Chapter 43

Chase awoke in the late afternoon with a pounding headache, still suffering the effects of last night's hangover. Without opening his eyes, he reached for the woman beside him, murmuring, "Amanda." He was shocked to see Nicole instead. Instinctively, he pushed her away. "What are you doing here?"

As the sunlight streamed through the French windows, I noticed my own presence fading. It suddenly made sense why I lingered near Chase, even after death. I had spent so much of my life intertwined with his, and despite the hurt, letting go proved difficult. My obsession had bound my spirit to him, but witnessing his true nature brought a strange peace. I realized I could move on only by truly releasing him.

Nicole looked hurt, lying on the bed. Chase’s first reaction had been to push her away. "Chase," she said, "you seemed off yesterday, so I came to check on you. But you were drunk and thought I was Amanda, and we…"

Chase rubbed his temples, appearing pained. I found his remorse ridiculous. When genuinely intoxicated, men are usually incapable of…well, that. Last night, he and Nicole had been… intimate… several times, each encounter longer than the last, and he seemed quite pleased. Now he acted innocent?

Nicole began to cry. "Chase, I never wanted to come between you and Amanda. But you kept calling her name, and I felt so sorry for you, so…"

Chase couldn't bear to see her cry and pulled her into his arms. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

Nicole nestled into his embrace, a slight smile hinting at her satisfaction. "Chase, when Amanda returns, you should reconcile. I won't interfere."

"Nicole, you're so kind. How can I not worry about you?"

Their tender exchange continued until Chase remembered his assistant had booked a flight to Cloudville. Realizing he'd overslept, he angrily called his assistant. "Why didn't you remind me? I've missed my flight!"

The assistant, who long suspected the closeness between Chase and Nicole, had seen last night's events unfold. He wouldn't state the obvious. "Sorry, Mr. Reyes, you were very drunk last night, and I didn't want to disturb your rest."

"You're becoming more useless by the day."

Chase sighed. "Never mind. Book a flight to the neighboring city. I'll find another way to Cloudville."

"Understood, Mr. Reyes."

Nicole took his hand. "Chase, let me come with you to pick up Amanda. I want to apologize in person. Maybe if she sees my sincerity, she'll return."

Chase looked at her fondly. "If only Amanda were half as sensible as you, she wouldn't give me such headaches."

"Chase, I think she's just trying to make you jealous. If you talk, I'm sure you can work things out."