Chapter 3 Gone All Night

On the other end of the line, Jacob Manning sounded a little incredulous. "Lila, are you serious? I always thought you had real talent. You'll have a bright future if you join the research team. But didn't you turn it down so you wouldn't have to be apart from your boyfriend?" "He and I weren't a good fit," Lila said. She clenched her hand, swallowed the lump in her throat, and continued, "I've made up my mind. Everyone needs goals of their own. I want to do what I love and what I'm good at, and our research could help more people. It means a lot." "Good, good. That's the spirit," Jacob said, clearly delighted, though he still cautioned her. "Make sure you've thought it through. Joining the research means enduring harsh conditions, and the routine can be monotonous. "You need to be mentally prepared. If you're sure, go to Evermere and look for my old friend's grandson, Rhett Draven. He's the project's investor and the one running the center. "He'll be back in roughly two weeks. You can apply through him directly. I'll fill him in on your situation and send you his contact info soon." Lila thanked Jacob and ended the call. By the time she dragged herself home, dawn had already broken. The house sat empty. Damian hadn't reached out to her at all. It seemed that it hardly mattered to him whether she was alive or not. He might even have preferred her dead. Lila trudged upstairs, her mind heavy with fog, and fell asleep. She woke to her phone ringing, pried her eyes open, and saw Damian's name lighting the screen. A faint ache uncoiled in her chest. She knew that it was all a lie and had already decided to stay away, yet her chest still clenched so hard that she could hardly breathe. She hesitated, then picked up the call, asking, "What is it, Damian?" Damian missed the distance in her tone when she said his name. His voice came sharp as he said, "Your parents said you weren't in your room this morning. You didn't get home last night?" Lila blinked in surprise, thrown that he knew about it. The lie escaped her before she could even think. "The rain was heavy, so I stayed at a hotel nearby. I just got back." She heard Damian exhale on the other end of the line. "Erin's coming back today. Your parents and I are going to meet her at the airport. We meant to take you along, but you weren't home, so we went without you. "There's a welcome dinner for her tonight at Oridane Hotel. You should come. Be good and don't make a scene, okay? What happened back then is over. You're sisters, after all." Lila lowered her eyes, a wry smile tugging at her lips. She figured that Austin and Serena probably hadn't wanted her there anyway, which was why they hadn't even bothered to call her. She had stayed out the whole night, and no one cared. Nevertheless, she didn't reject the invite. "I got it." If everything went according to plan, Lila would be at the research center in two weeks and gone for good. She decided to see him one last time and call it a goodbye. Damian sounded pleased with how compliant she was. "You're so understanding, Lila. Didn't you say you wanted to go to Gressia? Once I get through this busy stretch, I'll take you." Lila only smiled. "It's fine. I won't keep you any longer." Damian noticed nothing amiss and hung up soon after. Lila set the phone down and started to pack. There wasn't much for her to bring with her, just her identification documents and some seasonal clothes. She was rifling through her things when a small box in the closet fell and burst open, spilling a scatter of expensive jewelry. Underneath lay a diary and a photo album. The first page showed her with a shy smile and a bouquet of white roses, and Damian in front of her, tenderly smoothing her hair. Lila drew the photo out. On the back, in neat, elegant script, it read, "I like Damian best." Her friend had taken the picture on her high school graduation day—the same day she confessed to Damian and slept with him for the first time. She slowly shredded the photo into bits, then called a courier. She boxed up the gifts she had once treated like treasure and mailed them to Damian's house. From that moment on, they were strangers, and she believed that it was best to owe nothing either way. After she finished, she called Rhett Draven, Jacob's old friend's grandson. It rang twice before connecting, and a deep voice came through. "Who is this?"