Soulmates & Twin Flames

17 - The Fall

The loud music and the crowd's noises are wuthering from a distance as I sit at the edge of the bench, staring at Nate's puzzled face and blank, green eyes.

"No," I say, taking my head between my hands. "He isn't. He can't be." Roman can't be engaged to someone else. We spent the entire week together!

Nate's frown softens as the look in his eyes changes from confusion to... Pity? God, he's pitying me!

"I'm sorry. He didn't tell you." His face becomes a deep shade of crimson as he bites his lip. "This is not your fault. It's on him. It's only human to feel attraction. You couldn't have known..." he says, and keeps talking. His words echo in my chest like the base of a melody. I'm not sure if it's Nate's rhythm or mine at this point.

It's not your fault. It's Roman's. You are only human. It's in our code to long for our other half, if they exist in this lifetime, and fall for them the minute we recognize our soul in their eyes.

"I'm sorry," I say as my phone lights up with multiple texts from Roman.

'I'm at the airport.'
'Are you home yet?'
'Is everything okay?'

I shove my phone into my bag and reach across Daniel's back to pat Olga's arm. She stops talking and jumps up when she sees my face.

"I'm going home," I say, and when Olga attempts to follow, I squeeze her hand. "Please, stay. We'll talk tomorrow."

Olga reaches for her bag anyway, but when I shake my head, she sinks back to her seat. "I'll come see you in the morning," she says.

Squeezing her hand once again, I turn to Nate, who is already up and standing by my side. "I'll be fine," I assure him.

"Let me walk you to the door," he says and takes my hand.

I clench onto his arm as he cuts the crowd. The bubbles in my chest are about to burst again and rain down my eyes. We bust out of the bar as soon as Nate opens the doors.

"Do you need a cab?" he asks.

I shake my head and breathe in the fresh air. "I'll be okay. Thank you. And I'm sorry for treating you like crap. You deserve better."

Nate rubs my arms. "You deserve better than my egoistical, stupid—stupid brother."

"Okay," I whisper. Honestly, I don't know what else to say. "Bye, Nate."

I cross the street, and then I start crossing the avenues.

I don't know when I started crying, how I remembered the name I heard earlier or why I typed it into my browser. Roman Rhode and Tiffany... All I know is, I'm standing under the flashing lights of a billboard on the corner of Prince Street and Broadway, staring at the photo of a smiling couple on my phone's screen.

Her name is Tiffany Carter. She is blonde, a few inches taller than Roman, has a square face and striking gray eyes. She is a socialite and one of the board members of Optimus Maximus. Her father is a major distributor and a partner of the magazine. The internet says nothing about an engagement.

I dig deep, clicking on every article I can find about them. There aren't many. Perhaps this is why I missed it.

I can't believe I fucking missed it.

Most of their pictures are with other board members, except for one. In that photo, Roman looks like he is running for the next presidential election with Tiffany by his side. His calculated smile doesn't reach his eyes. I can't say the same thing about Tiffany, though. Her pale eyes have a warm glow as she stands tall and proud.