Page 83 of Love Unwritten

I channel the ache in my chest into my music. Rafael starts slightly swaying to the melody, looking at peace with his eyes closed and his shoulders relaxed.

“Now you got me thinking too,” Rafael says without opening his eyes.

“About what?” I’m hardly breathing as he continues.

“If we had met back then, I would have done everything possible to make you like me instead of hate me.”

He wouldn’t have had to try too hard.

Just like he doesn’t have to try too hard now.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Rafael

Our second official day of vacation goes to hell when I get an emergency call from my assistant, Ariel, notifying me that my ex-wife is attending today’s Dwelling board meeting. Canceling on Nico was the last thing I wanted to do, especially with how excited he sounded about us visiting the North Shore to watch big wave surfing, but I don’t have a choice. Being absent from today’s meeting will only cause me more problems since my ex rarely attends unless she wants something from me.

Unfortunately, my broke twenty-year-old self didn’t fathom ever needing a prenup, seeing as Hillary was the one with money, not me, so a judge had no choice but to award her fifty percent of my Dwelling shares.

Hence her ability to attend virtual meetings like the one taking place right now.

My assistant unmutes her microphone. “Mr. Lopez?”

I snap out of my daze and stare at the webcam. “Yes?”

“Ms. Wilson asked you a question about the recent financial report.”

Pull yourself together.

“Would you like me to repeat it?”

My teeth grind at the sound of my ex’s shrill voice, but I take a deep breath and remind myself that, one day, she will get bored or desperate enough to let me buy her remaining company shares.

I glance out the window overlooking the lagoon and families down below. Nico is probably getting a kick out of watching surfers tackle the ocean while I’m trapped up here, disappointing him.

This whole trip is meant to be about helping create visual memories that he can keep forever, and I’m already letting him down on day two.

He may not understand it, but you’re appeasing his mother for him.

I push any thoughts of Nico out of my mind and face my ex, ignoring the ache in my chest as I take her in.

Hillary’s beauty was never an issue. Her narcissism was, but I was too blinded by her glittering brown eyes and picture-perfect smile to notice until it was too late.

“What was your question?”

“What about the increased profits stated in the latest report?” She fakes a smile for the other staff and board members. Some return it, but Julian remains scowling through his webcam.

For a woman like my ex, appearances are everything, which is the only reason why she started dating me back in high school. I was the popular guy who bent over backwards trying to please everyone, regardless of whether it was healthy or not, and she was the posh new girl from Oregon who was more than willing to put up with my suffocating adoration and chronic insecurities in exchange for attention and increased social status.

Things weren’t always so toxic between us. It all turned ugly once I learned why she stayed married to me despite her growing affections for another man. Sure, infidelity played a huge part in our divorce, but it really was her pretending to be happy with our marriage that screwed with my head.

The only genuine emotion she had during our last year together was her happiness about my company finally going public, and I didn’t need a divorce lawyer to explain why that was.

Money was the reason we got married in the first place, so it was only fitting that it led to our divorce as well.

With a long exhale, I refocus on my laptop screen. Sitting through the meeting and reviewing the latest quarterly report is painful, mostly because I can see the dollar signs in my ex-wife’s eyes. No doubt she will be contacting her lawyer by noon to request a meeting with mine.

My mood quickly devolves into something dark and ominous after we end the call. Julian’s name flashes across my cell phone screen, but I ignore it while I wait for the email I know is coming.

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