Page 32 of In Love After Office Hours

All she could do was remember.

At first, it had been pain – just pain and nothing else. Pain at being rejected, pain at having all her dreams crushed with a single, unreturned kiss.

Serenity would have been happy if the pain had lived with her forever. When she was in pain, when she was hurt, it was easiernotto remember.

But the pain hadn’t lasted.

Right now, it didn’t even exist.

Right now, all she could remember was the terrible, agonizing beauty of how it was before.

Of memories between her and...him.

She closed her eyes as she hugged her knees to herself, pleading with Fate not to make her remember. But Fate didn’t listen.

“May I ask how old are you then?”

“Fourteen, sir.”

“Well, I’m twenty-eight. Exactly twice your age.”

Serenity blinked up at the billionaire. “It’s still not old.”

Serenity bit her lip hard, but still she remembered.

Willem, giving her the first of so many gifts – a pair of shoes specially made just for her. She remembered her breathless excitement - her dazed wonder and bemused awe when she had read the words he had written.

To make you soar.

Most of all, she remembered the times he was just there. Every important moment of her life – he had been there, a silent, steady, comforting presence that told her he would always have her back.

And slowly, she began to weep.

When the pain had been at its most devastating, Serenity had hated him – but not as much as she had hated herself.Fool, fool, fool,she had screamed silently to herself.

But now she knew it wasn’t like that.

She hadn’t been a fool.

Instead, she was a woman who had loved. The Dutch billionaire had taught her how to love, and so she had loved. She had loved him.

And love was always a beautiful thing, even when it wasn’t returned.

****

WILLEM SAT ALONE INhis estate’s balcony, a glass of scotch in his hand. The bottle on the table was nearly empty, but even so he was neither close to being drunk or even sleepy. The sun had finally started setting in the horizon, leaving streaks of color in the otherwise darkening sky. It was a beautiful sight, but it left him cold.

The truth was, all he could see washer.

It had been like that since the time she had quit...and he had let her.

He raised his glass to his lips and downed his drink in one gulp. The liquid burned his throat, and for some reason he was strangely reminded of the scalding taste of Serenity’s tears as she kissed him—-

Cursing under his breath, Willem shoved all thoughts of Serenity Raleigh out of his mind and threw the glass against the marbled balusters.

But as it shattered into pieces, all he could think of was how it reminded him of how Serenity’s heart seemed to break right in front of his eyes—-

Fuck.

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