Bad Desire: New Beginnings - Fast Forward

Part 22 - she was happy

A few days later...

The snow was incredibly deceitful. It danced down from the sky, displaying such beauty before laying delicately on the ground. It lured people in to its charms, making you believe in its magic, when in actual fact it was cursed.

Arlo was in his daughter's apartment, high up on the tenth floor overlooking this scene. He was stood in front of her room length window, looking down on Central Park as it was covered in this white deceit.

"Arlo." A repetitive voice soon grasped his attention, bringing him back into his consciousness. "Arlo! Arlo..."

"A few days ago she was in here." Arlo replied, not even turning to look at Estee as she was desperately trying to grasp his attention. "She was probably looking out of this window."

Estee was suddenly silenced as she watched her ex-husband fall to pieces in front of her. He hadn't looked at her once, he was lost in his own painful mindset of rumination and a deep longing to turn back time.

"She told me she used to love standing here with a glass of wine, just watching life go on beneath her. I had already envisioned these views before I had even come to visit. This is where she would have stood, in this kitchen..."

FLASHBACK:

With Christmas music blaring through the kitchen, Sophie and Jace were singing along at the top of their lungs. They were preparing dinner for themselves in the most stereotypical "romantic movie" style and were loving every second of it.

The people of Manhattan were getting on with their lives below, while Sophie and Jace were lost in their own bubble. Being back in New York felt amazing, they were home and Sophie finally felt much more content.

She had taken the plane journey to reflect on her time in Brighton and everything else finally seemed clearer. She wanted to make a brand new start with them all in the New Year. She was willing to head back to Brighton but she also hoped they would accept an invite to visit her here too.

"Let's dance." Jace announced as he immediately reached out, grabbing hold of Sophie's waist and urging her into his arms.

"Wait, Jace!" She called out in laughter, while dropping the spoon she had held in her hand.

The contents on it immediately spilt across the kitchen side but Jace just ignored the mess and continued to move in time with the music, as though this kitchen was a dance floor. As the busy city continued to get on with their lives below, Sophie and Jace were lost in their own little bubble in this beautiful apartment they got to call home.

This city was everything Sophie had envisioned but this apartment had been what truly made her life here. She'd had her eyes of this specific building years before even considering a move to New York, yet never even believed it would really be her home.

"Look! Look!" Sophie placed her hand on Jace's chest, bringing him to a stop so she could grasp his hand and urge him towards the window. "It's snowing!"

Smiling at his fully grown wife's excitement over a little snow, Jace happily followed her over to watch the few flakes falling from the sky. It most definitely wasn't as intense as the kind of winters he was used to living in this city but he understood that any snow had been a rarity back in England. This was a huge deal to Sophie.

"It's beautiful." Jace breathed as his hand slid around Sophie's waist, urging her back into his front.

Letting her body relax into his, Sophie turned slightly so she could look up at her husband and appreciate every one of his features.

"How did this happen?" She asked, causing a frown to fall across Jace's face.

"How did what happen?"

"This. How did I end up living here, doing what I do... it's just crazy to me. I used to dream of this."

"You worked your talented arse off for it, that's how." Jace replied simply before reaching out for their glasses of wine sat on the table.

Handing one over to Sophie, she took it from him with a smile on her face.

"Here's to the best Christmas ever." Jace announced raising his in the air.

"...in the most amazing apartment, in an incredible city." Sophie completed before clinking her glass against Jace's and taking a sip of the chilled liquid.

Turning to look out the large windows overlooking the streets of Manhattan, Sophie cherished this moment, not ever wanting it to end. This was her fairytale coming true. This was the dream her childhood self had acted out in her bedroom, with only her imagination. But in this moment, this was reality and this was her home.

END OF FLASHBACK.

"One day I spoke to Sophie on the phone and she told me she was watching tourists pass on the streets, taking photos of everything in sight." Arlo continued as Estee made her way over to stand by his side, taking in the same view he was seeing. "She fell silent for a moment after that and I thought we'd lost connection but we hadn't. When she spoke again, do you know what she said?"

"What did she say?" Estee asked, already imagining everything Sophie had been experiencing as she looked down.

"She said dad, I don't think I've ever been this happy in my life."

As Arlo repeated the words he had heard from his daughter's mouth, it caused his heart to clench in pain.

"...and after that I realised I had to stop wishing she'd be back home in Brighton. It was then I realised she needed to stay in New York because that was where she was supposed to be."

Wiping a tear from her eye, Estee removed her gaze from the city below and turned to look at Arlo instead. This was the first time herself and her ex-husband had been in the same room as one another for longer than a few minutes and it was sad that it was these heartbreaking circumstances that had caused it.

"She was happy." Estee whispered. "She had achieved everything she had always dreamed of. That's got to count for something."

❤️❄️🏙🌆