Ready To Take The Chance

~~ RHEA ~~

I was going to make them regret betraying me.

Henry. Amaya. Kayon.

All of them.

They'll see I wasn't one to discard like a piece of trash.

Lucian led me to the lawn of his penthouse, while Lilian walked in between us, hopping and smiling up at me.

For a moment I felt out of place.

I shouldn't be here. Lucian’s wife, Lily’s mom, should be with them.

And I should be back with Henry and my little baby Kayon.

A lump rose in my throat, and I forced it back.

No. They didn't want me.

They were clearly living their best lives like I never existed.

I was torn in their flesh.

Soon, a fast wind blew across the lawn, and I covered my face with the back of my hand, blocking the air as a private jet landed a few meters away from us.

“Yay. We're flying. I love flying. Do you like flying Rhea?” Lily asked, her eyes shining with excitement.

Though I could barely hear over the noise of rolling planes, I heard her ask if I liked flying.

Before I opened my mouth to answer, Lucian placed his hand on the small of my back, and I stiffened.

“Where are we going?"

“To Spain. Our vacation home is in the heart of the city, and that's where you'll learn everything you need to know about business.”

Vacation home? In Spain?

I was really leaving.

Just like that. Like the whole ten years here of my life didn't happen.

“What's that face? Remember who took me flying for the first time in my life? You told me not to be scared. Held my hands and talked me through the flight.” Lucian shouted over the noise, and I stared back at him.

I took a deep breath. A shaky one.

He was right. I used to be so fearless.

Henry broke me.

I nodded and let him help me climb the stairs into the jet.

I found Lily's hand in mine. Tight.

She swung her hand, taking mine along, just before we settled into our seats.

Lucian took the seat across from us, while mine was close to the windows.

The minute the plane ran across the tarmac, I held my breath, gripping Lily's hand tight.

“It's always like that at first. You'll get used to it.” Lily reassured me.

I released her a little, avoiding Lucian's stare.

I haven't gotten on a plane since I married Henry.

He barely took me out.

I made it so easy for him to rip me out of independence.

To think I was the daughter of Donald Hemmington and I haven't been on air in 10 years, talk more of owning a private jet.

It was absurd.

I lost myself over the years, and I didn't even realize it.

Not until now.

When it was all too late.

The moment we landed on another lawn, I could feel the foreign atmosphere of Madrid.

Spain. We were in Spain.

Lucian led me to one of the luxurious villas spread out on the lawn.

He showed me to my room and assigned their maid to take care of anything I needed.

Just as he was about to leave, I stopped him by holding onto his arm.

“Lucian. I don't know how to feel about this. I don't even know what I'm doing.”

He covered my hand with his.

“You don't have to. All you need to do is work with us. You'll figure the rest out.”

“Are you asking me to trust you?”

“Don't you want to?” He asked.

I trusted them. Trusted them like my life depended on it, and where did that get me?

"Honestly, I don't. You wind up after all these years, right at the moment I'm down like you've been waiting around for my—" I trailed off after realizing I said too much.

“Your downfall?” He asked, his jaw slightly clenched.

I looked away, not wanting to say more.

“I was there. That day. Your fifth anniversary. Henry put that necklace around your neck, and you looked so happy. I didn't want to trade that for anything.”

“Not even the news of my dad's death? He meant everything to me," I argued.

“He did?” Lucian asked in disbelief like he found my words surprising.

Didn't he watch how much I loved my dad all these years?

I swallowed, expecting him to say everything I was thinking.

If he really meant everything to me, I wouldn't have cut ties with him over a man.

“Come on, Lucy, please talk. Say that I'm at fault. I know I am.”

Stun flashed in his eyes, and I was going to ponder about it until I realized I called him by the nickname I gave him.

When we were kids, he was always gloomy and hardly spoke.

I nicknamed him Lucy because he gave off the same vibe as my favorite cartoon character who went by that name too.

“Get some rest. We'll start in the morning.” With that, he left.

“Ring that bell near the bed if you need anything, Miss Hemmington,” Vera, their maid, said as she showed me to the room.

Hemmington? Not Reynolds

It felt foreign but real. That was my true identity. Rhea Hemmington, before Henry, appeared into my life and took everything away from me.

I gave her a small nod to show I understood, and she left.

I reached for my phone, my finger hovering over the screen as I contemplated deleting I*******m.

The temptation was there to click into Hannah's page and check to see how they were doing.

I was so restless that I could barely stay in one place for too long.

I paced, ruffled my hair, and searched the whole room for something to focus on.

I ransacked the walk-in closet that was empty, throwing drawers open, not searching for anything in particular.

Then something tumbled to the ground, and I stopped, frowning before picking it up.

It was an album.

I flipped through the pages, and a tremor ran through as I saw the photos.

They were mine.

I won student awards as ambassador for my high school. Twice in a roll.

Pictures of my trophies from accounting. Pictures of my results from distinctions in college entry.

Lucian. Cain and my dad were all standing by me in every photo.

Surrounding me like I was their precious little stone.

I was smiling. Genuine happiness in my expression...

This was family. I hadn't realized it. I took them for granted, but they cared about me.

And I left all this for mere attraction.

Wasted ten years of my life on a lie.

A tear dropped on a page in the album as I flipped through them…

A note at the back read,

To My Princess. Heart You, From Mom.

My mom's handwriting.

She'd left on the album before she died years ago.

My dad told me all about her.

When I had gone through the album to my heart’s content, I carefully placed it on the nightstand.

Could I just stop feeling bad for myself and accept the possibility?

Possibility that a new future awaited me.

One without Henry's constant degradatory comments.

One without Kayon's judging eyes.

His dissatisfaction that I was his mother.

The next day, I woke up to Lily's squeal of excitement…

She'd just flung the door open and was hovering over me with a bright, cute smile.

“Good morning. Wake up and shine.” She chimed.

I blinked, my eyes heavy with minimal sleep I had gotten because I had dreamt about my old life all night.

Sleep was almost turning impossible.

Lucian was there. Standing next to Lily.

“Come on, sweetie. Don't be too loud. She's just waking up.”

“But today is going to be fun. We're having a makeover, and Rhea is going to look so pretty.” Lily announced.

Make over? Who?

“Yes. We're changing your look into something else. Old life gone. New life in. Thorough makeover." Lucian explained.

Right.

I thought about it all night…

What did Cammile possess that made Henry, throw our ten years away, like that?

What was so special about her?

Then I saw her.

Perfect hair. Smooth, flawless skin. Her nails were perfectly polished, and she smelled like she bathed with expensive perfumes.

Everything that I wasn't.

Now I understood.

I wasn't as sophisticated as his first love.

I was a mere housewife wearing boring clothes.

Most of the time my hair was packed up and unwashed, and my nails were undone, and sleep bags were under my eyes.

I could barely find time to take care of myself.

Maybe I could. But I didn't care.

As long as Henry and Kayon had a warm meal to come back to.

Their laundry was done. Clothes ironed.

Beds made. And their emotional support was available in the form of me.

I felt like that was enough for me.

I lived for them to a point that I forgot what living for myself felt like.

I got out of bed.

Ready to take the chance…

Ready to take the change…