Late Repentance Chapter 2

The next day was Saturday.

The outdoor magazine hosted a small, exclusive book signing and networking event to celebrate Ronan's special edition selling over a hundred thousand copies.

At eight in the morning, I was standing in the kitchen frying eggs.

Ronan emerged from the bedroom, fully dressed and immaculate.

He wore a black turtleneck under a premium Arc'teryx jacket gifted by his sponsors.

He looked sharp. Triumphant.

"I am heading out. Gotta set up the venue by nine."

He walked to the entryway to put on his shoes.

I slid the fried egg onto a plate and carried it out.

"Am I not going?"

I asked him.

He paused, his hand hovering over his boot laces.

He stood up straight and adjusted his collar.

"Why would you go?"

"It is strictly industry people today. Sponsors, editors, rival photographers."

"You aren't in the business. You wouldn't know what to talk about. You would just sit there looking bored."

I set the plate down on the dining table.

"Six years ago, when you self published your first photo book, you didn't sell a single copy."

"I stood out in the blistering sun, handing them out to strangers, begging people to look at your work."

"Why didn't you tell me I wasn't in the business back then?"

Ronan's brows pulled together.

He hated it when I brought up the past.

"Megan, do you always have to keep score?"

"Things are different now. Today is an official, professional event. I have to network. I don't have the energy to babysit you."

He sounded so incredibly righteous.

The door to the guest room clicked open.

Lily walked out, stifling a yawn.

She was wearing the exact same Arc'teryx jacket, just a size smaller.

Matching outfits.

"Morning, Ronan."

She strolled over to the dining table. Without asking, she picked up the fried egg from my plate and took a massive bite.

"Mmm. You are such a good cook, Megan."

"Finish up, we need to move. The chief editor is already on his way."

Ronan rushed her, but his voice lacked any of the cold impatience he had just directed at me.

I looked at the two of them.

"She is allowed to go?"

"Lily is the co-author of this special edition. Of course she is going."

Ronan spoke as if it was the most obvious truth in the world.

"She is my best partner."

Best partner.

What a beautiful title.

"Got it." I sat down and took a sip of my milk.

"Have a good time."

Ronan gave me a weird look. He seemed unnerved by how unnaturally calm I was acting.

He opened his mouth to say something, but swallowed the words instead.

The front door clicked shut.

I sat alone and quietly finished a breakfast with no eggs.

At eleven in the morning, my phone rang. It was Sloane.

Sloane was my college roommate and the senior editor at a fashion magazine.

"Megan, have you checked Instagram?"

"No. Why?"

"Your boy Ronan is soaking up all the glory at his little signing event."

"Good for him."

"Good for him my ass! Open Lily's page right now!"

Sloane was practically screaming through the speaker.

I put her on speakerphone and opened the app.

Lily had posted a photo dump ten minutes ago.

The center photo showed her and Ronan standing in front of a massive promotional banner.

Ronan was holding a microphone, addressing the crowd.

Lily stood right beside him, her head tilted, looking up at him with pure, unfiltered adoration.

The caption read:

"All those freezing nights in the snow, all the frostbitten fingers in the tundra. Today, it was all worth it."

"Thank you, Ronan."

The comments were flooded with industry insiders.

"Power couple alert!"

"Lily, you are a legend. Ronan is lucky to have you."

I scrolled through the comments one by one.

Staring at the blinding, toxic words.

"You see it?" Sloane demanded over the phone.

"I see it."

"Megan, are you literally blind? Half the photos in that magazine were color graded and retouched by you during your all nighters."

"The thirty thousand dollars he needed to fund that Yukon trip? You took out a second mortgage on your parents' old house for that!"

"And now some clout chasing assistant is standing on that stage soaking up your applause!"

Sloane was breathing heavily, absolutely furious.

I looked calmly out the window at the midday sun.

"Sloane."

"What?"

"I booked a one way ticket to Banff."

The line went dead silent.

It took several seconds for Sloane to find her voice. When she spoke, it was low and quiet.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"You aren't coming back?"

"I am not coming back."

"Good." Sloane let out a long, heavy exhale.

"Do you need help packing?"

"No. I can handle it myself."

I hung up the phone and walked into the master bedroom.

I pulled open the bottom drawer of the closet.

Two large, heavy duty suitcases were tucked inside.

I pulled one out and started stuffing my clothes into it.

I didn't own much. Over the last six years, every spare dollar I earned went straight into upgrading Ronan's camera lenses.

The closet was stuffed with his expensive Arc'teryx and Mammut gear.

My warmest winter coat was a clearance rack parka I bought three years ago.

My phone buzzed.

It was Ronan.

"Megan."

The background noise was chaotic. People were cheering his name.

"What is it?"

"I left my black external hard drive at the apartment. The one terabyte one."

He sounded frantic.

"It is in the second drawer on the left side of my desk. Can you bring it to the hotel right now?"

"I have a massive media interview in twenty minutes and I need the raw video files on it."

I looked down at the sweater I was folding.

"I am busy."

"Busy doing what? Drawing your cheap little three hundred dollar commissions?"

The insult slipped out of his mouth effortlessly.

He caught himself a second later.

"Megan, I didn't mean it like that. This interview is huge. The chief editor set it up personally."

"I am begging you. Just do me this one favor, okay?"

I closed my eyes.

For six years, every single "cheap little commission" I drew funded the film inside his cameras.

Now, he thought my work was a waste of time.

"Fine. I will bring it."

"Thank you. Call me when you get here."

He hung up immediately.

I dropped the sweater into the suitcase and zipped it up.

I walked into his office, grabbed the black drive from the drawer, and ordered an Uber to the event hotel.

The banquet hall was packed and roaring with conversation.

I didn't go inside. I stood in the quiet hallway near the side entrance and texted Ronan.

"I am at the side door."

I waited five minutes. The heavy oak door swung open.

It wasn't Ronan.

It was Lily.

She was holding a flute of champagne. Her cheeks were flushed.

"Hey Megan, Ronan is stuck on stage. He asked me to come grab it."

She held out her hand.

I looked at her.

"Tell him to come get it himself."

Lily let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Megan, can you please stop being so difficult?"

"The room is full of major investors. Ronan is telling them all about our near death experiences in the Yukon."

"If you drag him out here right now, you are going to ruin the vibe for everyone."

She hit the word "our" incredibly hard.

I ignored her and turned to leave.

"Megan!"

Ronan's voice echoed behind me.

He pushed the side door open and stormed out, his brow furrowed in anger.

"What kind of tantrum are you throwing now?"

He snatched the hard drive directly out of my hand.

"Lily was nice enough to come out here to help you, and you give her an attitude?"

I stared at my empty palm.

"She told me to stop being difficult."

"Is she wrong?"

Ronan lowered his voice, his tone dripping with disappointment.

"Today is the most important day of my career. If you can't be helpful, the least you could do is not sabotage me."

Sabotage.

I repeated the word in my head.

"I guess after six years, the only thing I am good for is sabotaging you."

Ronan tugged at his collar, visibly irritated.

"I don't have time to argue with you."

He turned back to the door and glanced at Lily. "Come on, Lily. The boss wants to talk to you."

The heavy door clicked shut.

Locking me completely out of his glamorous, glittering new world.

I stood alone in the hallway.

I could hear the muffled applause from inside, followed by Ronan's confident, booming voice.

"I want to thank my team, especially Lily. Without her, none of this would have been possible."

I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets.

I turned and walked toward the elevator.

That was the last delivery I would ever make for him.