Chapters (73)
- CONTENTS
- ALSO BY ANNA TODD
- DEDICATION
- PROLOGUE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FORTY
- CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
- CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
- CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FIFTY
- CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
- CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
- CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
- CHAPTER SIXTY
- CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
- CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
- CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
- CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
- A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- COPYRIGHT
- ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
I practically ran to the back door of the spa; thankfully, it wasn’t locked. I was soaking wet but hardly cared; I felt numb, nothing really mattered. My mundane boy and daddy problems were nothing compared to the problems other people had. I knew that. We were all just living on a giant rock, floating in the sky, anyway. By the time I entered the building, I had pretty much shut down, and Mali greeted me with dry towels and a warm hug. She also gave me cotton slippers and put my socks and shoes near the dryer vents. Her small efforts were entrancing and comforting and made me feel like I was in a bit of a daze. It was out of character for her to behave this way, and even more out of character for me to accept her gestures without complaining.
It took me until late afternoon to find my usual professional rhythm at the salon. I was relieved that I didn’t have any of my regular clients today. They would have noticed immediately that I was not myself. It was easier to get through the day with a wall around me. My guard was tested when I stepped into the reception area to find Mali with a scowl on her face, cussing under her breath. I searched around the lobby for the source of her anger and found my umbrella, dry, closed, and propped neatly against the glass window near the door.
I turned around and made it back to my treatment room before I broke into tears.
Life went on like that, both numb and excruciating, for a stretch of days. I worked. I slept. I cried. I may have watched a couple of movies with Elodie. I can’t remember any of their plots. I knew a Tuesday had passed because both my father and Estelle called me. I didn’t bother to call them back and ended up powering my phone off for a full twenty-four hours to see if I could get my life back on track without the distraction of the outside world. This is what my soul needed, to stop comparing my life to everyone else’s online perfection. I needed to find my roots again and remember the life I was building for myself before I met Kael. My self-sufficient bubble. I wasn’t made to fall for someone and then crash on the other side of it.