"There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love."

― Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reese's POV.

"I'm sure there's some misunderstanding here Mr. Connor," rubbing my temple, I silently pray that this isn't true. Losing this photography contract would be a nightmare and I put everything I had into working for this shoot.

"I'm sorry Reese but there's nothing I can do about it. Mr. Toussaint is really angry right now and Ms. Vandermeer is missing right now but don't worry you'll get back whatever you've invested in this shoot so far." Sure, but what about the time I invested in it?

"Alright but if there any chance for the engagement shoot to continue, can you guys help me get the contract?"

"Of course Reese, you're our first choice,"

"Thank you, Mr. Connor." I hang up sighing. Seriously, though, the model had to run away in the middle of the shoot that would've covered the expenses for my dad's surgery.

"What's wrong Reese?" Ray questions as he enters the room with some coffee. "Nothing,"

I shake my head before taking the coffee mug from Ray. Well, it is not just me having a loss here; even the magazine that was going to print the pictures of Mr. Toussaint and his fiancé is going to have to suffer the loss now. Sure, the model probably did not care about all the lives she will be ruining when she decided to ditch her fiancé.

"I need a new contract to work on Ray, the engagement shoot has been canceled," I tell him as he sits down on the other side of the small dining table. Ray is my childhood best friend and he has always been there for me when I needed him.

He gives me a thinking look as he takes a sip of his steaming coffee, "I've got no photography contracts but I can bag you a contract in ghostwriting and website designing,"

"You're a life savior buddy," and yet again Ray to my rescue. I give him a smile, "We'll always have each other's backs, Reese,"

Ray's phone goes off and he excuses himself to take the call. He's a guy who always pushed me to do my best in all I have and I can't ever repay him for what he's done for me.

~•~•~•

"I love you, Mills," I confess my feelings to the beautiful woman lying naked next to me with a thin white bedsheet covering her. She opens her eyes looking at me shocked, which makes my confidence drop. I know we agreed on a no strings attached relationship but I could not help having feelings for her.

She shuffles uncomfortably next to me before sitting up holding the bedsheet to her body. "How could you Reese? We agreed on a no strings attached relationship,"

"I know... but I just couldn't help it. It was too late by the time I realized that I'm falling for you," Millie sighs before getting off the bed.

"Listen, we can't be together Reese and I'm sorry if I did anything to give you hope about us," she starts putting on her clothes as I stand up just dressed in my pants and take long strides towards her. She expected me to not feel anything for her after being together for almost every day in the past year?

I grab her by her arm, forcing her to look at me, "Are you seriously telling me that you didn't notice the way I was jealous every time you spoke to another guy or tried to make you feel special all along?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Reese." She dismisses me and looks away but I held her in place still hurt about how she's ignoring me.

"Alright let's just say I believe you, but can't you just give me a chance at least?" I look at her with pleading eyes, with a hope that she'd let me in. For once in my life, I craved something constant and that's Millie.

"Listen, Reese, I've been wanting to tell you this for a while now... I'm getting married to Mason Reed soon," Mason Reed, my cousin. My breath hitches and I let go of her with disgust. The girl I fell in love with was cheating on my cousin with me all along and I didn't know that.

"You're the girl Mason's marrying soon? Oh god, you were cheating on my cousin with me all along while you told me that you were single?" I trusted her.

She broke me.

She's nothing but a two-timing bitch.

~•~•~•

I open my eyes while sitting in the park waiting for Ray to come back with good news about my contract. Millie kept troubling my mind every now and then. Her memory is what keeps me away from trusting women again and honestly, I don't even know if it's good or bad.

Looking at couples strolling by the city every day makes me want to have a relationship like that but again, how true is what I see in those couples? A chuckle leaves my mouth at my own doubts. My phone buzzes and I look to see Sara's name pop up with a message.

She's been messaging me every now and then since our meet last week. I reply a 'Hi' and shove my phone back into my pocket. Its weird enough to have someone like Sara text me and now she doesn't stop.

I stand up, grabbing my backpack and head to the small coffee shop just a few feet away. Twenty-seven years of existence and the only constant thing I have in life is coffee. Never fails to please and makes you feel one hundred percent better with every single sip.

Now that sounds like a coffee commercial, eh?

Stepping into the café, I notice that there's no crowd and sigh in relief. People overcrowding the place is the last thing I want now, "Hey there!"

A young guy around eighteen years greets me with a wide smile and I read his name tag which spelled Pete, "Hey, Pete, I'd like a double shot espresso and blueberry pancakes,"

"Done," he says writing it down on his order book before looking up at me again, "anything else?"

"No that's it," he excuses himself and leaves me alone in the booth as I quickly text Ray informing him that I'm at the coffee shop. I take out my iPad from my bag and go through my mail to check if there's any response from the freelancing company I sent my applications to last night.

One application accepted for poster making. Well that's better than nothing at all, isn't it?

Over the years, due to my dad's illness, I had to keep taking leaves at every constant job I had and that didn't really settle well with my bosses. So here I am working twenty-four seven trying to get enough money to fund my family, my dad's hospital bills and my living expenses.

"Here you go, a double expresso and blueberry pancakes," Pete places my order on my table and I thank him before he leaves.

I dive into my breakfast while reading the news online. Well, Irene Vandermeer is on the news for leaving her fiancé and damn that poor guy. Trump on the news as always and more usual things.

"Reese! You bagged the contract," Ray's joyful voice makes me smile at the news. "Thank you so much for recommending me, Ray."

He grabs my plate of pancakes and dives into whatever is left before speaking with his mouthful, "I'm your brother remember? I'll do anything for you,"

I chuckle nodding my head. He's always and will always be family to me, "So I drive to LA and get to work by next weekend?"

"That's the plan and that way you can even visit your family," Ray tells me flashing me a smile. Right, I could stay at home and spend some time with my family.

"You're right and I could use the break while driving for three days," I tell him relaxing back into the seat while staring out to look at my

~•~•~•

I drum my fingers against the steering as Counting stars by One Republic plays on my music system.

The old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told
I, feel something so right
Doing the wrong thing
I, feel something so wrong
But doing the right thing

Its cloudy today and I'm sure it's going to start pouring anytime soon. Luckily I got to the outskirts of the city before the traffic could get worse. I pick up the tin of coke and chug down the last of it before changing the track to Hey Jude.

I continue driving until I see a woman waving her hand for a lift and slow down. A familiar frown forms on my face when I look at the lady who's wearing a pair of loose ripped jeans and a black t-shirt, barely recognizable with the messy hair. That's the model, that is Mr. Toussaint fiancé but the person I'm looking at right now looks nothing like a model.

Leaning down enough to look at me through the window space she speaks, "I need a lift please..."

~•~•~•
So how do you guys like the chapter?

Please do comment and let me know what you think.

And I started publishing "The longest ride" on inkitt. So I'll be updating a chapter there first every week or sometimes twice a week and the chapter would be released on wattpad only after five days.

If you guys could stop by my book on inkitt and leave reviews and comments then the link is in my bio. I love you guys for all the support over the past few months and I hope you continue to support me.

Have a great day or night!

Love,
Ana...