Directors—Check; Rowan's grandfather—Check; Shreya—Check; Sawyer—Check; Desmond's rivals—Check. The investors are showing interest; with a word from me, they definitely won't think twice about investing. Desmond will be in form; it will take time, but the company will be in form, and I will make sure of it. I will be behind Rowan in everything, especially while running the company, so he will never face any difficulty in the future. That's it; my goal and Rowan's too have been achieved. We should stop this fake relationship; it's high time.
I started descending the steps; Rowan was on the couch, scrolling through his phone. Thomas and my dad were discussing something. I approached Rowan and sat beside him; he acknowledged my presence with a smile. Now comes the biggest part. How to break the news?
He is not going to react how I think he will, right?
It was easy when we entered this fake relationship, but I don't think it would be the same way when we want to end things. A small groan hummed in my throat, and Rowan squinted at me. Well, it's now or never; just do this, and anyway, we should end this someday.
I cleared my throat to get Rowan's attention, and he kept his cell aside. "Directors are on your side." I slowly started, and he nodded at that. "Mr. Mehanth and the other one are willing to continue on your side." I tried to boost his energy, and once again, he nodded, confusion evident. "Shreya and your grandfather are out of the picture." He nodded, squinting his eyes. Don't do that; I wanted to groan. "Your dad won't be a problem, as things are handled," I added, and he hummed. "Investment will flow; don't worry. It will take a few years, maybe less, but in no time your company will be where it was." I assured him, and he didn't utter a word. "The main thing is your enemies are taken care of, and the rest are manageable, as I will be by your side." I think I'd summed up the main points.
"Rowan, we should stop this act" I spoke slowly, and he was in shock at hearing my words. "Are you fucking breaking up with me?" He shouted, successfully gaining the attention of everyone. I rolled my eyes at that. Seriously? "Rowan." "What?" Once again, he shouted, and I could hear a chuckle from both my dad and Thomas. My eyes fell on them. "Could you please give us space?" I spoke, glaring at them. "Dream on, go on, we are loving this." I groaned at them.
I sighed, giving my full attention to the person who was in front of me. "Rowan, you know this whole thing we were faking, right?" I tried to cross-confirm; I was totally confused about how he was reacting. "So, what? You can't just break up with me?" "There is no point in continuing this, as things are taken care of." I pointed out the matter-of-factness, and he gritted his teeth in return. I sighed as I watched him.
"I am not liking this," he stated. "We can't continue this, and you know it." "So, you made up your mind to ghost me." He questioned me, and I was confused by that. "You would end everything with me, right, like before? You will vanish from my life just like before." I never thought of doing that, and I didn't regret ghosting him before. It was a much-needed action on my part, or else I would have lost my mind. At one point, I had, and strangely, I don't regret it. "I won't. Sorry for before, but this time, I will be in contact." His face lit up at that, and he gave me his full attention. "Really?" I nodded at that. "I will be busy, as I am thinking of expanding the company. I may not be in regular touch with you, but I will be whenever I am free." I clearly explained the upcoming situation to him, and he nodded. "So, should we go public about this?" He leaned on the couch and threw the question to me. "I never went public when we were in a relationship, so I don't think it's necessary." He nodded at that, chewing his lip in the process.
"So, that's it?" "We will be in touch?" I assured him. "Plus, contact me if anything troubles you; don't hesitate." I met his eyes at that, and he nodded. "I will pack then?" "No, leave your things here. You can crash here whenever you want without invitation." He smiled at that, and his eyes fell on my dad. "He won't stop you." He chuckled at that.
We stayed in silence, processing things. "I hope I was a good boyfriend." The question came out of the blue, and I was taken aback by that. I immediately faced him, and he rolled his eyes. "Hey, I wasn't that bad, was I?" Oh god, what is he doing? He is forcing me to lock him up for good. I nodded at him, as suddenly my throat went dry. "Rest now; tomorrow I will drop you." He nodded and started to climb the stairs.
I watched the retreating figure, feeling a pang in my heart for no reason. "You really end this?" My dad had an unbelievable look on his face, and I groaned at that. "You wanted this," I stated matter-of-factly. "When did you ever listen to me?" He was confused and taken aback by my words. "What's your problem?" "This whole thing." Sometimes, he annoys me like hell. "Leave me alone," I shouted at him, and he rolled his eyes. "Gladly." He started walking toward the door. "Thank god, finally this shit has come to an end." He shouted, and I wanted to punch him so badly.
Thomas and I were the only ones present, and he gave me that look, which I hated to my core. "Don't give me that look," I grunted. "What look?" He acted confused, and I coughed at that. "Knowing look." I groaned, and he chuckled. "Well, I am curious." I averted my face from him, feeling a rush of heat in my body. He will always get me on my act. I hate that. "I will wait." He stated. I don't know what he was talking about, and I just shrugged at that, acting innocent.
"So, he just ended things?" Davis asked the same question umpteenth time, and it's ticking me off. I grunted in return. "He voluntarily broke this off." I groaned. "Why are you repeating the same shit again and again?" I glared while questioning. He surrendered his hands, rolling his eyes. Audria chuckled in the corner. "Your mood is odd." She stated, and I was confused. "How odd." "Like heartbroken." She stated, and in fact I felt that way. "Because he initiated this," I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. "So, you would be ok if you had suggested ending things?" She asked, and I shrugged at that. "Maybe," I answered her.
"You know it was fake, right? Why are you acting this way? You are fucking worrying us," Davis shouted, and I coughed at that. Geez, I am not even getting why I am upset when he initiated this. It should come to an end someday, but still, I am in a foul mood for no bloody reason. "Things were going easy with him. No headache, no drama, no worries; as I said, things were in flow." I groaned as words left my mouth. "You mean, he was nodding at everything, and you were carefree?" "Hey." I glared at Davis. "Do you at least remember that you are straight, for F's sake?" He shouted, and I was offended by that. "Of course, I am." "Thank god, you got me worried for a second." I rolled my eyes at that.
"Rowan, would you just get out of this bullshit and concentrate on dating someone else? You are turning 27, for god's sake." "Look, who is talking?" I taunted him, and he averted his eyes in agitation. "At least I know what I want, unlike you acting like an idiot." Davis knows how to push the damn button. "What is that supposed to mean?" "Think straight, as you are straight. You guys were acting, and it ended for good." He groaned in irritation, and I huffed. "Davis is right. Rowan, your foul mood is worrying us?" I was confused at that. "Hey, I didn't turn sideways for your information. I am still straight. What I mean is, things clicked, and most importantly, he took care of everything." "So, you basically mean he took your position of being a housewife?" Davis taunted, and I sighed, not knowing how to explain things. "F, you," I shouted at both of them, and Audria chuckled.
"Rowan, I get you. You are worried that things would not be this easy with someone else, right?" I slowly nodded. "Something like that." "Relationships are messy; they have ups and downs. You know that, right?" I grunted in acknowledgement. "Rowan, you both didn't talk about the future, and there was no commitment. You both didn't work for anything like any other couples because it was fake, so it was easy." Audria slowly spoke, weighing the words. I slowly nodded getting depth of her words. "No discussion, no agreement, nor disagreement for anything." She added. "At least did you guys know basic things about each other? You didn't bother to know, right?" I hummed, not knowing how to take that one. I don't know anything about him, only a tad bit that he threw. "Rowan, it was fake, so it was easy." Well, I didn't think that way. It makes perfect sense. I hummed, leaning back with a content sigh. She is, damn, right. I worked so hard in my first relationship to be damn perfect. That was a headache, but I enjoyed every moment with her, as I wanted to be with Isabella forever. I slowly nodded at myself as things clicked. "You are, right? I didn't think that way?" They both chuckled hearing my words.
"So, what next?" Davis directed it to me. "Things are taken care of. I am relieved. First things first, I should get laid. It's been damn years." I stated, and Davis snorted. "Of course, you should, or else South Zone may turn into a stone." Audria chuckled. "Shut up." I smiled at that. "Thank god, I thought I lost you." Davis moved closer to me as he said those words. There wasn't much contact with him or with my family members. I was exhausted with their routine questions and pestering, so I had tuned them out. "Well, I am here." He hummed with a smile.
"I told you this before, but you didn't take me seriously." I tried my best not to glare at Brandon. "Dante..." He dragged out my name. "What's going on here?" My dad always has this perfect timing to interpret me. My face fell on Brandon, who immediately raised his hands in panic. "I didn't inform him." He didn't waste time defending himself. "I wanted to surprise Brandon." My dad clarified. "Well, could you wait outside?" I am not going to discuss it in front of him. "You are my son; let me see who dares to push me out." He sat firmly in the chair. I huffed, and Brandon's eyes were darting from me to my dad, panicked about the situation. I felt pity for the guy, so I didn't fight back with my dad. "Don't mind me; continue." My dad took out his cell and acted like he was watching something. Brandon and my eyes met at that, and the doctor rolled his eyes.
"My only question is, would it happen all the time?" I directed it to the doctor, and as I saw his face, I knew I didn't clearly ask the question. "I will sleep like a dead body every time I am around Rowan. Would it happen all the time?" Brandon chuckled at that, and my dad coughed. "You were sleep-deprived for many years, so in a situation like this, your body gives in for good." I hummed, not liking the answer. "So, you mean all the damn time?" What's the damn use when I am asleep like a dead animal beside him? "No, no, Dante, you would get control of the situation when your sleeping habit improves." I released the breath that I was holding. Thank God, I would have a heart attack if the answer were the other way around. "See, I told you before," I stressed the point. "Dante..." Brandon once again dragged my name. "I am not an idiot if you think that, for this reason, I will cage Rowan." He would be worried sick if I didn't clear myself. I don't know why they both think that I would act out of character. Maybe I might give them good reasons to doubt me; hey, shit happens. "I see you are still hanging on that." My dad is equipped. I groaned at that. He might have witnessed what I was going through but was never in my shoes. He can't bloody judge me if I find my solace some way or through someone. "Dante, I swear..." "Spare me from your damn lecture; I am bloody tired of it. I wanted to confirm something, and I am a damn adult. Stop intruding in my life." He coughed at my words; the audacity of this guy. "I will be this noisy; stop me if you can." He leaned on the chair, glaring at me, and I groaned at that. I don't have bloody privacy in my damn personal life. I should block him, so I should better work on it, or else his nosiness will kill me.
"Are you done?" My dad directed the question to Brandon, and Brandon's eyes darted from my dad to me. Don't want to go against either of us, so I chuckled inwardly at that. Brandon didn't answer my dad's question, and my dad was getting angrier as the second passed. "We are done, doctor. Thank you. I will call you if I have any questions." I relieved him of the situation, and Brandon nodded at that. "Let's have lunch together." My dad announced out of the blue. Like hell I will join him. I started walking out of the cabin, bidding goodbye to Brandon. My dad was calling my name furiously, which I ignored.
"We should be more careful about Rowan," I informed Audria, as Rowan excused himself to use the washroom. I was relieved to see him, but his fickle mind was pushing me to worry about him and not to forget about his impulsive nature. "Why?" She was confused at my exaggeration. I sighed as I watched her. "Did you hear him? Angry because Dante ended things. He is not worried that his sexuality has been misinterpreted because of the stunt he pulled." I grunted the words, and Audria nodded at that. "We should hook him up with someone," I suggested further. "No, don't push him. We should give him time; so many things happened. Let him get over everything." Reluctantly I nodded, not liking the idea. He should start dating someone; the sooner, the better. "We keep a close eye on him. I know without my words you would watch over him." She chuckled, and I rolled my eyes at that. I leaned on the couch; I was happy that Rowan was back to his usual carefree nature, but there is an unsettled feeling that's creeping me out. "He worries me most of the time." She sighed, and I huffed. "Doing things out of the box, making impulsive decisions, whatnot." I groaned and she hummed. "Thinking like an idiot," I added with a grunt, and she chuckled. "He is spoiled and taken care of; we will continue that. Stop worrying so much." I nodded in determination. "We should and we will." Audria nodded resolutely.
He is safe, and he will be; I am making sure of it along with his sisters. Dante should have been avoided forever, but somehow, he entered. Rowan can be manipulated and he is too easy to fall for anything. This time, Dante's exit from Rowan's life should be permanent, and that will only happen when Rowan moves on date someone. As I said, the sooner the better.