Chapter 5 - Rain and Reality
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The cold California rain hit my face the moment I stepped out of the hotel’s valet court, but I didn't care. For the first time in three years, I could breathe.
My phone started buzzing violently in my clutch before I even reached the street corner.
Brad: Kate, get back inside. This is absurd. We can talk about this in the car.
Brad: The ring is missing. People are looking for it. Call me.
Brad: You’re acting completely out of control.
I pulled my heels off, held them in one hand, and flagged down a yellow taxi cruising through the downpour. I pulled the door open, slid onto the worn vinyl back seat, and looked out the rear window as the hotel pulled away into the misty darkness.
“Where to, miss?” the driver asked, glancing at me in his rearview mirror.
“Downtown,” I said, wiping a mixture of rain and spilled mascara from my eye. “The Arts District.”
I unlocked my phone, opened Brad’s contact card, and hit block. Then I blocked his mother, his sister, and every mutual friend who had stood in that circle watching him humiliate me.
When the cab dropped me off outside my industrial loft studio, I walked up the metal fire escape, unlocked the heavy wooden door, and stepped into my space. The air smelled of bolts of silk, leather dye, and oil paint.
My lease was sitting on my drafting table. Brad had covered forty percent of the rent for the last fourteen months under the guise of an “investment.”
I sat down at my desk, pulled out my laptop, and logged into my bank account. I had twenty-two thousand dollars in savings—money I had been holding onto for my upcoming bridal collection.
I opened my email and drafted a message to my landlord:
Dear Mr. Vance,
Effective immediately, please remove Bradley Miller from my lease agreement. Attached is a wire transfer covering his portion of the rent for the remainder of the year. All future invoices should be sent directly to me.
May you like
I clicked send. My bank account dropped significantly, but as I closed the laptop screen, I felt an incredible weight lift off my shoulders.
I was broke, single, and homeless within the month if my new fashion line failed. But I was finally free.
