Page 122 of My Only

Not once.

Not even on the worst days.

I still remember that night. Standing outside her hotel room in D.C. in the early hours of my wedding day, the one I had with my ex-fiancée, Sienna.

I begged Ayla to admit it.

To say what I’d known for years.

That she loved me.

That she had always loved me.

I waited. And waited.

And when she finally said it, I knew.

Forever.

Me and Ayla.

That was the plan.

That was the whole damn point of getting married in the first place.

So why did I feel like everything was falling apart?

The Greene Gardens Project was supposed to be the final piece.

The thing that would set us up for life.

Money was handled.

Our love was unshakable.

I thought that was all we needed.

But now?

Shit.

Now, I wasn’t sure anything was enough.

The constant delays at work.

The flaws I should’ve seen before creating them.

The pressure of Bryant’s expectations weighing me down.

I was starting to feel like I wasn’t the guy who should be leading this project.

And I hated it.

I pulled into our driveway.

Dragged my tired ass up the paved walkway.

Stopped a few feet from the door.