Harry Styles

The rest of the evening went smoothly. There were no more interactions between Renleigh and her ex or Megan. I did catch her speaking to someone else – I believed her name was Candi – but that conversation looked nothing more or less than friendly. Obviously, we were the last ones to leave the event and so by the time we got to mine, the clock hit one AM.

We both showered and sat on my couch downstairs in some comfier clothing. The telly was on just to give us some background noise with the fire beneath it as well. I was obsessed with that thing and I would lie straight through my teeth if I said that was not one of the main reasons why I picked this place.

"So, tonight was a success, wasn't it?" I started the conversation as I locked my phone and placed it beside me, screen down.

"Yeah," she sighed. "It was."

"Did we reach the limit?"

"We exceeded it, actually," she smiled as she looked at me. I watched as she pushed her fingers through her hair and leaned her head against the palm of her hand. She looked so cute in my clothes. I wanted to cuddle myself to her for extra warmth and comfort but I didn't know if she would have liked that.

"That's amazing," I said and Ren hummed in agreement. She seemed oddly quiet. It wasn't because she was tired – that was different quiet. This was the kind of quiet that made me think something was wrong. And not to suck my own dick, but most of the time, that gut feeling was right. "So, tell me."

"Tell you what, Styles?"

"Tell me what's on your mind."

"A lot."

"Well... start with tonight," I suggested. "I know seeing Wolf after all these years, sucked."

"It did, yeah. I guess I just didn't expect him there. If I knew he would come, I would have been able to keep my cool. But seeing him... with Megan as well... I don't know. It just felt like a punch to the stomach."

"Why?"

"I felt like I was under their thumb and they could easily crush me. I suddenly didn't feel in place and definitely not in control. I felt like they came back to haunt me and it's stupid, I know, but they made me feel so insecure and really angry."

"It's not stupid at all, babe. It all makes sense. You haven't seen them in so long and they did terrible things to you in the past. Wolf more than Megan but nevertheless, they both hurt you."

"Candi was nice, though, which surprised me. You know she used to be a proper bitch to me in the past, so it really did shock me when she apologised tonight."

"She did?" I asked her in surprise. She nodded and I said, "Wow. That's great, though, isn't it?"

"I suppose," she shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I want to have her back in my life."

"That's understandable. But also, people are capable of change. If she apologised to you for the past, maybe the least you could do is forgive her."

"I guess I have. Hearing her apologise... I wanna say it lifted the weight off of my shoulders but I feel like that was the least she could do. Like, she shouldn't have been a bitch to me at the time but that's all in the past. I don't know. I'm just upset because they were there and I let my mouth run when I wanted to be so confident and professional so they could see I was no longer affected by them."

"So, after all, I didn't arrive quite on time, did I?"

"You did," she chuckled. "But I did still say more than I should have. He just- he got under my skin."

"Did he do that often?"

"I guess," she said. "He never really left. If that's even possible."

"You know, my mother is like that. I mean, obviously, it is not the same. But she knows what to say or how to look at me to get me going. That's why I rarely ever spend time with and around her. Well, not more than necessary."

"When was the last time you saw her?" she asked me quietly.

"I saw her at Christmas, yeah," I replied as I remembered back. "We argued, then, too. I don't think we ever not got into a heated conversation when we saw each other."

"That sucks."

"It does but at this point, I don't even really care. I mean, I do. But I don't. I'm just past trying to please her. Nothing I ever do makes her happy or proud of me and I'm really tired of not being enough for her and caring about it. So, what if I'm not enough for her? She is only one person in the world of billions. I am bound to find someone who will love me and feel as though I am enough."

"Doesn't that bother you? Or like... how did you get over your mother not caring for you?"

"I don't think she ever did so I'm used to it," I shrugged. "I told you about my nanny... well, in some ways, she is my mother. Amelia Styles is just the woman who gave birth to me. I don't really have a relationship with her but it's still more than what Mason and Liv have. At least, when I was born, she stayed with me. But when my sister and brother were born, she was out of the country two weeks later."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah..."

"That's messed up."

"I don't think my mother ever truly wanted kids. I feel like she had us because her friends had kids and because my dad wanted a family."

"That kind of reminds me of myself in a sense," she admitted. "I don't think I want kids."

"Yeah but you could never be my mother. You are sensible. You are nothing like my mother. You know you don't want kids so you won't go around getting yourself knocked up just to keep a man by your side and make a name for yourself."

"I'm assuming that's what your mother did."

"Precisely," I scoffed. "I never agreed with it. Or the way she works. The way she prioritises her job over her family."

"What about your father?"

"What about him?" I chuckled. "He isn't the best father figure, either. He is just as invested in his work as my mother is. He is more of a parent but only by like... I don't know. A little bit. At least, he cares about his kids. Somewhat. He controls me more... I feel like he thinks I owe him or something. I don't know."

"Owe him what?"

"He invested in my company. I thought he had done that out of the good of his heart. I thought he genuinely wanted to help me. But actually, that really is just his way of having something over me," I explained. No one really knew this. I never discussed my work with anyone because it didn't feel right. With Renleigh, I felt like I could tell her and she would understand.

"So cut the deal with him."

"I have been looking to do that but in order for that to happen, I'm gonna need someone else to cover his percentage."

"Wait. So, he is a shareholder of your company?" she asked me in shock.

"Yes."

"Buy him out then."

"You make it sound so easy..."

"Because it's that easy," she chuckled. "You have the money to buy him out. How much of STYLES does he own?"

"Twenty percent."

"So, you have the other eighty, right?"

"Yes."

"So, that means you have the control over your company. He is the minority shareholder and you are the majority shareholder. Request a meeting and go over the exit strategy – wait, you have an exit strategy, right? You drew up a partnership agreement?"

"Well, technically... well, no."

"Oh, mate," she laughed in disbelief and covered her face before she looked back at me and shook her head. "Well. You can still schedule a meeting and talk to him about a buyout. He only owns twenty percent so you should be fine."

"What if he won't agree to it?"

"You bring in your lawyer," she said right away. "You have a lawyer, right?" she teased me and I flipped her off.

"Leave me alone," I laughed. "I do have one, though."

"Good," she said. "No offence, but I have no idea how you survived this long."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I just find it so amusing how you have no idea how to go about a buyout."

"Well, I didn't exactly need to buy anyone out yet," I admitted. "I had a few conversations with professionals about this because I have been wanting to get rid of my dad when it comes to my company but nothing ever really happened. I'm just not sure if I have the balls to go through with it."

"Why is that?"

"I just don't know how I'll feel. I also don't want to ruin the relationship I have with him... like, yeah, he holds his share and money he put in my company over my head, but it's still better than him not breathing down my neck. At least, he feels somewhat proud of me and the things I achieve seem to please him whereas my mother literally couldn't care less about anything. What if he will just turn his back on me once I actually go through with buying him out?"

"You can't let that hold you back," she told me right away. "And you father shouldn't do that. Distance himself from you, I mean. Business should never be made personal. If he turns on you because of this, then that means he never cared for you enough."

"I don't want that to be true."

"Maybe you should talk to him then. I don't know. It might not change anything. I guess you just gotta try, right?"

"It's hard. I don't want to face him."

"Look, if you are scared, he won't love you anymore then don't do it. Let him still push the money into your company and let him have his share. If you would rather live your life thinking he loves you only because you let him into your business, that's up to you. But if you want to get rid of him and manage your business completely alone, without any funding from him, then that's up to you as well. I can't and won't even try to change your mind."

"What would you do?"

"If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't have allowed my father anywhere near my business. Then again, I have always been very independent and the thought of having to rely on someone for something makes my skin crawl. I hate owing people, I hate knowing they have something to hold over my head. It's not how I roll," she told me and it was all so like her. It made sense. Of course, she wouldn't have asked for help. She never does. "But... let's say I did get help from my dad. I would buy him out. For sure. I would not want his name anywhere near or under my business. Not because I'd be ashamed or would want to seem like I'd gotten where I am on my own. But simply for my own peace of mind. Like I said, I am independent. A little help is nice but the rest is up to me. I would get rid of family. Never, ever, mix the two – business and family. Worst thing you can do."

"I wish I was half as independent and confident as you are."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged with a slight smirk on her face. "It's not that easy being so perfect."

"Gosh, how did you become so fucking confident and- and careless? But careless in a way that's not rude or toxic."

"I thought you thought I was rude?" she mocked me and I tutted as I rolled my eyes.

"You can be but you have a heart of gold. You've been burned too many times, too. It's only right if you are a little defensive. And everyone shows that side of them differently."

"You know... when we talk... I don't know. I just feel better about myself," she admitted and I couldn't help but smile. "Like, you just complimented me and I know I'm ignoring it – mainly because I don't know how to take it and I would feel like an ego maniac if I were to thank you – but it's... it's kinda nice to hear someone say nice things about me."

"A lot of people say nice things about you."

"As a CEO, sure. I get nice things said about me for my company, which is essentially all I care about. But when I get complimented, like, personally or something, it makes me realise that I- I don't have a lot of people in my life. And that gets super lonely. Like, I constantly feel so lonely," she opened up to me. That shit made me so happy. She let me get to know her and in moments like those, I knew all of this was worth it. All of the waiting and running after her and making sure she knew I was there for her, made sense.

"I used to get very depressed when I was in secondary. I- I didn't have a lot of friends – I never really did, to be honest – and it always got to me. It made me feel like an outsider. I was never included in plans, hell, people planned things with me present and never once did they bother asking if I wanted to tag along. It was like I didn't exist or something," she chuckled under her breath. "I guess that's why I gave my all to Wolf and Megan and the rest when they welcomed me with open arms. I genuinely believed I would have them in my life forever. But just like with everyone else, they just... disappeared. So, all I'm trying to say is that being around genuine people and getting told how good of a person I am or whatever just... just feels weird sometimes. I'm not used to it."

"I know how you feel... I didn't really have many friends and I often felt left out. I had- I did have Matt and I guess that made things better- easier, I should say. But with my parents being wealthy and in the eye of the media, at the time, it was clear to me that I would never have friends who liked me for me."

"That sucks and I'm glad my parents were never known. As you know, we did use to be in a shit place financially and it was a tough ride. With my dads losing their jobs almost at the same time and both of them being extremely stubborn, it was quite hard without any help. Now, that everything seems so fine... and so put together and okay... I don't know. I feel selfish thinking that- wait, this is so stupid," she laughed to lighten the situation and I moved closer to her to place my hand between hers.

"It's not stupid, I swear," I told her. "You can tell me anything."

"Yeah, but it's just... you're going to tell me how- I don't know. I just know you're going to tell me something nice to make me feel better and I'll just end up thinking it over for ages."

"Of course, I will tell you something nice," I smiled. She didn't look at me but I didn't mind. Looking at her from where I sat, with her hands over mine, I felt like I had her. I felt like this was the moment I longed for. "Renleigh, can I say something?"

"You will, no matter what I say," she shrugged with a faint smile.

"True," I chuckled. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way... I don't want you to- to feel like I'm putting pressure on you or anything like that..."

"Oh, god," she looked at me with wide eyes. "Where are you going with this? Shall I be scared? Shall I prepare for anything?"

"Just shut up," I said playfully. "Fuck, you made the whole vibe go away... now it's going to sound weird."

"Sorry-sorry," she apologised quickly. Wait. She never apologised for anything. "Go on. I'm sad – I'm thinking sad thoughts like what a shitty person I am."

"First of all, you are not a shit person and if I hear you say that one more time, I will personally do something about it," I tried to threaten her but she just rolled her eyes at me. "Second of all... yes, I will always say nice things to you about you because you deserve to know how wonderful you are."

"Eh," she interrupted me as she pulled a face.

"Not 'eh' but yes. You are. You know what else you are?"

"Shoot."

"Insecure."

"I thought you said I was confident?"

"Yes, but you are also insecure. You don't actually believe you are confident. You are still in the 'fake it till you make it' phase and I didn't think that was true. But now that I am getting to know you more... well, all I'll say is that it's so much clear and judging a book by its cover is never the answer."

"This is all so confusing... I know who I am," she told me. "I know I don't take shit from people. I know I can do things... I don't think I'm insecure. I can't be confident and insecure. It's one or the other."

"I don't know how to explain it, babe. I know you can do things and you don't give in to people's mess. I know that you are confident in that sense. But when it comes to your personal life, I don't think you are quite as sure of it."

"I don't really think I have a personal life," she scoffed.

"Look, what I'm trying to tell you is that I'm here to make you feel better about yourself one way or another because I care about you. I care about you so much that I would actually run the marathon if it meant you'll realise how wonderful you are."

"Oh, yeah?" she chuckled. "I would love to see that."

"Are you daring me to do it?"

"Maybe."

"Would it end in you seeing you are worth everything?"

"Define everything."

"Do you want to get your feelings hurt?" I arched my eyebrow in question.

"You know what... I heard the chicken is lovely. Did you try the chicken?" I burst out laughing at her serious tone and facial expression. She was so fucking random and so funny. She didn't have to try, it just came naturally to her and it made it all so much better. "Oh, by the way, I have a lunch scheduled with my brother for tomorrow. Jade or Jane or whatever the fuck her name is, will be there too. So, if you are free, you could tag along."

"Sure," I nodded. "Where are we going?"

"Well... I wanted to go somewhere nice but ultimately, it's up to my brother. He says he hates when I take him somewhere – as he describes – fancy because he has to dress nice but then he enjoys every minute of the meal so..."

"This is a random question but was the transition easy?" I asked.

"What transition?"

"You said you went from nothing to everything. How did your brother take it? How did he feel when you started giving him the world from one day to another?"

"Oh, right," she nodded. "Well, I think he's still getting used to it. But then he's also used to it. I'm not sure. He seems fine. Sometimes, he gets proper confused. For example, when he went away with his friends for his birthday, I decided to upgrade their seats on the plane and he was really surprised and just couldn't believe it. Then other times, he kind of... I don't want to say he expects it, but I guess it did shape his taste in some ways. He is very much like... so, when he buys things or like orders something and it's not quite up to the standard, he thinks it should be, he gets very, um, passionate about it. He demands things in a way that makes sense. He never used to be like that — care so much — and now he's just so... gosh, I can't even explain it."

"Do you spoil him?"

"I try not to but sometimes, I go overboard and then I hate myself a bit more."

"Okay, I do that with my siblings," I laughed. "I spoil Liv more than Mason but that's because Mason doesn't like it."

"Please. Who doesn't like getting stuff? You just assume he doesn't like it. Also, your favouritism is showing."

"Do I really treat my siblings differently?"

"I told you once and I'll tell you again – I spoke to your brother and he trusted me with things you may not know. From that I know that he feels a certain way. I think you should talk to him to make sure he knows you care about him."

"Fuck, I know I should. I'm just not sure how to bring up the conversation."

"Sit him down and ask him how he feels."

"He's not going to pour his heart out to me just from that one question."

"So then ask him more than one," she said. "Out of the two of us, aren't you the one who's supposed to be proper educated on feelings and shit? Dude, I have no idea how these things work. I usually just transfer money to my family and call it a day."

"Right... fuck. I don't know. Whatever. I will deal with it when I have to. For now, I reckon we should get to bed," just as those words left my mouth, I yawned and Kensington laughed. "Are you sleeping with me or taking the couch again?"

"You but your dog cannot be in the bed with us."

"Come again?"

"Your dog cannot be in the bed with us. End of."

"You know what? I'm taking back what I said," I stood up and stretched my arm out for her to take so I could pull her lazy arse up. "You are so rude."

"Good," she grinned as she jumped up and patted my shoulder. "Maybe now you'll realise you are just a fool for wanting to be with me so much."

"No, I'm a fool in general but the sound of being a fool for you is much better."

"Alright. You tell yourself that."

"I don't have to," I shrugged.

"Fuck me, I don't understand what you see in me."

"You don't have to," I told her as we made our way upstairs. "All you gotta know is that I'm always here for you."

"Why?" she asked. "It makes no sense."

"Renleigh... do you remember what I told you before?"

"Um... I'm rude?" I rolled my eyes after she opened her smart mouth and shook my head a little.

"No. I told you I care about you. You mean so much to me and I think you are special. Seeing and making you happy is my main priority, alright? Let me fucking love you."

"Wait, I swear that's a song... let me love you... oh my god! Justin Bieber, right? Don't you give up, na-na-na, all that, right?"

I wanted to smack her for being such a twat. I swear to god, this woman did not know how to handle feelings. It was almost amusing. But it just made me realise how badly she had been treated in the past and it made me sad. All that shit truly left an impact on her.

"Stop," I tried to push her onto the bed but she didn't go down without a fight. "For one, you can't sing for shit and-,"

"Did you not hear me hit the note? Deaf bitch."

"-and for two, you missed the entire point of what I said."

"People been saying I have selective hearing and it ain't for nothing, honey," she winked at me as she curled under the quilt. I just stared at her for a few seconds before I decided to crawl on top of her and weigh down on her. "Get off of me. Now."

"No."

"I said now, Styles," she repeated herself but it was nowhere near serious. At least, my mind didn't sense it to be serious.

"Are you claustrophobic?"

"No."

"Well, then you should be fine," I grinned as I hid my face in her neck. "This is comfy."

"For you," she groaned. "Get off me before I throw you out of your own bedroom."

"Only if you'll be my girlfriend."

"No way in fucking hell."

"Hey!" I said with an offended tone. "Am I that bad?"

"Yes. And I don't date."

"That's a fat lie and you know it."

"As if I care if it's a lie or not. I still said it and you should respect it."

"I do. Trust me, I do. But I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to date you. I want to annoy you freely. I want to be there for you," I rambled as I slowly moved next to her and so I was able to face her. "Please," I pouted at her and she pushed the quilt in my face. I heard her giggle before she let go of it and rolled her eyes at me.

"I don't do relationships and I'm going to piss you off."

"You already piss me off so that won't be any different."

"I'm difficult and I have a lot of baggage."

"Same here."

"I'm a lot of work to keep up with and I drink more wine than I care to admit."

"I don't know how the two correlates but that's fine. I knew that already."

"I work and I do nothing but work. I'll be in and out of the country all year around and I will only ever be at my office if I'm home."

"I own a business myself. I know how this works," I replied easily. I knew what she was doing. She tried to find something that would put me off of her. Little did she know I loved her for who she was and however she was. Nothing in this world would have been able to make me not want her. "Anything else?"

"Ummm... I hate surprises."

"Okay?" I said and then laughed away because it was so random. "Why did you tell me that?"

"Because you look like someone who enjoys surprises and I fucking despise them."

"Why?"

"I hate not knowing what's going to happen and if I can avoid being in a situation like that, then you best believe I will."

"OK-OK. No surprises. Ever," I sighed.

"Fabulous."

"Wait. Is that you saying yes to being my girlfriend?" I asked her, filled with hope and excitement.

"Is this you asking me?"

"No."

"Then why do I have to answer?" she asked me with a smirk and I groaned. She chuckled and I felt her slip out of bed. "Is the pink toothbrush still out for me to use?"

I sighed as I turned on my back and pushed the pillow under my head. She waited for me to answer as she stood in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Yes," I replied eventually. "It is."

• • •

a.n.

i'm impatient n also i'm always egged on to update all the time so here i am 🧘🏻‍♀️ i wish you lot were as eager to comment n shit as i am to publish these chapters cos i'm always so excited to see what you think n then it's just crickets

omg also i finally finished one of my fics LMAO the fucker took 2 years to complete but at least it's done. that means i can fully focus on this one to get it done and start the boxer fic asap 🤰🏽

ok that's all for today mfs imma see u on sunday so comment n vote till then xoxo

PS HI BABE I ALSO LOVE YOU VERY MUCH