Love's Rebirth

Episode 2

Delia's POV

Abi walked into my office with her tablet in hand. "I called your father. He said he'll meet you at Mercer Jewels at 5h30 pm, and thank you for the reminder. Your day tomorrow is pretty packed. You have back to back meetings all morning, then a strategy session with the finance department at 3pm. You also have dinner with your fiancee at Nobu at 7h30pm. The reservation is under his name." she said. I sighed, already dreading the busy day I would have tomorrow. I looked at the clock. it was 4h55, and I had to leave soon to make it to Mercer's on time. I stood up from my chair, powering off my computer, then put my phone in my bag. I walked out of the office. "Abi, good work today. I'll see you tomorrow. Travel safe." I said as I walked towards the elevator. Greta was already in the elevator, and she held it open for me. "Thanks, Greta." I smiled at her. We rode the elevator in a comfortable silence. As the elevator reached the lobby, I felt Greta gently touch my arm. "You are an asset to this company. Don't forget it." she said warmly. I smiled at her genuinely, grateful to have someone encouraging me.

We reached the building's entrance, and I walked towards the black Bentley waiting for me. "Henry, how was your day?" I asked my driver. He opened my door and waited for me to enter before answering. "It was good. I mostly drove your brother to his meetings. How was yours, Miss Delia?" he smiled warmly as he entered the car and set off. "Today was good. We're heading to Mercer Jewels." I responded. He nodded and said, "Miss Abi had already informed me of your plans to go there. She also said we'd be meeting your father there." I nodded to him before turning my attention to my phone.

I saw that I had a text from my best friend, Chloe. The text read: Girl, I need your advice. It's urgent. Answer when you can. I immediately called her. "D, oh my gosh. I'm so glad you called. I need you." she said, sounding panicked. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Ryder is back in town, and he wants to meet up. The last time he asked to meet up, I ended up naked and alone in a hotel room with no explanation. What do I do? " I rolled my eyes. Ryder was the bane of Chloe's existence. He'd strung her along for 4 years during college before dumping her unceremoniously at her graduation. Chloe ended up in therapy. I believed she had moved on, but I was wrong. Ryder had been making appearances in her life for the last 6 years, and she'd always end up sleeping with him. I've told her to block him multiple times, but it landed on deaf ears. "Chloe, you already know what I'm going to say. We've had this conversation countless times in the past. Maybe you should consider meeting other guys. You need to leave Ryder in the past, where he belongs." I heard her sigh, and I could already imagine the expression on her face. "It's not that easy, D. I loved him for a long time. Those feelings don't just go away." I rolled my eyes again, knowing this conversation wasn't going to amount to anything. I took my time before responding, trying to find the right words. "Chloe, I love you. But this thing with Ryder is getting exhausting. Maybe you should consider going back to therapy because your inability to let go of him is hindering you from moving on and finding someone better." I knew she probably wouldn't take my words to heart, but I still had to try. "Ryder is the human equivalent of a sewer combined with a garbage heap. You deserve so much better." She sighed, and I could hear the wheels turning in her mind. "I hear you, D. It's just hard. Thanks for talking to me. I gotta go. Bye." I sighed as she hung up, knowing that I'd be getting a tearful phone call in the next 72 hours.

We arrived at Mercer's and I went inside, bag in hand. I saw my dad near a display case close to the back of the store, perusing the items inside. "Daddy, hi." I said. He turned to me with a smile. "There's my little gummy bear." I laughed softly. "Dad, I stopped being little after middle school. You know that." I hugged him tightly. "You will always be my little girl. I told the salesperson I'd wait for you before going to the back to look at the pieces they set out." He kept his right arm around my shoulders, holding me close to him. I relished the embrace, enjoying being a daddy's girl. We went into the back and looked at the newest collection they had. It wasn't released yet, but they let us choose pieces from it because of the Cooper name. My dad saw a beautiful diamond necklace with a massive blue stone on a pendant. It came with matching earrings. I looked for something more understated. I saw a beautiful tennis bracelet with pink diamonds. Pink was one of my mom's favourite colours. My dad and I informed the salesperson of our choices, and they were removed from the display. We asked them to wrap the boxes, and I agreed to collect them the Friday before the party so that mom had less time to snoop.

Mom's birthday party was being held next Saturday, but her actual birthday is next Tuesday. I paid for our gifts and thanked the salesperson for their help. She blushed and nodded excitedly. My father and I left the store, got into the car, and made our way home. Just as dad was about to say something, my phone rang. The caller ID showed Leon's name. "Hey babe. I was going to call when I got home. How are you?" I said. "Hey baby, I'm good. I thought you were already home. I can call back later." he said gently. I smiled at his words. "We can talk. What's up?" I heard him take a deep breath, and I got nervous. "I'm so sorry, but I have to fly to Minneapolis for work tomorrow. We have to reschedule dinner." I sighed deeply. "It's OK, babe. Work is work. How long are you staying there?" He sighed before saying, "3 days. There's an urgent matter that has come up at the new hotel's construction site. I have to go check it out." I felt uneasy for some reason, but I shook it off, chalking it up to disappointment. "Well, travel safe and call me when you get there. I love you." He hung up shortly after, and I sighed again.

I watched the city blur past us as we drove. My dad took my hand. "What's wrong, kiddo? You're sighing like your favourite pet just died." I told my dad what Leon said, and he frowned. "That's the 3rd time this month. You need to talk to him about this." I shrugged. "Dad, he's busy. I'm the last person to judge because my schedule is worse than his." My dad sighed, keeping his hand on mine as we drove. I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Leon's behaviour than simple scheduling issues, but I ignored the feeling, telling myself I was just being paranoid.