King's Sword

Cherry Wine

THREE MONTHS LATER

Vance and I had a conversation the night Elijah went back home. I told him what our hours would be, what he's allowed to say and not say. I set boundaries that were non-negotiable. To my surprise he agreed to everything.

I moved to the Manor permanently, I quit my job, Elijah kept our cat. I am a stranger with a completely different life now.

Our mutual friends hate me for the way Elijah and I called off our engagement. They don't know anything about the things that were done or said, so in a way, I can't blame them. They think I'm a monster who can't see past people's flaws and most days I believe them.

Julianna keeps me company when she's home, oddly enough, so do Collin and Holland. They throw dinner parties while I work, sometimes coming into the study to chat and eat, not really talking to me or Vance who lingers in his designated leather chair by my desk. Still, I appreciate the white noise to distract me from my thoughts.

Vance still pesters me over my health, making it a daily routine to make me take my medicine and drive me to my weekly therapist appointments. I think he feels responsible for what happened with Elijah. I blame him too.

Cam comes over sometimes, delivering fresh titles for my collection or just to read in the patio since it has a nice view and it is beginning to get warm out.

"Adelaide." I look up from my lap at the sound of my name and see my therapist smile warmly. Her green eyes search my face for signs of recognition and I sigh.

"I'm sorry, I did it again." I let out a laugh as she nods. "What was the question?"

"Today would have been your wedding day, did you ever return the dress?" Dr. Lawson asks gently, careful to not trigger me, but I had gotten accustomed to the topic by now.

"I decided to keep it." I admit and her eyebrows shoot up. "Just incase..."

When I don't finish my sentence she smiles and nods. "Incase you want to work it out with Elijah?" I bob my head in agreement and fidget with my fingers. "You don't have to feel shame for wanting to regain some normalcy after everything that happened."

"I don't know what I want." I say. "Lately I've been feeling like a shell of a person but I don't know if I've just become aware that I've always been an empty shell. What if there's no normalcy to regain?" She crosses a leg over the other and shrugs.

"Have you considered your new normal? How do you feel about it?" I look for the answer in the paintings on her wall, one of a birds nest painted all blue.

"It's not sustainable." I say honestly, turning back to her and she writes something down. "Vance has nine months left in his contract, Julianna will be leaving for college in the fall and everyone else, they're just around for the money."

"How's Vance these days?" Dr. Lawson asks and I scoff before pointing towards the door.

"You can ask him, he's my shadow after all." I say with a shake of my head in irritation. She tilts her head slightly, a prompt to explain more. Besides the incident with Elijah, we rarely speak about Vance. About the things said in the library all those months ago.

"Would you say that your routine with him is normal?" My eyes widen and I chuckle. "You spend the most time with him."

"I spend most of my time trying to get away." I correct her and she scoffs. "He patted you down the first time I came here, and threatened you!"

"Because it's his job to protect you." She says humorously. "Has he ever made you feel unsafe or threatened?"

"There was one time I ate his leftovers." I say with a smile, remembering how angry he was and how I had to buy him another Philly cheesesteak sandwich in return. Dr. Lawson stands up and fixes herself a cup of coffee.