. Your mom is amazing."

"Then what's the matter?" He cooed.

She took a step back as he took on closer. Being close to him impaled her decision making. He confused her and that was the last thing she needed. What she needed was to be alone so she could think about how much he'd hurt her and how she'd allowed him.

"Don't come any closer." She said shakily.

Breaking down in front of his family hadn't been in the plan. In fact, he hadn't been in the plan. She hadn't planned to fall in love with him. For fuck sake, she'd only wanted to pay her fucking rent.

"Quinn, baby." He murmured.

"Don't call me that." She said sharply. "I'm not your baby."

He inched closer. "Tell me what's wrong and I promise we can sort it out together."

"Yeah?" She angrily wiped under her eyes. "Tell me, how are we going to sort out you saying you love Delia more than you love yourself?"

Murmurs shot out in the air.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, wetting his lips. "Quinn. I said loved. As in past tense."

"I don't care. Were you ever going to tell me about her?"

His nostrils flared. "It's not important. Please calm down so we can talk about this."

"I'm done talking, Michael." She shook her head. "I'm done. I can't do this. I'm sorry."

She spun around and headed for the door.

"Quinn."

She kept walking. She was going to go back to her life before she met him. It wasn't an impossible feat. It was hard enough already walking away from him. He didn't have to make it harder.

"I love you, Quinn." His voice broke. "Don't walk away from me."