Chapter 106

Marcus nods slowly, relieved.

“Thank you,” he says, nothing more.

Everything is going to shit around him. But Ronnie, at least, will have a good life.

“Nick told me what happened,” Nikki says. “He showed up at my flat with a bottle of wine. Even if it’s just lunchtime, I figured this might come in handy.”

“Thank you.”

I step aside to let her in. I’m not sure I want company, but I can’t deny I appreciate the gesture. And I know Nikki understands how I feel. Nick left once, too. Not even I—his secretary at the time—knew where he’d gone. And like Marcus, he supposedly did it to protect her.

If anyone can comfort me, it’s Nikki.

“How are you?” she asks as she opens the wine and pours two glasses.

We’re on the patio—me on the lounger, Nikki on the chair—but I don’t feel like sitting. I get up and go to the railing, staring at the next building and the distant sea.

“Like my whole world is falling apart,” I admit. “The resort’s a mess.