The Regret by J.R. Rogue

Author:J.R. Rogue [Rogue, J. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J.R. Rogue

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The day fades away slowly into dusk, and when night falls, we meet up with Alicja and my stepfather, Anderson. We enjoy a long dinner filled with laughter, and I’m impressed with my deft skill of avoiding questions that used to turn family events sour. It helps that Alicja is charming, and my family loves her. Of course, they don’t know about the trouble we got into when I first moved to Hollywood.

After dinner, we retreat to my hotel room for drinks. My stepfather loves scotch, and when he has a couple in him, he can’t stop talking.

My mother loosens up in his presence, badgering me less. Because my brother Aiden is the lightning rod to his father, and he goes easier on me. I’m not his heir—not his daughter. Though he loves me, we’ve never had a close bond.

I make drinks in the kitchen as my mother and stepfather laugh, taking in the Manhattan skyline. Alicja joins me, smirking. “Your parents don’t seem as bad this time,” she whispers.

I shrug my shoulders, keeping my focus on the drinks.

“Have you told them about Charley?”

I shoot her a look. “My mother, yes.”

“Have you signed the NDA?”

I shake my head. “No. Not yet. I don’t know.”

“Well, his publicist is in town, so I’m sure he’s pressuring him.”

I shoot her a look. “He is? How do you know that?”

Alicja shrugs her shoulders. “His social media is silent, but his team’s accounts aren’t.”

“Are you monitoring his social now?” That feels…odd.

She shrugs her shoulders.. “It’s my job to watch over you and your career. To make sure everything runs smoothly for you. So yeah. It’s on my list of things to do now. I’m the only one who knows about this, so someone has to monitor it while you have your head in the clouds.”

The animosity in Alicja’s voice kicks up every time she mentions him, and I can’t help but think of the past. Her brother and the obsessions. The drugs and the endless nights. I swear I saw him today, his nose ring, his blond hair. But I doubt he wears it that way anymore. Wherever he is.

“I don’t think my head is in the clouds, and even if it was, isn’t that how most relationships are supposed to be when they start?”

“I guess. It’s been a while for me,” she trails off, looking into the living area. “Your stepdad is such a fox, you know?”

I glare at my friend. “Are you being serious?”

“I’m just saying, if your mom ever leaves him….”

I remind myself that my friend has been drinking. And we haven’t had drinks together in a while. This is who she used to be; the venom and shocking things she said were part of our fun. But we don’t party anymore, and I can’t help but wonder what has set her off. We travel together all the time, so it can’t be the departure from L.A.

It’s Charley. He’s brought the past back into your life. Good or bad, it doesn’t matter.

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