Chapter 6

Chloe could see why the girl would think that. She had left her office in a hurry and hadn't returned her calls or texts.

What could a seventeen-year-old possibly know about love and heartbreak?

"Calm down, Ollie. I'm not in any kind of danger. I'm just dealing with some things right now."

"Dealing with what?" Ollie gasped over the phone. "OMG! Are you pregnant?"

"No, I'm not--" But Ollie no longer heard her; the girl was on a roll.

"Because that would explain your absence, the way you looked unwell, and you're also ignoring me. Pregnant women tend to need their men to do everything for them."

"Ollie, I'm not—" Chloe frowned.

"Oh my gosh, can I come to visit? You forgot your purse here last week, so I can use that as an excuse. The girls say you live in a mansion and have servants for everything. Oh, can I be the fun aunt? Because I know you wouldn't let me be the godmother while Emma is around. I'm great with kids, so...”

"I’m not pregnant, Ollie. I'm going through a divorce!" Chloe snapped as her back straightened like a pencil, and her fingers squeezed the steering wheel like her life depended on it. She took some deep breaths and looked outside the window.

Chloe was taken aback when her voice boomed out, unexpectedly drawing the gaze of other motorists.

Had they heard what she said?

Her face grew hot as her eyes met the driver of a Toyota next to her; she grimaced at him and pushed her window up to the end.

"Ollie?" Chloe noticed the girl had gone silent from the other end. "You there?"

Just then, the traffic light turned green, and Chloe floored it, taking a left turn before Ollie's voice came through the phone softly.

"I... I'm so sorry, Chloe. Are you okay? I didn't know... Fuck, I was just blabbing like a crazy person."

Chloe gulped down sorrow; her eyes couldn't hide them, and she tried a smile, but Ollie couldn't see it.

"It's fine. I'm fine. Listen, I'm driving now, and I'll call you later."

"Yeah sure. T-Take care."

Chloe released a breath she didn't know she was holding and drove on, her black car racing in between other cars and high city buildings.

====

"No, mother. I don't need time off work." Kylian growled. He was sitting rigidly in his office chair, holding a pen in a death grip over a file he was meant to look through. His eyes were hard and fixed on his mother, who was sitting elegantly on a chair in front of him, looking anything but pleased.

She had come to annoy him like she'd been doing for the past week after hearing about the divorce.

"Kylian, when was the last time you took a shower?" Linda arched a well-curved eyebrow.

"This morning." His jaw clenched, and he threw down the pen. "Honestly, mother. Go bother someone else; I'm busy."

Linda's lips pinched together. "Last I checked, you're my only child, and me caring about you and wanting to know how you're doing—"

"Cut the bullshit, mother! We both know you're here to make sure the business doesn't suffer. That's all you really care about, because heaven forbids...” Kylian threw his hands up and said, "I get affected by my divorce!"

His mother sighed. "You shouldn't be getting one in the first place."

"Come on, mother, you know why."

"I haven't forgotten about the pictures, Kylian. I just find it hard to believe Chloe would do that." She waved a dismissive hand.

"Well, believe it," Kylian gritted out and picked up the pen for lack of knowing what to do with his hands.

A somber expression etched across Linda's face as she slowly shook her head, "Did you even talk to her?"

"What?" Kylian asked, tapping the pen on the file incessantly.

"Did you ask why she did it? Did you stop to consider what had gone wrong—that is, if she did in fact cheat?”

"Mother, please. I have heard enough to go ask her." He tapped even faster.

"Heard enough from who?" Linda inched forward.

"That doesn't matter, okay? Just get off my case. This divorce is happening, and if you like Chloe that much, you can go ahead and marry her."

His mother sighed.

"Kylian," she started quietly, "when your father was still alive, we had our fair share of problems."

"My marriage isn't the same as..."

"He cheated on me, Kylian," his mother declared sadly.

Kylian froze.

What?

What the hell is she saying?

"Multiple times. On business trips. When I was away. Even with his secretary, that bitch." Linda shut her eyes tightly, inhaling a long breath, and then parted them slowly.

"You couldn't have known because I hid it from you. I knew how you idolized your father, and I didn't want to ruin it. In time, I forgave him, and we were happy once more.”

"All I'm trying to say is this… marriage isn't about running at the first sign of trouble. It's about sacrifice, forgiveness, love, compromise, and sometimes, a long walk along the Seine," she added.

The office was enveloped in a profound stillness as Linda concluded her speech and gently absorbed the warmth emanating from the window. Kylian grew unusually still and lowered his gaze.

The sight of unshed tears brimming in his mother's eyes hit him hard, and he knew she was telling the truth, because there was no reason for her to deceive him.

His mother never cried.

He had once held his father in the highest regard, cherishing memories of him with great reverence. But now that the truth had come to light, he was left with a sense of desolate sadness, uncertain of what to believe in anymore.

As he thought about his mother's pain and suffering at the hands of a man she loved, a deep sense of sadness settled into his chest, weighing him down.

He'd always been told he was very much like his father—that statement had never been so true as it was now. He detested it, along with thoughts of what Chloe could be going through because of his actions.

"Why are you telling me this now?" His voice came in a flat, emotionless tone, looking up at his mother.

"A mother knows what her child needs." Linda stood up and took her bag from the table. "Nobody's perfect, and we shouldn't be quick to rush to conclusions without getting all our facts right."

Kylian hunched over his desk as he watched his mother leave. When she reached the door, she paused and glanced over her shoulder at him. "I saw how you tackled the West problem. That's enough for me to know the business won't suffer."

With that said, she turned and left.

Kylian let out a heavy sigh and loosened his tie. That hollow feeling was back, stronger than the last time, and he slumped back in his chair and swiveled it to face the window.

Despite the cloudless sky and the radiant golden sun, he felt himself sinking into a deep, dark abyss of regret, numbness, and unanswerable questions, until he was consumed by a sense of desolation and despair.

The weight of his realization bore down on him heavily, as he grappled with the questions that plagued his mind.

How could he have been so blind to his mother's pain?

How could he have believed that his parents' marriage was without fault?

Why had he assumed that he was the only one suffering in his marriage?

As he confronted these painful truths, a sense of regret and guilt consumed him.

That night they fought, and the things he said to her—words he couldn't take back—haunted him. Chloe's words had cut him, and he realized it was because they hurt.

He sighed dejectedly.

Nothing had felt right, ever since the day he received that envelope and one of his informants confirmed its contents.

Nothing made sense anymore.

He tilted his head upwards, closed his eyes, and let himself be transported down the winding road of memory. As he lost himself in the maze of recollection, his surroundings faded away, replaced by vivid images and long-forgotten sensations.

***

Under the scorching sun, the wind roared like an angry beast, tearing through the air with ferocity. Chloe's dark hair was caught in the wind's wild embrace, whipping around her face like tendrils of ebony smoke, as she smiled through the rush of air.

The memory was etched into his mind, vivid and unforgettable, as clear as a picture in a frame. That day had been one of the happiest of his entire honeymoon, and even now, he could recall every detail with crystal clarity.

Chloe exuded a radiant energy, her eyes alight with joy, her bare feet dancing in the sand, and her contagious laughter ringing out through the crisp, fresh air.

He couldn't help but stare, mesmerized by her in her yellow bikini, her hair tousled by the playful breeze.

In that moment, he knew he never wanted to leave her side.

"Are you sure?" Her eyes traveled a long way down the cliff they were standing on.

"I'm sure." His gaze lingered on her face, studying every detail of her features and the expressions that flitted across them, locking them away in the recesses of his memory for safekeeping.

"Is it safe?" She had asked, but her voice held excitement.

He had stumbled upon the place by chance, but as soon as he saw it, he knew she would love it. She had a way of finding beauty in the simplest of things.

"You're with me, my love. There's no place safer. Ready?" He tore his gaze away from her with much difficulty and stared down into the deep blue water at the bottom of the cliff.

"Ready!"   Chloe squealed and held his hand tighter.

Together, they leaped off the ground, and for those few seconds of being suspended in the air with a screaming Chloe, it felt wonderful. He felt as though he was flying.

He didn't want it to end.

The water rushed up at them, and they hit it with a loud splash, going under.

When Kylian resurfaced and his eyes fell on Chloe bathed in the sun's light, laughing with drops of water falling from her wet hair and face—he fell in love all over again.

"What is it?" Chloe had asked him. She must've thought something was wrong because he wasn't laughing, just staring at her like a lovestruck teen.

"Nothing...  You're beautiful."

Kylian's heart swelled with love at that moment—infinite love.

***

As the winding roads of memory faded, the images fell back to the back reaches of his mind where they would always stay. Kylian was pulled back into the white and gray of his office, all he felt was the painful gnawing of guilt and shame.

Was it too late to fix things?