The Dahlia Trilogy (The Gilded Flower Series) Page 12

  Chapter 30

  “You’re really leaving tomorrow, huh?” Kai asks as they lounge on the beach.

  Dahlia looks away from the water and nods at him. “It’s what my ticket says.”

  “You feel ready to face the world? Because I can easily find you a place to stay on the island. Maybe introduce you to a few artists over on Bali. Island life is easy and simple.”

  “I’m sure it’s far better than life on my island of Manhattan. But just as much as you believe you belong here, I know I belong somewhere else.”

  Kai nods. “Fair enough.”

  “Do you think you’ll ever leave?” Dahlia asks. “Maybe see your family again?”

  Kai shakes his head. “Doubtful. Melia’s family blames me for her death. I brought shame to my family and damaged my father’s relationship with hers.”

  “Are you in touch with your sister? You must miss her.”

  “Yeah, I do. She emails from time to time. But she understands that it’s probably best to keep the peace, give everyone time to heal.”

  “It’s been five years,” Dahlia says, although she knows there’s no timeline when it comes to grief.

  “And it could be another five, who knows.”

  “You’ll never leave these islands, will you?” Dahlia asks the question, already knowing the answer. It’s Kai’s self-imposed prison.

  He leans over and kisses Dahlia tenderly on the lips. “The waves are beautiful today, like you. Let’s surf for a bit. You’re appointment is in two hours.”

  “How did you convince her to see me again?” Dahlia asks. “I thought you said she’s pretty sought after.”

  Kai shrugs. “The Old Woman’s always been kind to me, and I help her out with errands and chores whenever she needs it. She’s kind of a surrogate aunt if you will.”

  Dahlia falls quiet, wondering what the Old Woman will see, if anything. It seems only right to visit her one last time before she returns home. Although she hasn’t yet decided where that will be, she has some idea. Already, she feels different from the shattered, broken woman who was lying on the Old Woman’s cot a few weeks ago. And by the woman’s expression, she notices it too.

  Quietly, like the last time, she approaches Dahlia with a warm smile and cups her face in her small but strong hands.

  Her deep brown eyes search Dahlia’s for a few moments before motioning her to lie down. She moves her hands over Dahlia’s body without touching her, stopping for a moment when she reaches her knees and ankles.

  “What is she doing?” Dahlia asks Kai.

  He smiles and holds his finger to his lips. The Old Woman looks from Dahlia to Kai and smiles. Laughing, she begins speaking rapidly to Kai. After a moment, concern passes over her and she pauses, holding a hand above Dahlia’s heart. Kai and the Old Woman continue to speak a few more minutes. Dahlia resists the urge to interrupt, knowing full well that Kai will tell her everything, just as he promised.

  As soon as the woman stops talking, she turns to Dahlia, bows slightly, smiles, and leaves her alone with Kai. If Dahlia weren’t so aware of herself in the moment, she would have sworn she was reliving her previous experience.

  They walk out in silence. As soon as Kai opens the car door for Dahlia, she says, “You’re not allowed to make me wait to tell me what she said.”

  Kai laughs, playfully pushes her inside and closes the door. “Patience is an underrated virtue, Dahlia.”

  Chapter 31

  “She still saw you under the water and still saw the same person who looked like you but wasn’t you pull you out,” Kai begins.

  “Why don’t you skip ahead and tell me what I haven’t already heard.” Dahlia grabs hold of the door handle as the jeep rocks over the uneven road.

  “Fine. She says you look better than before. Your life force has grown.”

  “Does she know?”

  “About what?”

  “About us?”

  Kai smiles widely. “Probably. She winked at me when you weren’t looking. She noticed your body changed, the tension and unhappiness has been released.”

  “I assume you want to take full credit for that,” Dahlia replies.

  Kai reaches over and runs his hand up Dahlia’s thigh. “Not full. Partial for sure.”

  Dahlia moves his hand and says, “None of that until you finish telling me.”

  Kai sighs and pulls the car over.

  “What? Is it that bad?”

  He shakes his head. “No, but I want to give you my full attention when I say it.”

  “Okay,” Dahlia says nervously.

  “There’s no need to be nervous. Just listen.” Kai’s expression turns serious.

  “I love you, Dahlia.”

  Dahlia’s jaw drops. This isn’t what she was expecting, or even hoping, to hear.

  “Don’t worry, Dahlia. It’s not like that. I mean, maybe if you stayed, one day it would become more. It’s just that,” he pauses, “I want you to know that I love you. When I’m with you, when I’m in your presence, I feel at peace. There’s no struggle to impress you, or be someone I’m not. You’ve become a close friend. I will always be here for you.”

  Dahlia nods.

  “And you’ll always know where to find me,” Kai laughs.

  Dahlia leans against the door and takes a deep breath. After a moment she says, “I was beginning to feel the same way. It scared me because I felt that it was too soon, too fast. But I realized on the beach earlier that I love you as well. I’ve never loved anyone this way, so passionately, but so . . .”

  “Platonically.” Kai finishes her sentence.

  “Yes!” Dahlia laughs. “It’s the best of friendship and sex.” Then she pauses, “Why are you telling me this now?”

  Kai sighs. “Because of something the Old Woman said. I want you to know that I’ll be here for you if you ever need a friend.”

  “Spit it out, Kai.”

  “Fine. She said that the painful part of your journey isn’t over yet. You’ve only just healed one part of your heart, but another part will be torn open and someone you love will betray you.”

  “Does this woman ever deliver good news?”

  Kai nods. “Of course. The other thing she said was that someone you’ve already met but don’t expect will come into your life and help heal your heart.”

  “You realize that sounds like a terrible horoscope reading.”

  “Perhaps, but she’s rarely wrong.”

  “When has she been wrong?”

  “She thought you would’ve died by now.”

  Chapter 32

  The night sky begins to give way to dusk. Kai bends down and kisses Dahlia. “I have to go,” he says.

  She gets up on her knees and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him tightly to her.

  “I don’t have to leave for another few hours.”

  “Yeah, but I’m terrible with good-byes.”

  Dahlia covers his face with kisses and smiles. “You’re not even going to try to convince me to stay?”

  Kai smiles back and kisses her deeply, parting her lips with his. Dahlia gently pushes her tongue into his mouth, which he takes and sucks greedily.

  “I will miss this incredible mouth,” she says.

  “I will miss all of you.” Kai embraces her and kisses the top of her head. “I won’t try to talk you into staying. You deserve to the live the life you want to lead. If you decide you want me to be a part of it, you know how to find me.”

  He takes a step back and looks into her eyes. “No matter what ends up happening, I’m your friend, I will be here for you.”

  Dahlia nods, knowing full well the truth in Kai’s promise to her. His wide grin breaks the silence that falls between them. Grabbing her ass, he whispers, “I believe we owe each other a special farewell.”

  Dahlia pulls him back toward the bed and presses her body into his.

  Chapter 33

  “It’s about time you called, D,” Lily says in a tense voice.

  “
What the hell is up your ass, Lil?”

  “Besides being worried that my sister would take a bunch of sleeping pills while she was alone on an island grieving for her lost husband, oh, nothing.”

  “You didn’t really think I would go that far, did you?”

  “You should’ve seen yourself. Although on second thought, you probably don’t need that image in your head.”

  “You’re sounding way too snippy, Lil. Don’t tell me Alejandro turned into a sociopathic control freak as soon as you moved to Miami.”

  Lily chuckles. “Alejandro is great. It’s just . . . Gustavo is proving to be a big pain in the ass.”

  Dahlia shrieks, drawing the attention of a few people in the airline lounge. “What has that bastard done now?”

  A loud announcement over the speaker drowns out Lily’s response.

  All she can make out is, “Where are you, D?”

  “Hong Kong. Insanely long layover. I’m bored as fuck.”

  “You want to tell me what you did while you were away? Vi mentioned there was some cute guy.”

  “I’ll tell you about Kai later. What’s up with Vi? She was a hot mess when she left.”

  “I don’t know. I called her the other day to give her some news, but she rushed off the phone after two minutes.”

  “What news?”

  “Alejandro and I are engaged!” Lily says excitedly.

  Dahlia smiles, genuinely happy for her sister. “Oh my God, Lil, that’s great.”

  “It is. I can’t talk about it now. I have to go into a meeting. Just tell me where I can find you.”

  Dahlia looks out the window of the executive lounge onto the tarmac, wondering the very same thing.

  She closes her eyes and says, “California. I have to take care of some things. Then I’ll let you know what I decide.”

  “Okay. If you need me, call, no matter what. Promise?”

  “Yeah, alright.”

  “By the way, the engagement party will be some time next month. I didn’t want one, but Alejandro’s mom insists. It’ll be a small affair. Please say you’ll come.”

  “Of course, Lil. You’re my sister. Anything for you.”

  Chapter 34

  “Dahlia, dear, it’s so wonderful to see you again.” Pearl hugs Dahlia as she steps into the foyer. “How are you?”

  “I’m doing alright,” Dahlia replies.

  Pearl takes Dahlia’s hands into hers and steps back. She looks Dahlia over. “I’d say your vacation did wonders for you. You look healthy.”

  Dahlia nods. “It was good. It was nice to spend time with Lily and Vi.”

  “I’m sure, honey. Well, come on in.” Pearl leads Dahlia up the stairs into the living area. The house has been cleaned since Dahlia left, but everything was still in its place. No, she could never live here again, she affirms to herself.

  “You said you wanted to talk,” Dahlia prompts, preferring not to spend any more time in Shane’s place than she has to. It was his home, and hers only briefly.

  “Oh, yes, of course. Thanks so much for coming up from L.A. I was surprised when you mentioned you’re staying in Santa Monica. What took you there?”

  Dahlia shrugs. Perhaps because it’s a city for lost people. “I’m not ready to go back to New York just yet, so I enrolled in some art classes in the fall at UCLA. I’m thinking about getting back into photography.”

  “Oh, my, I love that. Those pictures you took of Shane are remarkable.”

  “Thanks, Pearl. It means a lot.” Dahlia looks out the window at the ocean.

  Sensing Dahlia’s discomfort, Pearl says, “The lawyers will be here soon. I figured it would be easiest to take care of the paperwork while you’re visiting. That way the transfer of ownership can go to Troy and me as soon as possible. I know you’d rather not deal with this matter any longer than you have to.”

  Dahlia nods. “I’m glad it will stay in the family. Troy will make Shane proud.” She swallows back his name. “Sebastian didn’t want to stay on as partner?”

  Pearl shakes her head. “No. It was too much responsibility. He asked we maintain his sponsorship and buy him out.”

  “Do you need money for the buyout?”

  “Of course not. Shane was always very generous with us.” Pearl lays a gentle hand over Dahlia’s.

  “Before the lawyers arrive, I wanted to give you this. I found it while I was going through Shane’s desk a couple of weeks back. I was holding onto it until I saw you.”

  Pearl lays a plain envelope on the glass table. Dahlia glances at it, seeing her name written on the outside in Shane’s script, the edges yellowed with time.

  “What is it?” Dahlia asks, fingering the envelope.

  “I didn’t open it. It’s yours.”

  Dahlia’s heart begins to beat hard against her chest. All these weeks of making her peace with Shane’s death, and now she has to confront it all over again. Yet another reminder that he isn’t here to say what he wanted to in person.

  “I’ll open it later, if you don’t mind,” she says, placing the envelope in her purse.

  Pearl shakes her head. “Not at all.” She opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by the doorbell. “That must the lawyers. We’ll talk more later.”

  Epilogue

  Dahlia reads the letter over again, the paper wrinkled from the many times she’s folded and unfolded it, the ink smeared from the tears she shed when she read it the first, second, and even third time. After that, the tears had dried up. She couldn’t cry anymore—until now.

  She notices the date written in the top right hand corner. A piece of the paper had been folded down, obscuring it before. He wrote it two years ago. Dahlia can hardly remember what she was doing then, but Shane was already clean and becoming a successful entrepreneur.

  Shane lied. He didn’t have the courage to tell her before, and he died before she could confront him, giving him the last word, the last apology. She crumples up the letter, her tears turning to rage. How could he have kept the truth from her all this time?

  My Dearest Dahlia. Those words roll around her head. The time they spent together, yet he never told Dahlia about her.

  She’s still alive. It’s the line that threw Dahlia into a tailspin. Their daughter is still alive, and he could only try to tell her in a letter that he never sent? And all the worse, Dahlia’s own mother had also lied and told her the baby died at the other hospital.

  Dahlia wipes the tears with the back of her hand. The Old Woman was wrong. She was betrayed. Not by one person, but two.

  The flight attendant walks quietly up to her to announce their descent into Teterboro airport. “There’s a thunderstorm moving over the New York area, so it will probably get a bit bumpy.”

  Dahlia nods and whispers, “Thank you.”

  She looks out into the night sky, her rage growing greater by the minute. Now Dahlia knows where she’s supposed to be.

  Red Dahlia

  Prologue

  My Dearest Dahlia,

  I hate that I’ve waited so long to tell you this. Hell, I hate myself for what I’ve done. This is the tenth letter I’ve written you. Each time I promise myself I’ll send it, but I don’t.

  She’s still alive, Dahlia! Our daughter, Marissa, is alive. Remember when your mother arranged her transfer to the NICU in a nearby hospital and told you she died a few days later? It wasn’t true.

  I visited her every day that she was there. Then one day, she was gone. A nurse told me that she had been transferred to another hospital, but I couldn’t figure out where. I contacted your mother who came to see me with a lawyer. She offered me a lot of money if I’d give her up. At the time I refused. I couldn’t do that. But you ended things when I went to see you later that day to tell you what happened. You were done with me. Your mother was right. I was a complete fuck-up and loser. I felt like shit. It was my fault you were in such bad shape. I was never there for you. How could I be there for our baby? I couldn’t be the father I wanted to b
e. I was broke, and she told me she would revoke your trust fund and leave you penniless. I couldn’t do that to you.

  You think your parents gave me money as some consolation prize if I dropped out of your life. They were also buying my silence. I signed my life away to them. If I ever told you about Marissa, your mother swore I’d pay and my family would suffer. Back then my mom couldn’t pay her rent and the government was giving her a hard time about survivor benefits. Somehow, your mother magically made the issues disappear. Her influence was that deep, but I don’t need to tell you that. I knew that she would make my life miserable if I ever told you the truth.

  I hit bottom after you left. It took me a long time to clean up and figure out what I was going to do with my life. Once I did, I realized my goal was to make things right for you and our daughter. If only I had worked it out sooner, maybe it would’ve been different for us. I regret giving up the two of you. A better person would’ve refused your mother’s offer. But I wasn’t that man then. I don’t know if I can ever convince you of how much I love you and will always love you.

  I’ve tried to find Marissa. I even hired an investigator, but came up with nothing. Your mother doesn’t want her found.

  Maybe, if we find each other again, we’ll be able to search for her together.

  All my Love,

  Shane

  Chapter 1

  “Your mother isn’t home,” the housekeeper says.

  “Where is she?” Dahlia demands, walking into the immense foyer of her parents’ East Hampton beach house. “She always spends August here.”

  “She’s having lunch with Mrs. Graham. Your father is outside playing tennis with his coach.”

  “Hmph. It’s nice to know he’s recovering well,” Dahlia mutters.

  “Excuse me, Ms. Baron?”

  “Nothing, Lydia. I’ll just go see my father.”