Chapter 8

For the past two weeks we ran every morning from Monday to Friday. The first run was okayish, but the ones after felt like my personal hell. Karma probably had a good laugh with me. My muscles were tight and sore. And it was my own doing, because I didn't stretch afterwards to prevent that.

Therefore, Henry decided we would not only run and walk together around the whole freaking lake, which takes at my pace around two hours, but also do the stretching exercises afterwards to make sure I don't get sore muscles again.

Now I am able to run longer distances and don't have to walk that much anymore. Usually, we don't talk during our runs as we have headphones on and listening to music or sometimes, I put a podcast on. Kal is always more than happy to accompany us.

Out of breath I stop in front of my house and take off the headphones. I rest my hands on my thighs and sweat runs down my face.

"Our fastest one yet," Henry tells me proudly when he stops the time on his watch, and I turn my head to look at him. If looks could kill, he would die thousands of painful deaths. Even though it is torture, I have started to like it as it really helps clearing my head. I was able to make a few adjustments to the new world in my book and I am actually happy about them.

Sighing, I straighten up and open the door to my property. In the first few days we stopped at his place, but I only find it fair to swap between our houses. Especially since he only lets me leave after cooking breakfast for us.

"I hope you like chili," I tell him as we walk up the stairs to my patio. Today is different. He had things he needed to take care of, and we rescheduled our run to the evening, so we wouldn't need to be outside in the afternoon heat.

"I do. I'm not the picky eater between the two of us," he laughs, and I pucker my lips.

"Just because I don't like avocados," I huff loudly which makes him shake his head.

"Who in their clear mind, doesn't like them?" he mocks me and starts stretching his legs. Rolling my eyes, I step next to him and do a lunge to stretch the back of my right leg.

"Who in their right mind, drinks coffee without milk?" I give back and remember the first time I offered him coffee.

"Someone who actually enjoys the taste and not the swill watered down by milk." I get up and step in front of him. His face is level to mine due to the stretching position he is currently in. I raise my hand and poke him on his shoulder with my eyes squinted.

"Now you are already openly insulting me. How dare you," I press between clenched teeth in a playful manner.

"You started it," he laughs loudly, and before I can give him two pieces of my mind, I can hear Luke.

"Cece, I'm home," Luke shouts loudly through the house then he walks through the living room out on the patio. With his shoes on.

Don't get angry, I tell myself and force a smile on my lips.

"Hi babe, how was your day?" I ask him, walk over to him to kiss him, but he flinches away when he notices that I am covered in sweat.

"I don't want to ruin my suit," he explains quickly and then turns his attention to Henry who has his arms crossed before his chest.

"You're Henry Cavill, right?" Luke asks him slightly surprised and Henry draws his eyebrows together confused. He probably thought that I would have told Luke who our neighbor is.

"Yes, and you are Luke. Charlotte has told me about you." I know that Henry doesn't like him, because his jaw gets tense after the last words leave his mouth.

"This probably sounds weird, but have we met before?"

"He was the neighbor who took me in when you accidentally locked me out of the house on my birthday," I tell Luke quickly, before Henry can say anything about that night. Realization settles on Luke's face.

"Thank you for helping Cece, I had a really rough day and don't remember what happened," Luke says as I notice Henry's stare directed at me and swallow loudly.

I didn't tell him what the conversation with Luke was about the day after my birthday, because it isn't his business. We are friends, but as he already stated, he doesn't need to know everything, nor does he have the right to.

"Sure. That what neighbors and friends are for," Henry tells him halfheartedly.

"How about you stay for dinner. Knowing Cece she probably cooked enough to feel a whole army," Luke jokes and I press my lips together, because it feels like an insult as if I am not capable of cooking the right amount and being wasteful.

"That's a very generous offer, but I need to decline. I need to feed Kal and have other plans that I unfortunately can't postpone. Perhaps another time," Henry declines very politely and then turns to me.

"Don't forget to finish stretching and we'll see each other Monday morning at our usual time?" he asks me to confirm that we are still on track of getting me to run around the lake without having to stop or walk.

"Yes, definitely," I affirm. Quickly he wishes us a lovely evening and then leaves to walk over to his house.

"Why didn't you tell me, that he is our neighbor?" Luke asks me accusingly when I step inside the living room. He is well aware of the fact that Henry Cavill was the inspiration for Kilian. He knows about those dreams I had years ago.

"Because it never came up and I didn't think it was important," I answer him calmly.

"Clearly it is important. You had fantasies about this guy. He took you in two weeks ago and I don't know what you did with him that night." Immediately I feel like I am in a court room, and he is putting me on trial for cheating. I have expected a lot from him, but this is his latest low point. It feels like a punch right into my gut.

"Yes, I had fantasies about him, but before we were together. Since then, there has always only been you, Luke. Are you seriously accusing me of cheating on you with him?" I ask him and stretch my hand into the direction of Henry's house. How can he think this of me? What reason did I give him?

"You can't be mad at me for wondering. I mean you have been running with him almost every single morning the past two weeks. Your whole demeanor changed after the night you spent at his house. You are suddenly so happy again and different than how I got to know you," Luke hisses at me and I notice that his voice got a bit louder. I ball my hands into fists and try to calm myself down. Getting emotional won't be helping.

"Wow that's really big coming from you Luke," I tell him and can feel my eyes tear up, because everything he has said and done to me in the past few weeks and months comes crashing down on me. All the pent-up emotions.

"I don't understand what you mean, Cece." Confused as if he was not aware of any guilt, he draws his eyebrows together and folds his arms in a dismissive manner.

"You have been neglecting me and abusing me mentally with your words since you came back from that bachelor party over a month ago. I can imagine that you are stressed because of your doctorate and the pressure your father is putting on you, but that doesn't give you the right to suddenly accuse me of cheating," I press between clenched teeth, and I notice how his body language changes. He straightens up, puts his hands onto his hips and flares his nostrils. Never have I ever seen him like this. I must have struck a nerve with mentioning his father.

"Oh really, you think that you can relate... You think that you can understand how it feels that my father wants me back in New York, because I failed in achieving something on my own? That I have the feeling that I didn't live up to his expectations and mine. Just look at me, I'm a nobody," he screams and his voice echoes through the house. I know that he is struggling with it, and I have always tried my best to help him...

"You are not a nobody, Luke. You are my boyfriend." He starts to laugh, and I flinch at the sound of it.

"Am I though? When was the last time we had sex? Two weeks ago? What couple that lives together and doesn't have kids, does that?"

"So, all of this is rooted in us not having sex?" I ask him and press my lips together.

"No, that's not what I meant." He shakes his head and closes his eyes.

"Then fucking tell me. Because I can't live like this anymore. I can't have you saying things that insult me and doing things that hurt me. I can't have my career and achievements hanging over our relationship like that."

He opens his eyes, and I can see the anger in it. It makes me take a step backwards and my heart beats frantically in my chest. Never in my life have I feared a person like this before. It feels like he wants to murder me with his gaze.

"There it is again," he says angrily and drops his head shortly, before looking at me again. There is some sort of disillusionment evident in his eyes. "Do you know that my friends make fun of me, because you are the one who bought this house and makes the money? Do you know what they call you? My sugar mommy. I thought that I could live with the fact that the roles in this relationship are reversed, but I can't do that. I can't let them mock me anymore." Confused I look at him because I can't grasp the meaning of his outburst.

"Do you mean your so-called friends from my birthday party?" I hiss and he sighs loudly. Suddenly something snaps in my brain and while I tried to defend him when I talked with Henry about Luke and our relationship, I don't want to do it anymore.

"Luke, do you know what? I am done hiding this from you, because you hurt me, and you need to know about it. The night of my birthday you said things to me that made me question our relationship and you as person. You invited people into my house that I didn't and still don't know – not that I want to in the future. They disrespected me and everything I stand for and then you had the fucking audacity to do drugs with them," I yell at him because I am done with holding things back.

To my surprise he doesn't look shocked at all. There is indifference in his face as if he doesn't really care about it. What kind of person has he become?

"Cece you are so smart, but just so naïve. I lied to you when I told you I didn't remember what happened during the birthday party. I remember every single second. I know what I said and did."

Looking at him aghast, I step a few steps backwards until I hit the wall. My brain registers his words, but my mind is still working on trying to understand them.

Does this mean he knew about Henry the whole time? Does this mean he knew that I was lying to him? Does this mean that he made me believe that I was successful in deceiving him?

"Why?" This is the only thing I can mutter.

One question. One word. Three letters.

"Because we were doomed from the start. I fell in love with the idea of us not you when you told me that you are Rae Down. The idea of becoming some sort of power couple that is able to change the world in some way. Something my father never thought I would be able to achieve on my own. But I can't do us anymore. I don't have the time or the energy to work through that. I think it's better for us to break up and go different ways."

If it would be possible my heart would shatter into million pieces right now. On one hand I am grateful that it isn't able to do it, on the other the pain that rips through me is excruciating. My heart clenches and I can feel the bile raising.

"Cece, don't try to fix this. I've made up my mind when we moved together, and I think my father was right when he told me that you wouldn't fit into my life even though he had other reasons for it than me. I am done pretending to love you anymore and to be happy here," Luke continues when I don't answer because he thinks that I would want him back after all this. I look at him horrified that he would be able to even come up with such an idea.

"You really think I would want you back after all of this?" I ask him between pressed teeth and push myself off the wall. He wants to say something, but I raise my hand to stop him.

"Go and fuck yourself, your views and the way you treated me. Henry was right when he told me that you are a fucking condescending, degrading and abusive asshole. You are more like your father than you want to admit to yourself. Go and take the easy way out, because this is what you have done with me, isn't it? I was easy until I told you about my alias. I was easy until I made more money than you. I was easy until I was able to afford all of this for us. I was easy because in your eyes I was not your equal. But now I have everything you ever fucking wanted. I have the fame. I have the money. I have the opportunity. Something you will never know if you could have done it on your own as you will get it handed to you by your family, now that you have made up your mind," I spit at him. Instead of anger or fury, I am met with indifference again.

"I guess that's true but at least I won't have to fake enjoying fucking you," he says coolly and then turns around to leave me standing in the living room.