“I’m sorry I bothered you so late. I shouldn’t have come here.” Sarah didn’t give him a chance to respond before she reached for the door, but she forgot that Luca had locked it so when she twisted the knob, it didn’t turn.
He used the moment as a distraction and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I know you want me to make the decision for you about Mr. Colton,” he said, “but I won’t do that. This is something you have to decide on yourself, Sarah.”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes before she could turn around to face him. “That’s bullshit.”
Luca furrowed his brow, not expecting her outburst. 
“If this was something I could decide on my own, why would I be here?” she asked him angrily. “I have been going back and forth inside my head for weeks. And every single time I come full circle, right back where I started. Undecided!”
Luca shrugged. “It’s your life. At some point, you have to 

Sarah stood still until she heard his car start. The sound of the engine made her skin tingle. She waited for him to peel out of the driveway, but she was left waiting because it never happened. She closed her eyes and imagined William driving down the street and then reaching his office.
She sighed and turned to stare at the kitchen. She told herself not to cry; there was no reason to cry. She didn’t bother looking for her shoes or bag because she knew that she wouldn’t be going to any classes at college that day. That was for the best anyway. She didn’t want to see Wendy’s face in the third period or write a class report half-assedly for the professor, so she called in sick and cleaned the apartment from top to bottom, trying to clean up every memory William had left behind. 
There was an ache in her chest and she couldn’t say for sure what the cause was. William leaving? Or him not gi

Sarah blinked in confusion. “Do what?”
“Don’t make me say it,” he blurted out.
“I don’t know what you are talking—”
“Bullshit,” he barked. “You’re such a liar! I know why you went there last night. There is no other reason you would be there that late.”
“Luca is my friend,” she cried, her voice shaking. “This has to stop, Mr. Colton. You are not my boyfriend.” She shoved him back a step so that she was not trapped.
“Stop saying that! I can’t believe I abandoned business meetings for you. I dropped everything off to pick you up. I want to beat the shit out of guys for you. Everything I do when I am around you is out of my control. You pulled me in that night, Sarah… and this is how it is? You’re just going to sleep with my assistant behind my back?”
Sarah’s mouth dropped open and closed as she tried to find a decent comeback. Then, she realized what he had just accused her of. 
“How dare you!” She shoved her hands against his chest. “I didn’t sleep with Luca, you jerk! I needed to talk to someone about—” she paused. There was no way she would admit it was about William to his face.
“Yeah,” he snorted and backed away from her. “That’s what I thought. You can’t even come up with a decent lie, can you?” He was at the front door in two seconds.
“You can’t come into my house, insult me, and then leave. Who the hell do you think you are?”
William stopped and turned to glare at her.
“Don’t try to play the victim.” His voice was hoarse. “I just came here to make sure you stay out of my life and away from my people.”
She was blown away by his request. She wanted to slap him and make him feel just as helpless as she felt around him.
“For your information, President Colton,” she paused to make him understand the hidden meaning in her words. “You invaded my life. You didn’t want to leave after a one-night stand and kept following me around. You sent Luca to me and made sure we became friends. You were the one who made Wendy Kincaid call me and harass me. On top of that, you are the one who has angry outbursts every time you are near me. So, don’t you stand there and pin all the blame on me!”
She refused to break her gaze from his glare. She saw every muscle in his body tense, ready to spring.
“I want you to leave.” Her words were barely above a whisper.
William didn’t move. Sarah dropped her gaze. She hated that she had to fight him all the time. She didn’t understand what was going on. It was so obvious that there were things left unsaid and unknown between the two of them. But neither of them was brave enough to ask the questions, let alone answer them. 
“Why did you go to Luca’s place last night, Sarah?” He took a bold step towards her. Instead of stepping away, she stood where she was.
She could feel him standing over her, feel his eyes taking in every detail, from the top of her head to the chipped nail polish on her toes. She realized right then that he was waiting for her to answer. He wouldn’t leave until she did.
“I went to talk about….” She bit her lip. It was embarrassing to say out loud. “I just needed to talk to someone… Someone to listen to me from an unbiased perspective. Amanda was busy, and I….” She still didn’t look up from the floor. 
William leaned in closer. She watched his hand move as if to touch her, but it quickly fell back to his side. “Why?” he asked.
Sarah hated him for making her do this right then. She remembered her entire conversation with Luca the night before. She wanted to cringe as she started to wonder how she should respond.
- - - - -
Last Night:
"Talk,” Luca said as he sat down on the sofa. “I am sure I am going to love this. I have to submit a document and lord knows this conversation won’t end anytime soon.”
Sarah sighed and sat at the other end of the sofa. “I want to talk about more than William.” She turned to look at him and felt her eyes sting.
Luca sat up instantly, on alert. “Did someone hurt you? Is it someone from school?”
Sarah shook her head. “No, I am the one hurting others, apparently.” She tried to calm herself down before speaking again. “I spoke to Wendy today. She called from William’s phone and said some things that got me thinking.”
“I don’t want to interrupt you, but I feel like you should know William was forced to go home. His father didn’t give him a choice. And he wasn’t happy with whom he was meeting, either.”
Sarah sighed. “After a few minutes of cursing William out, I did realize he wouldn’t allow someone else to use his phone. No matter why he met her or what he thought about it… I just got thinking.”
“Thinking what?” Luca asked curiously.
“Who the hell am I?” she shook her head back and forth. “Because I have never tried to be someone, and recently I have come to see that… I don’t think I was alive.”
“Hey!” Luca called, pulling her attention. “You’re Sarah Mitch. I know that you were an orphan and the hardships you overcame to get a good education. I didn’t know you back then, and my first impression of you was very different from what I think about you now. You are a stubborn and talented girl who works hard and can achieve what she thinks she deserves. And right now, I wish that girl was at the forefront.”
“Which girl?” Sarah mumbled. “I can’t remember ever doing something without stopping to think if I would be noticed by others or not. I was so afraid to stand out that I never really asked myself what I wanted to do.”
When she looked at Luca, he was deep in thought, chewing his lip. Sarah wanted to shake him and make him say something meaningful. She needed something that would sway her left or right from the dead straight line she had been walking for the past many years. 
But Luca just sat there, quiet and contemplative, while Sarah had a mini panic attack a foot away from him. 
“This was a mistake,” Sarah huffed and got to her feet.

“I’m sorry I bothered you so late. I shouldn’t have come here.” Sarah didn’t give him a chance to respond before she reached for the door, but she forgot that Luca had locked it so when she twisted the knob, it didn’t turn.
He used the moment as a distraction and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I know you want me to make the decision for you about Mr. Colton,” he said, “but I won’t do that. This is something you have to decide on yourself, Sarah.”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes before she could turn around to face him. “That’s bullshit.”
Luca furrowed his brow, not expecting her outburst. 
“If this was something I could decide on my own, why would I be here?” she asked him angrily. “I have been going back and forth inside my head for weeks. And every single time I come full circle, right back where I started. Undecided!”
Luca shrugged. “It’s your life. At some point, you have to grow up and decide for yourself. Amanda, your friend, won’t be around forever, and seeing that 

Chapter 20: Wasted Time