Willow
This can’t be happening. No, no, no, no. Why now? Why here? My mind hits a blank, and before I even realise what I was doing, I get up and walk out.
“Willow?” I hear vaguely behind me but don’t register the voice. I haven’t seen Alex since he walked out of the home we shared, claiming that I had been neglecting him as a partner. But I have to admit that seeing him happy with the woman he betrayed me with hurts a lot more than I care to let on.
I feel a tug on my wrist and stop.
“What the hell, Willow?” I hear behind me and turn around, looking straight into the eyes of Reid. As soon as I see the confusion in his blue eyes, the fog lifts from my mind. I blink back the tears in my eyes.
“I’m… I’m sorry about that. Do you mind if we leave?” I ask and see him frown, but he nods and leads me back to his car. I honestly don’t think that I could go back inside after that display.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Reid’s
Willow The following day I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I enter the office. For some reason, I woke up calm and at ease this morning despite my confused feelings, so now I’m ready to face the day. Last night did not turn out as expected at all. Seth had my heart doing flips, and we have so much in common, but Reid did something no other man ever has; he comforted me and took my mind off the hurt. Everything in me tells me to go the safe route and pick Seth, but a little voice is egging me to be spontaneous and choose Reid. But I have already made up my mind, and today I will put it into effect. “Okay, bitch you need to explain this!” I chuckle when I hear Mel approaching me while holding up her phone. “What is this? 20/5? What the heck happened last night?” She exclaimed, curiosity itching her to the core, I bet. I wink at her, “I’ll tell you more at lunchtime. Try and hold out until then,” I say while flashing her an in
Reid I messed up last night; I should never have brought her to my lake house. She might think that I care about her feelings after this, when in fact, I don’t. This is to be a part-time thing, a welcome distraction to my current situation, but seeing her face screwed up in anguish last night was like a slap in the face. Willow is like the face of this company, the smile that greets our clients. Since I started here, I’ve always looked forward to her ‘good morning’ when I enter the building. So seeing that smile gone made me want to put it back. What the hell is wrong with me?! I sigh and enter the joint office, but I don’t see her as I walk past her desk. Her belongings were there, so she must be in. Fuck, I need to stop this and get my head in the game. My father is counting on me to break this case wide open; I have no time to deal with unwanted thoughts. “Reid,” I hear behind me before I enter my office and stiffen before
Willow In the weeks that follow, I barely see Reid except when I sit in on the board meetings, and even then, Reid and I clash. Seth has been helping me with a few things regarding the crucial case as well. The Simons case is finally going to court, and everyone is on edge even though we have a good case. Michael called for a final meeting with everyone, including Mel and me, on the morning of the opening arguments. The Sawyer PA was Seth’s sister, and she joined us as well. Michael clears his throat when we all file into the boardroom. “Good morning, everyone. Today is the day; everything we have put into this case will bear its fruits from today forward. I have faith in all that you have done, and I want to say thank you to all of you and let’s get these bastards.” He says, and applause follows. Michael indeed was a leader; we all look to him when it comes to cases like this. When we all file out, Michael asks Reid and me to stay be
Willow After telling Mel what happened this morning, but leaving out what happened in Reid’s office, I felt even worse than before. I think it’s only hitting me now; Seth’s games, Michael using me as ‘bait’. I suppose, in the end, I ended up helping Michael as I intended, even if it wasn’t the way I had hoped. Mel draws me in for a hug. “I’m so sorry, Willow. I mean, I knew Seth was a bit too good to be true, but I never expected something like this. What a shitty thing to do,” she says, letting go of me. I couldn’t agree more, though. I felt like shit right now. “Maybe you should go home for a little while to clear your head. The guys should be back from the courts soon, so why don’t you ask Michael for the afternoon off? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, considering.” She says. I think it over; maybe it won't be so bad. I don’t think he would mind after what was done to me. I nod, then we change the subject again. Lately, I just didn’t fee
Willow What exactly did I see? Reid and that woman seemed pretty cosy in the restaurant; were they together? If so, why did he need me as a date for his brother’s wedding? God, this is bothering me so much. I barely got any sleep last night because of this, and now I’m entering our offices, feeling dead. My hopes that today wouldn’t be as eventful as yesterday were bashed when I saw what was on my desk. A bouquet of pink asiflorum lilies. I stand there, staring at the flowers as if in a daze and slowly walk towards it as I spy an envelope. Who could have sent these and knew they were my favourite flowers? As I think these words, I groan aloud and pick up the envelope, knowing who sent them before even seeing the name. I hear a whistle behind me, “Wow, these are beautiful! Who sent them? Came the voice of Mel as she walked up to me. “You don’t want to know,” I say while shaking my head and opening the envelope to see a
Willow I don’t know what to wear. For the last hour and a half, I’ve been staring at my wardrobe and wondering what the heck I should wear. Zack had said it would be semi-formal, but since he lives in Cherry Creek, I knew I couldn’t just show up looking like a nobody. I sigh and make up my mind: an a-line champagne off-the-shoulder cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline. I had this custom made a few months ago by Matthew Greene of Greene Designs*, but never had the opportunity to wear it. So tonight, I think I will. I have never been this nervous before, and I think I might just vomit. Zack is making a big deal out of this, so all the spotlight will be on me. Not to mention that Reid will be my date for the evening. Would there be paparazzi? Oh, god, I hope not! Groaning at the mere thought, I make my way to the shower and resign myself to the fact that all eyes would be on me tonight. By 7 pm, I am dressed up and r
Reid I watch Willow down another glass of champagne and grab her wrist. “I think you’ve had enough, Miss Creed,” I tell her, but she snatches her wrist back and puts a finger to her lips. “Shhh, Missster bossyyy,” she says through slurs and hiccups. Sighing, I pulled her towards the exit, knowing she would soon be making a fool of herself in front of very important people. “Where are you - Where are you taking me?” She asks, looking around, but I decide to remain silent because I knew she would only argue with me. Even in a drunken state, Willow is unfailingly argumentative; if not more so. How did I not notice that she had been drinking too much since her editor put his slimy hands all over her? Clearly, this was hitting her harder than she had let on, and the mere thought of it pissed me off. Even though we were in a fake relationship, I should have defended her honour on that stage. Was I that much of an asshole? I
Willow Eh? EH?! I jump up and immediately regret it because of my throbbing headache and eyesight going blurry. “Fuck,” I mutter, holding my head and squinting at Reid. “We were on TV?” I ask, trying to remember if I saw cameras last night but coming up empty. “Yip. You made the news and I was seen on your arm so naturally, my family assumed we were a couple.” He says in an exasperated sigh before turning his head to look at me. “I’ll go get dressed and take you home; I’m sure you’re dying to get out of those clothes.” Why did that sound so naughty though? As if picking up on my thoughts, he chuckles. “I’ll be out in a bit.” I watch him walk towards the room I slept in and breathe out a sigh. Reid took care of me again last night. He could have just left me in the lobby of my condo and had the concierge take me up to my room, but he brought me here again. Why was he being so nice to me?
Willow Building an empire alone is one thing, but building an empire with someone you loved was something else entirely. You strive for the other’s success and knowing you had them in the corner with you meant so much more. A year after his surgery and chemo, we decided to add more rooms to the lake house; two studies and two guest rooms for when the family visits. It cost us a pretty penny, but with the success of my romance novels, and Reid selling the shares in his father’s law firm, we were good for it. I managed to open my own editorial house as well, so now I manage myself and at least four other new authors. My success was growing and so was Reid’s, who had a knack for the business world. Soon after he joined one of the largest marketing firms in Denver did they see a rise in their price on the stock market. Reid started being known as ‘Golden Thumbs’, whatever he touched seemed to multiply in success. I’m so proud of him and e
Willow My head whips to the door, and I take in the sight of the man I deemed my brother before running straight into his arms. Noah knew all the right things to say, and when I told him about what would happen today, he said he would be here for me until I decided to chase him away. “Noah!” I exclaim, wrapping my arms around his neck and taking in the familiar scent of him. I heard the low chuckle in his chest as he held me close, knowing words couldn’t express what I was feeling right now. When he lets go of me, we walk over to the bed I would be sleeping in and sit down, where Noah places his hand over mine. “I thought I used to be a fucking tough rockstar, fighting depression while performing in front of thousands, but what you’re doing blows all that away. You’re an amazing person and an even tougher bird, Specs. I take my hat off to you for what you’re doing, but since I am the only one that can currently see through your bullsh
Willow Okay, I knew this would come; I didn’t know it would come so soon after we just made love. Reid looks at me and cups my cheek, wiping away the tears that had formed even before he told me. T hey discovered another tumour and had no idea if it was cancerous or not, but River would get back to him with the results in a day. If all goes well, they will remove the new tumour and proceed with chemo to eliminate the parts they couldn’t remove. But for now, they didn’t know if it was malignant or benign… the test would reveal that. “I didn’t want to ruin our first Christmas together, especially not after what you did for me. But it felt wrong to hide this from you,” he says while his bottom lip trembled. This was more difficult for him than it was for me, knowing that he just got this happiness and it might be taken away just as quickly. “I understand. Thank you for telling me. I’ll still be by your side, no matter the outcome
Reid How is everything so perfect and yet so devastatingly painful? I sat down opposite the woman who has come to mean so much to me, and she’s chatting away while we’re having lunch as if yesterday’s events didn’t loom over us. She’s decorated my home for Christmas to welcome me back, and she’s cooked for me - how could fate be so cruel as to give me someone like Willow Creed, knowing that I wouldn’t be long for this world? When River came to me this morning, I didn’t expect him to deliver the news he did since they gave me the all-clear on the operation. But he received a call this morning to say that there was an error in one of my MRI scans, and what do you know? They discovered another tumour and is clearly inoperable at this stage. He took some tissue samples this morning and would let me know if it was malignant or benign. But there is an out if it is cancerous, and it comes with radiation treatment and chemo, so that means man
Willow As soon as Reid was out, I left the hospital and made my way back to my condo while driving his car. As much as I wished to stay at his side, I was pretty drained and would do him no good by feeling this way. When I arrive at my condo, I grab a few more items I would need and head back to Reid’s lake house. Yeah, this was my home and all, but the lake house has come to be an important place for me as well. Within the hour, I was back at the lake house and didn’t even bother to shower as I headed straight for the bed. The pillowcases still smelled like him, and before I knew it, I had passed out with nothing but thoughts of Reid on my mind. When I open my eyes the following morning, I reach over to the spot where Reid should be, only to find it unoccupied. I had such a wonderful dream before I woke up, and to not see him beside me crushed my heart a bit. No worries, I suppose; he’s in the hospital and would probably get released
Reid My father is standing in front of me, sobbing his heart out because apparently, he blamed himself for my stroke. River said the same thing, even after I told them it was okay. What’s the point in whining over a death that would have ultimately come? Yes, they pissed me off with what they said, but that didn’t mean that I hated them for it. “You’re not a defective son, Reid. Please don’t ever think that about yourself! I am proud of what you’ve accomplished with your life, but I don’t want you to live your life to please me anymore. When you’re 100%, we can go over what you want to do from now on, okay?” My dad says while gripping my shoulder. I nod and give him a wan smile before he walks away again. My meningioma has grown no larger than my last check-up, so they have prepped me for an operation on the 30th, which was a few days away. I have to admit that I am terrified; even though everything still seems a bit hazy to me, I am still aw
Willow I watch Reid slump against the car door and wrench the steering wheel from his hands, with my heart beating right out of my chest. Thank God that this is an automatic, or I probably would be dead right now. After I bring the car to a stop, I check Reid’s pulse and breathing, then pull out my cell phone to call River. Fuck their differences right now. I have no idea how I am remaining so calm, but I have a feeling that this will all probably hit me once the adrenaline leaves my body. I exhale, then dial River’s number, who answers on the first ring. “Willow! Hey, listen,-” “No, I don’t have time for that now, River. There’s been an accident and Reid has passed out.” I say and go on to tell him where we were currently before putting the phone down and actually calling an ambulance. When my eyes fall on Reid, I notice the side of his mouth is a bit turned down and realise what could have happened. He was so angry, so pissed off at his fami
Reid My father watches me with a glare, and before he even opens his mouth, I know what is coming. “Do you know how you’ve made your mother feel with this stunt you’ve pulled, Reid?” He says, the fake smile dropping from his face as promptly as he put it there. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose before straightening my back to answer him. “And I have apologised to her profusely for going MIA on all of you, have I not?” I say, leaning against the kitchen counter. River shakes his head. “That’s not what dad means, Reid.” He says, the joy in his eyes earlier replaced by disappointment. “Don’t think for one minute that we’re not happy you’ve decided to live. But how do you think mom feels knowing that she wasn’t the one to make you change your mind?” I look at both of them, dumbfounded that this would be the conclusion they would come to after all this time. “So you guys are happy that I’ve chosen to live, but not that
Willow I’m watching Reid from the passenger seat and noting how completely calm he looks. Instead of the rigid lawyer now sat a man with his mind made up and chatting happily while sitting slightly slumped in his seat. I can’t help but think how much his decision weighed on him, knowing he could die at any given moment. Allowing myself to smile a little, I take in this different side of him with a happy heart. “My mom is looking forward to seeing you, as usual,” he says with a snicker, his eyes flickering towards me, then back to the road. “I’m a bit nervous about seeing your family after all this time,” I admit while fidgeting in my seat a bit. Yeah, it was all good and well that Reid had changed his mind about the surgery, but I had literally cut them all out of my life since we ‘broke up’ after Aspen. Would they still hold a grudge? Reid looks over at me and grins. “I can promise you now that you have nothing to be