“Gosh no, Claire. It’s not like that. I just don’t know what else to do,” he said. “I mean, look at us. You said it once, remember? If they don’t split, then we are doomed. We can’t continue like this.”
“We knew what we were getting into from the very beginning. You persisted even after they got married. I wanted to stop this in St. Lucia. And now that we are all the way in, you want to back out?”
“You know it’s not like that, Claire.” He tried to touch her. She shrugged him off. “I’m just confused.”
“You are a little more than that. You are spoiled and selfish.”
“Come on, Claire, give me a break. I was stupid enough to think this would work. You and I both knew how crazy this was going to be.”
“So you’re choosing to end this relationship instead of fighting for it?”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he pleaded.
“But that’s what you’re doing. Did you come here to talk to me about it, or just let me know what you’ve already planned to do?”
“I don’t want to fight,” he said at last. “I came to say maybe it would be better if we are just siblings.”
Claire narrowed her eyes at him, then went back to moving around the fabric on the bed. “I have work to do.”
Chance opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He sighed and left. When he did, Claire got up and closed the door behind him. She slid to the floor, her back against the door, and cried. Life was certainly unfair to her. When she was spent, she lay on her bed and fell asleep. It was a long night, and the morning didn’t bring any better luck. She did her best to avoid leaving the room so she didn’t have to see Chance, but as she ventured into the kitchen, he was leaving. She froze when she saw him, and her heart sped up in the same moment. He nodded and walked past her like she had never meant anything to him.
Claire’s hands trembled when she removed the cup from the coffee machine. Everything was against her; even the coffee tasted bland in her mouth. She had no sense of anything. She felt numb, even though she had rationalized that she needed to put one foot in front of the other, one day at a time, and soon he would be a distant memory.
“Oh Claire, there you are,” Willow said as she breezed into the kitchen. “I need to go to the other side of town with Bryan. Do you think you can catch a ride with Chance?”
Claire sputtered on the coffee. “Can’t I borrow one of his cars instead?”
“You know you don’t know your way around yet,” Willow reminded her. “Let Chance take you.”
“I’m sure Chance has other things to do,” Claire said. “He can’t be bothered babysitting me. Besides, all I need is a GPS and I’ll be fine.”
“I bet, but I just asked Chance and he said it was fine,” Willow persisted.
“Well, maybe you should have asked me if I’d like to go with him.” Claire placed the cup in the sink with most of the coffee in it and walked out of the kitchen.
“Hey, is everything all right?” her mother asked.
“Just peachy,” Claire said, flashing her mom a fake grin.
***
Claire saw Chance on her way out, and she could tell he had heard the conversation between her and her mother. She glanced up at him as he stood there, gripping the golden handles of the staircase railings and staring right through her.
“Good news; there is a BMW in the garage that no one uses. He says you can use that as much as you want. It does have a GPS so I suppose you’ll be okay,” Willow announced “I will be fine,” Claire said as she took the keys from her mother and walked out.
When she got into the car, she couldn’t stop the tears from coming. She gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white, and poured out all her sorrow on the cushioned covering.
When she sat up, Chance was watching her. She quickly brushed her tears away, straightened herself, and turned the key in the ignition. He was still standing there when she drove out, but she was sure when she got back he would be gone.
***
Claire buried herself in her work. She rarely saw Chance, and when she did, he kept his distance except when they were forced into odd situations like Bryan’s birthday party. It would be an epic event with half the world invited; what was supposed to be a semi-private event had turned into something closer to a grand coronation. The dining room and the hall had been transformed into gigantic rooms filled with chocolate fountains, crystal statues, ice sculptures, and an array of food.