Sparks Fly

Chapter Thirty-Three: Books and a Flight of Stairs

Look at me, updating so soon after the last chapter.

Enjoy!

—VIVKELLER23
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Rain

Rain Sullivan was back to square one it appeared. Because while she'd quickly found herself falling for Gray's womanizing playboy, gravity decided to interfere. And in true Ice Queen fashion, the truth had come in the form of a cold bucket of ice.

The good thing was that the scars she gained this time were just as invisible as the ones she'd spent years hiding. Not much of a silver lining, but at least she had experience handling betrayal.

She hadn't been to Gray's in a week. Last semester that would have been a travesty and would have ruined her perfect attendance. Seemed that even that part of her life had been upturned since she'd set her sights on the campus' Casanova.

But Rain refused to say she was hiding out because then she'd have to admit she had something to be ashamed about. She didn't, not really. It had been an honest, stupid mistake when she allowed herself to forget all the reasons a man like Teagan "Hot Tee" Miller was all wrong for her. Anyone else in her place would have lost sight of reality with the grand performance he'd pulled off.

Rain shut her eyes, counted to ten. The boiling in her stomach settled to a dull simmer which meant she hadn't completely lost her grasp on control.

Right about now, Rihanna would be telling Teagan to take a bow.

"Well deserved," she whispered, as she turned back towards her closet and pulled another handful of clothing from its hangers.

How stupidly pathetic. Rain didn't know whether to scream or laugh at the memory of how much she'd failed to see. She'd even offered to pay him herself for a little attention after witnessing his relationship with Gia, hadn't she? Had she even meant it?

Perhaps the price hadn't been right.

But what did dwelling on everything she'd done wrong do? She couldn't change the fact she'd actually fallen for the guy no one could tame. It should be easier to accept actually. It wasn't like anyone would have believed he would fall for her anyway.

Rain allowed herself to relax as she accepted that truth. She wasn't the first girl to have been pulled in by him. If nothing else, this would serve as a lesson learned.

With a deep breath, Rain was able to shake herself from the mist of regret she'd been living in for the past three mornings. All around her was opportunity. The white walls she'd filled with framed pictures of a perfect life no longer closed in on her. The boxes on the floor beside her bed held everything she owned, but it didn't feel like she was walking away.

No. For the first time in a long while, Rain found she was able to breathe. She'd tried so hard to make the estate her home, but since Mother died, the task had been impossible. No matter how many times she tried to make excuses for the stranger Randolf Sullivan had proved to be, and no matter how much effort she put into trying to abide by his wishes, the reality was simpler to accept. Rain had to stop living for the people around her. If she'd survived everything up to this point, it was more than time she began caring for herself.

Rain Sullivan had earned the right to her own life when most other people had never had to prove themselves. So maybe they hadn't been wrong to call her the Ice Queen.

Randolf hadn't taken the news very well. After all the money he'd invested into setting his plans to motion, it had to sting a little to know his money wouldn't buy him the one person those plans had revolved around.