Jason

I handed Zoila the envelope containing her pay cheque.

"Thank you Señor Callahan." she spoke in gratitude.

I just nodded at her. "No problem, Zoila, Joey is waiting for you outside, I told him to drive you home."

She smiled. "Thank you so much Señor Callahan. "Gracias Señor but-" She stopped herself mid sentence.

I rose a brow at her. Zoila hardly ever spoke unless spoken to so I could understand why she felt hesitant to tell me what was on her mind.

"What is it, Zoila?" I asked her, urging her to talk.

She looked at the ground and fiddled with her hands as she spoke. "It's just that I'm concerned about Miss Kate-''

"Katelyn." I corrected her.

She flinched at her mistake. "Sí , is something wrong with her?"

I turned back to look at Kate who was sitting quietly with her feet folded underneath her body, staring at nothing in particular. A blanket that Zoila had given her, covered the bottom part of her body.

She had stopped crying but you could still see the sadness in her eyes.

I didn't know what to expect really. My mother had taught me and my siblings from a young age never to beat ourselves up over people who had wronged us. Especially people who weren't in our family. She taught us never to believe in second chances, once someone broke our trust, we weren't allowed to dwell on them. They were supposed to be dead to us.

But here was this girl who was doing the exact opposite. Harry had wronged her in a way I couldn't imagine but yet, here she was still willing and wanting to believe that he could be redeemed somehow.

I turned back to look at Zoila.
"Katelyn is just having a bad day. It's nothing to worry about." I told her.

Zoila looked sceptical but she didn't dare question me.

"Okay, Good night Señor Callahan."

I nodded at her as she turned to leave.
I turned back to face Kate and debated on whether I should leave her alone and give her space or if I should stay in the room.

The latter eventually won out. I really didn't know why but I found myself walking into the living area. I took a seat on the couch opposite the one she sat on.

I suddenly regretted it. There was this awkward silence and I could tell that she felt uncomfortable too with the way I just sat there staring at her.

My hand wanted to instinctively move to my pocket and fish out my phone but I had a feeling that that would seem rude.

I never really cared about what people thought especially when it came to the excessive use of my phone. Most of them didn't understand that I functioned more than 50% because of my phone. It had my schedules, my contacts, my business details... It was like my personal assistant.

But this time, it felt like a different situation. I felt like I was with someone who was grieving.
I mean I wouldn't take out my phone at a funeral, right?

After a while I really couldn't take the silence anymore, I had to say something, anything.

"Umm... so we made headlines." I told her.

Her head turned slightly but she didn't say anything. She just kept playing around with the hem of the blanket.

"Umm... everyone is talking about how 'Jason Callahan' brought his new girl to an event as big as the Norwegian royal polo tournament. And actually got her a spot on the team..." I left out the part where people were actually saying that Kate must be using me to boost her own fame.

She didn't respond immediately but when she did, her voice was small. "What did they say about my breakdown and our sudden departure?"

"Well Anthony took care of that." I replied. "He told everyone that you got a migraine and that I had to take you home."

"Oh," she continued. "Was your family mad about what I did-I mean the whole scoring thing? I knew that we were supposed to throw the game and all."

I shrugged. "Sure but don't take it personally. My family always gets mad when things don't go their way." She frowned slightly. "But I, on the other hand, thought it was kind of bad ass." I added.

She looked up at me and I could've sworn I saw her lips twitch a little in a smile.

At least I was making progress.

"Yeah, you should've seen Erling's face when you started scoring. I swear he was about to lose his mind. " I continued, hoping it would make her feel better.

This time she actually did smile.

"It did feel good to wipe that stupid smug look off his face." Her green eyes that were still shining with tears lit up.

Then as if a switch had been flipped, she frowned again.

"Why do you even tolerate him?"

I shifted in my seat and leaned forward, clasping my hands together.

"Because when you're dealing in our business, you have to tolerate people like that."

She looked down at her lap. "That doesn't sound pleasant at all."

"It isn't." I agreed. "But I have no choice. It really doesn't matter. The truth is that I only have to deal with Erling about once every two months. In the end just as long as I can come back home to the people that matter in my life, I really don't care."

Her eyes were fixed on me now and she nodded.

Again she remained silent for a while before speaking again. "I've made my decision."

I looked up at her and rose my brows, urging her to elaborate.

She cleared her throat and sat up slightly in her seat.

"I've made my decision about whether I should stay or not." She repeated.

"And?" I asked.

She sighed. "I've decided to move back to Seattle." She suddenly slumped like those words alone were a weight she had just gotten off her shoulders. "Like you said... nothing really matters unless you have people to go home to at the end of the day. And here-" she looked around the house and swallowed.

"I just realised that there's nothing here for me anymore."

My first instinct was to try and talk her out of it. I remembered Isabella's words and how she had urged me to make her stay. But looking at her right now, I just couldn't. I know that Harry probably did love her and would be mad about my decision. But I honestly thought this was for the best. He needed to move on and so did she.

I guess I would have to find another way to regain Isabella's trust.

"Okay then." I spoke. "I'll talk to Anthony tomorrow and we'll get things arranged. "Although we will have to keep you under the radar for a while. I mean you have received quite a bit of buzz."

She nodded. "Yeah, I understand." She looked distracted and far away. I could only imagine how much must have been going through her mind.

From what Harry had told me, he wasn't the only one who had left to start a new life in Florence.

She had practically left all she had in Seattle to settle in Florence with Isabella and Harry.

"Are you hungry?" I suddenly asked as I got up.
"I guess it's too late to call my chef in but I can probably order something from the hotel and have it delivered."

She gave me a weak grin. "You keep forgetting that I'm actually a chef."

"Oh yeah but I couldn't possibly ask you to cook with all that's going on with you." I told her, trying to appear sympathetic but it just wasn't an emotion that was infused in my system.

She tossed the blanket away and got up and put on what I think was a brave face.

"I'm fine." She spoke.

I scoffed. "No you're not."

Her face dropped slightly. I guess she didn't expect me to be so brutally honest.

She slid her feet into her sneakers anyway.

"As long as my limbs are intact, I will always be able to cook." She spoke with pride in her voice as she walked past me.

I looked after her and shook my head.
She really was a stubborn little thing.