16 - THE LIFE SHE WANTED WITH ME

The very first thing I realized when we got into Velvet was that nobody looked surprised to see me beside Serena anymore. People’s eyes slid to the stitches above her eyebrow, as if the two of us were something they expected to see together. Serena noticed it too, though she adjusted her jacket before moving ahead without a word.

“You’ll be staying close with me tonight,” Serena murmured while touching my wrist as we moved toward the private event area. “Not because I think you need protecting, but just because I really want you here.” I stared at her injured face, remembering the promise she had made to me yesterday, then nodded because I finally realized she was keeping it.

The event hadn't started yet at the club, but it was already busy. Serena’s staff carried folders between rooms, checked guest lists, and also prepared the private section. Claire moved through everything on her own with the calm confidence of someone who had done it many times before.

Watching Serena work at the club made one thing painfully obvious to me, and it was that she belonged here too, and Serena trusts her with different responsibilities that had existed long before I came back home.

Serena caught my gaze at the event folder in my hands and gave me a small smile. “You’re thinking too hard again,” she teased while leaning right against the desk instead of standing for too long as she always did. I placed the folder down and folded my arms, while refusing to let her escape from the question that was forming in my mind.

“I am trying to know and understand where I fit,” I admitted, while I kept my voice still low. “Yesterday, you told me I was going to be part of your world, but today, this place still feels like something you made without me.” Serena studied my face right before reaching across the desk and taking my hand.

“That doesn’t mean there is no room for you,” she replied, with her thumb brushing right over my fingers. “It basically means I built it before I knew you would come back.” Something about the honesty in her answer eased the tightness inside me, because she wasn't pretending her life had waited for me.

A staff member came toward us with a guest list and stopped when she saw our joined hands. “Serena, the private section is ready, and we still need someone to confirm the final seating,” she explained while giving the folder to Serena. Serena immediately glanced at it and then handed it straight back.

“Maya can handle that,” Serena said, deciding while watching me carefully. “Give her the list and also explain what needs to be checked.” My stomach tightened at the responsibility I just received, but I accepted the folder instead of looking for an excuse.

I spent the next minutes looking for names, comparing the arrangements of the seats, and making confirmation of the seats that had already been made. Nobody treated me like a child or waited for Serena to make a correction of what I did. When I finished, I gave the list back to Serena and waited still for a reaction from her. 

“You handled that well,” Serena said, her smile widening as she looked over the pages. “I knew you could.” I laughed calmly because she somehow had made a simple task feel like a door opening. 

Almost immediately, Claire appeared beside the desk with another folder that was tucked against her side. “The last arrangements are ready,” she disclosed to Serena, and then looked toward me without hesitation. 

“Maya, the guest changes you made were correct, and I have added them to the final list.” The words from Claire were simple, but having to hear them from Claire changed something inside of me.

“Thank you,” I answered, while giving her a small smile. Claire nodded once and then turned back toward Serena. There was no rivalry in the exchange between us. It was just the uncomfortable realization that the three of us could stand in the same room without pretense that one of us had to disappear.

When the first guests started coming, Serena stood near the entrance despite the restrictions the doctor had given. She greeted guests, checked what she could check, and stepped back whenever the movement increased. I just remained close enough to notice every time her hand moved toward her temple. 

I wanted to tell her to go home but then I knew she had chosen to face the club without pretending the injury had not occurred.

“You’re watching me again,” Serena murmured when we finally stepped aside. I lowered my voice and then gave her a pointed look, while telling her I was making sure she didn’t overdo it.

Someone from her staff approached us with a question about the schedule of the evening, but before I could step away, Serena turned toward me and answered, “Maya is helping me with the event tonight, so bring the next update to both of us.” The staff nodded and left while I remained there with the realization that Serena had just placed me beside her without asking anyone where I belonged.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, smiling, staring at her. She squeezed my hand and held my gaze. “I know,” she answered, “and that’s why I did it.”

Soon after, Claire came back with another folder and a serious expression crossed her face. “There’s one thing we need to understand before tonight ends,” she disclosed to Serena, while placing it on the desk. Serena opened it, scanned the pages, and then slowly, her gaze met mine.

I was expecting another conversation about boundaries but then, Serena closed the folder. “I’ve been thinking about something,” she said, while reaching for my hand. “If you’re really going to be part of my life, I don’t want that to stop at the door of Velvet.”

My heart jumped before I could even have any control of it. Serena looked towards the room we had just managed together, and then looked back at me with a certainty that made me forget the noise around us. “I want you to have a real place here, Maya.”

I stared at her because I’d expected another romance, and not an offer that could change everything. “What does that mean?” I asked, with my voice quieter than I wanted it to be.

She answered without looking away, “It means I am asking you to build something with me, and not just stand beside me.” Her words made me completely still, because accepting such would connect me to velvet, to her future, and also to a life I once thought I needed to escape from.

I looked around the club one more time and I came to the realization that having to love Serena had just become bigger than just being together.