Stealing the Heart of Mr. Steele novel Chapter 132

[Cordelia]

It felt so good to slam the door and walk away from all of that nonsense.

Standing in the same room while Atlas continued to make excuses for Angelica was the last straw. I had told them what had happened, what I had suspected, fears I was afraid of voicing because I was worried about how Atlas would receive it only to discover it didn't matter anyway. Atlas doesn't believe me. Or he doesn't believe that I know what I see and hear with my own eyes and ears.

I'm not sure what would be worse--him thinking I'm a liar or him thinking I'm foolish.

And Atlas--so much for not caring if others see us, or about the world and what it might think of us and our relationship. As soon as things got difficult, he hid behind his usual "just business" mindset and used it as an excuse to not follow through.

I'm not sure why I thought things would be different between us. One beautiful night together isn't enough to change a lifetime of bad habits.

I should have told my mother off and hung up the phone when she called, but a lifetime of my own bad habits led me to hand that phone to Atlas instead. I guess in some ways I could thank her for making her offer--it gave me a chance to see what Atlas would do if pressed with a true challenge.

I just wish...well, I guess I wish for a lot of things to be different.

"Why did Angelica have to come back," I moan, my face in my hands as I walk out onto the sidewalk.

I've never walked around my new neighborhood before, so I am not sure what I will find around here. In my last neighborhood, I spent a fair amount of time running around so I knew where everything was.

Looking up now I realize I'm more than a little bit turned around. I'm sure I could find my way back if I wanted to, it would just take a little bit of trial and error.

That is if I wanted to. Right now I would rather sit outside in the rain than spend another minute with people who seem to care more about profits than about me.

As if hearing my thoughts, the clouds overhead start gathering. The wind is blowing around the buildings fast enough to make a whistling sound, and while it isn't raining yet, the air has the smell it gets right before it does. I should have grabbed a jacket. Shivering, I look around for somewhere to take shelter.