Lonely Castle

Things will look better in the morning

Melly

Struggling to open her eyes, Melly's hand frantically searches for her phone. f**k, why didn't I turn the damn alarm off? she thought, cursing herself.

Rolling over, Melly violently shakes Layla's arm. "Time to run," she groans, pulling back the covers.

Melly always pushes Layla to keep up with her morning routines, knowing it was the only way they both stayed sane amidst company dramas.

Layla pries one eye open, just enough to glare at her friend. "Oh God, no! Please, I'm bone tired, and it's so early…" she hisses, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Come on, Lewis, do you want a fat arse or a firm one? Because things are starting to look a little low and flabby back there," Melly teased, scrambling off the bed. She tossed a running bra towards Layla, who growls, willing her body into action. "b***h," Layla mutters under her breath as she catches the bra.

"Can we stop now?" Layla huffs, taking a small sip of Smartwater.

Sighing, Melly follows suit. "Lay, you know the deal: 10k and then you can go eat pizza." Groaning, Layla turns her attention back to her treadmill's screen.

"So, when's big brother going to announce the new share allotments?" Layla asked, curiosity piqued.

Increasing her tempo, Melly considers the question. "When he announces my return to the company, I suppose… Why wasn't the early release enough?" she asks, tugging on the waistband of her leggings.

"Emit may have let it slip to Rick, and we all know he'd do anything to get to see you," Layla replies, also pushing her speed.

Smiling, Melly rolls her shoulders. "I think after last night he'll steer clear of me, which will make the board meeting on Tuesday super tense," she grimaces at the thought of yet another boring meeting about performance schedules and whatever else they rambled on about, while wishing for a fire to break out just so she could leave.

Shane hands them each a homemade protein smoothie as they enter the kitchen. Smiling, Melly gives him a hug. "Good workout?" he asked, sitting beside them with a bowl of porridge and a side of bacon.

Sitting at the table, Layla groans, "You could say that," she says, staring lovingly at his bacon.

"Where's Emit?" Melly enquires, draining her smoothie. "He's checking on the boys," Shane replied, staring at Layla as he shoved a whole rasher of bacon into his mouth.

"Mm," Melly replies, not wanting to get into another awkward conversation. Staring out the window, she spots a shirtless Emit jogging up the driveway. Not wanting to witness a live s*x show, Melly excuses herself and heads for the ensuite in her room.

*

Powering on her MacBook, Melly cringes as she reads through the first of her 1,500 emails.

What in the actual f**k is wrong with people? Half of these could have been texts or voice Notes… First thing Monday, I'm implementing a new policy, she thought.

Putting in her AirPods, she diligently works through the first 500, the last of which is an email from the EG group welcoming her to the board and inviting her to a meeting. Fuckity f**k f**k.

She'd only asked her mother to buy the shares on her behalf out of support for Emit; unfortunately for her, Emit and Rick were a package deal when it came to business.

Checking her calendar, she noticed her assistant had already confirmed her attendance, no doubt as per her mother's instructions "Goddamn it!" She snapped a note to herself, fire mummy's little spy. She thought before closing the MacBook and picking up her phone.

Glancing at the screen, she caught a glimpse of a text notification from Nora Andrew's.

Brunch at the penthouse, Sunday! f**k! The thought of having lunch with Dru's mother terrified her; Nora Cheng-Andrews was a force of nature and had had her heart set on Dru and Melly's future together. Shame her precious son turned out to be a cheater.

She thought as she searched through her wardrobe for an acceptable outfit choice: 'one does not attend brunch with The Nora Andrews without proper attire and a gift,' words she'd have to thank her mother for later.

Luckily enough, she had a red and white fit' n' flare sundress that would be perfect for this occasion; the gift, however, would be tricky. Reaching for her phone, Melly sent her assistant Maggie a quick text asking her to have the parcel she left on her desk last night sent over to Mrs Andrews along with an overpriced bouquet of her favourite flowers.

With brunch sorted, Melly turned her attention back to her emails.

DRU

Walking into the living room, Dru found Rick, his MacBook, phone, and at least two iPads spread out, while a Batman anime played on the 72-inch projector screen.

"You know we have an office, right?" Dru asks, passing him a bowl of sweet 'n' salty popcorn. Shrugging, Rick takes the bowl. "But does the office have beer and 72inches of goodness?" he asks, shovelling an alarming amount of popcorn into his mouth at once.

Sighing, Dru settles down next to Rick, eventually laying his head in his lap. Within fifteen minutes, the anime is abandoned while they discuss the upcoming board meeting.

Feeling his phone vibrate, Dru reaches into his pocket and reads the message from his mother.

Brunch tomorrow, don't be late – oh, and Emit, wear something nice. I've a guest coming. Also, bring Rick; he's missed the last two.

Dru curses under his breath, bolting upright. He'd known this moment was coming, the inevitable confrontation with his mother, but he'd secretly hoped they'd have a few more weeks to win Melly back before facing her.

After everything that had happened, he wasn't ready, not yet. Still, maybe it wasn't a complete disaster if it got Rick home safely.

Exhaling, his gaze catches Rick's warm honey-coloured eyes.

"What's wrong?' He asks, concern colouring his tone. Inhaling deeply, Dru hands him the phone. "Bloody hell. "

'I know,' Dru replies, voice thick with resignation. 'She's impatient, and honestly, she's not seen you or Melly at any of her events since—'

'—the night of the LDN firefighters' banquet,' Rick finished quietly.

"You know, after you left last night, Layla told me that Melly hadn't dated a single guy until after uni… we f****d up", Rick said, handing Dru his phone.

Swallowing hard, Dru lowers his head. 'Rick, there's something I need to tell you. Do you remember Layla's graduation, when she came up to Scotland with Shane? She didn't come alone. I bumped into her and Melly at a bar; they were both drunk, and Shane was desperately trying to herd them. He asked me to help get them home. We ended up back at mine, and… well, Melly and I hooked up. By the time I woke up, she was gone.'

Enraged, Rick jumps to his feet. "What? You saw her and didn't say anything this whole time… " Shaking his head, Rick storms out of the house and jumps into his BMW.