Outside the rain was falling hard.
53
In Hunter’s bedroom, a mist was floating in the
air.
He was touching my back, his voice soft.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
“Don’t turn away, Chloe.”
His eyes were dragging me in. “Don’t move…”
Outside, the rain was falling like a storm.
…It was 4 AM when I started to think about the
important stuff.
<
“If you do this, won’t your boss get mad?
Maybe I should meet him, to talk about the
deal.”
Hunter smiled, “You don’t get it.”
“I’m the owner, babe.”
I stared.
Then he explained.
He had created this team with his own money.
“The 4 million salary was just random.”
“I can pay myself what I want.”
“I am telling you this because I want you to see
that I’m not like the guy you left behind. I can
protect you now, from your parents, or the
haters.”
<
12:38
My heart twisted.
58
I had told him these things when I was breaking
up with him.
It was raining, and he smelled like the ocean.
He was stubborn, standing in front of me.
“Chloe, I don’t want to break up.”
I laughed, “You don’t get to choose, Hunter, this
is one sided.”
“You are going to lose your education, and your
future, and for what? I can’t like somebody who
is this hopeless.”
“This was just fun for me.”
Hunter’s eyes had been red, but he did not
leave.
I had walked a
and he had waited autoida
<
12:38
I had walked away, and he had waited outside
all night.
…I snapped out of it. “I thought you would want
to punish me.”
“Of course, I want to hurt you.”
He touched my face. “When I went to the
airport, I still wanted to see you.”
I was shocked.
“I saw a man taking you back home. You were
wearing a fancy dress, and he kissed you
before he left.”
I tried to remember, but I couldn’t.
Those were the days when my dad was trying
to sell me off.
“When I was overseas, I thought of you all the
<
12:38
time, and I started to agree with you.
“I was too young. I didn’t have a future. How could I have promised you?”
“So when they asked me to play pro, I said
yes.”
“Chloe, I want to stand in the light and have you
see me.”
I had met his teammates from overseas, later.
They told me how Hunter had been obsessed
with winning.
He had gone too far so many times.
“When he raised the cup, he was looking at the
dark seats. I asked who he was looking at, but
he never answered.”
But tonight, I didn’t know that.
<
12:38
I just hid my face. “I thought you were coming
back to get even.”
“I came back to date you.”
Hunter looked at me. “I know what you are
thinking. You’ve been through some tough times, and you’ve changed. You still pretend to
be that girl from seven years ago.”
“You don’t have to.”
He kissed me.
“Because I will love all of you.”
15
Fall came, and the Crawford–Reed project was
officially launched.
I called my mom, and told her. “Crawford is
mine now If you want to leave dad I will help
<
mine, now. If you want to leave dad, I will help
you.”
She yelled at me for not being a good kid.
I told Hunter: “I can’t save her.”
“She is going to stay with him forever.”
He nodded, his hair messy. “You’ve already
given her seven years.”
I pulled out a cigarette and then put it back.
“Jack contacted me, he said he will sign the
divorce papers, but he wants to see me first.”
Hunter got a dark look on his face. “I’m coming
with you.”
Three days later, I met Jack at the bar.
He was drunk. “I’ve broken up with Sierra.”
