Percy's POV

I had left her five voicemails and seventeen text messages by the time Annabeth finally responded. At that point, it had been several days since she walked away from me outside her apartment building.

I was shocked when she agreed to come over to my place. It gave me hope for the potential of a reconciliation. If she was going to end things for good, wouldn't she want to do it in a public place to avoid a scene? I had to keep an optimistic spirit. The thought of losing her forever was just too goddamn painful to consider. When my mind escaped me and wallowed in that possibility…Ouch!

I couldn't bear it. I needed to win her back. I wanted to make sure it was a special evening, so I decided to prepare a home-cooked meal. I wasn't much of a chef given that I had grown up in a house with private chefs, and kept one on staff to this day. And then, cooking became even more of a challenge when I lost my vision. But I was determined, so I thought I would start off with something simple: pasta with freshly prepared marinara sauce— not the kind that comes in a jar. I enjoyed the sensation of creating this dish with ripe, plump tomatoes, and smooth, sweet basil. I decided I should cook more often, as it engaged all of my remaining senses.

In the hours leading up to her arrival, I made the meal, set the table, uncorked a bottle of wine, and lit a few long white candles. The preparations kept my mind busy, so I didn't have endless time to consider the possible worst case scenario of the night that was in store for me. And then came a knock on the door.

Annabeth's POV

He was dressed in a fine suit when he led me into his living room. It looked like Valentine's Day, the table meticulously laid out for two. I was half-expecting to see cutout paper hearts and a line of rose petals leading to the bedroom door. But this was not the kind of evening I had in mind. For one, I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. And I had every intention of making sure this conversation lasted no more than a few minutes.

"I hope you're hungry," he said.

"I already ate," I lied, but my stomach was so unsettled I was sure it would refuse any food I tried to put in it right now.

"Oh, okay," he sounded disappointed, but put on a brave face. "I just wanted to thank you so much. My Dad told me what you did for me in the board meeting. You're amazing."

"I did it for the company. Octavian needed to go."

"Right. Well, thanks anyways."

"You're welcome."

"Things are looking up," he said, with a half-smile. "I'm going to have my job back and I still get partial custody of my daughter."

"I'm happy for you."

"But see, that's the thing. I'm not happy. I miss you so much."

Oof.

He took a step toward me. "I think about you all the time. When I lost my vision, the whole world went dark. You brought light back into it. I need you."

"You don't need me," I said. "You just need someone who is willing to sign on the dotted line."

"Annabeth, I thought you must have known I had a dom-sub relationship with Red. I didn't think I needed to warn you about that."

"Of course I did. But using the same safe words and even the same nicknames? It feels like you're trying to recreate your relationship with her instead of creating a new one with me."

He hung his head. "I know. I see how hurtful that is, and I am very, very sorry. I just got swept up in the feeling of being in—"

He cut himself off and started again. "I got swept up in my feelings for you. I hadn't felt alive like that since I met Red, so those memories came rushing back. But I handled it thoughtlessly."

"I believe you did not mean to hurt me, Percy. But you did. And I'm afraid that in this dynamic, I will always feel replaceable."

"But…how can you feel replaceable when I don't want anyone else?"

Swoon.

I felt my knees and my resolve start to weaken, but I needed to stay strong. Percy could charm the pants off anyone, and I wanted to get out of here with all my clothes on.

"Red told me what happened. She said she started to feel dominated in every aspect of her life, she couldn't escape the dynamic."

"I never tried to control her outside of the bedroom," he said.

"Then why did she feel like that?"

"Well, Annabeth, there is a key difference between you and Red."

"And what is that?" I prodded, dying to know.

"I realized too late in our relationship that Red signed the contract to make me happy. But you signed it for yourself. You wanted it as badly as I did. Am I wrong?"

He reached for my waist and squeezed it.

Fuck, he's good. And he isn't wrong. I think.

Somehow, I found the strength to back away from his touch.

"That's not the point, Percy. This entire relationship has meant nothing but trouble for the both of us. I just want a normal life with a solid career. And this is too much."

"Why would someone so extraordinary want something so ordinary?"

Oh no.

Was I making a huge mistake walking away from Percy?

Percy's POV

I finally felt like I was getting somewhere with her, but then she blurted out:

"I can't do this right now. This is harder than I thought it would be."

"We have to do this. I would like to know where we stand when we see each other around the office. You can't just avoid me forever."

"Um, the thing is—"

The thing? That doesn't sound good.

"The thing is, I came over here to tell you, I accepted another job."

No. I must have heard her wrong. She didn't just say—

"Did you hear me, Percy? I took a job at Bacchus Real Estate. They offered it to me today, and I said yes."

This can't be happening.

My throat started to close, and my chest began to tighten.

"Why…why would you do that?"

"I don't think we can work in the same space. It will be too difficult."

"So…you came here to offer me your resignation? You could have just done that at the office."

Now, I was mad. How could she be so callous?

"Well, I thought…I wanted to tell you before I told Nico."

"Okay. You've told me. Thanks a lot."

"I know you're upset." Now, she was moving towards me, and I was backing away.

"But I believe this is what is best for both of us."

"You signed a contract. With me and with the company. Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Percy…" Her voice cracked. "I'm a person. Not an object to be bought and sold with contracts. Things change. People change."

"I know that."

But how could it all change so quickly?

Annabeth's POV

I had never seen him so broken before. I was tempted to stop what I was doing, to pick up the pieces of his heart and put them back together.

"I care about you, Percy," I said, when what I meant was, I love you.

"Then don't do this. Just…stay for a while. Eat dinner with me. I made it myself."

"Dinner will lead to drinks, will lead to…who knows what?" We both knew that.

"So be it! Don't tell me you have had enough. We were just getting started. There is so much more of you I have left to explore."

I want to. But I can't. But I want to. But I can't.

My mind was running circles around itself.

"Percy," I said, slowing down my speech to try to measure my heart rate. "If I stay with you now, my feelings for you will grow stronger and stronger. And that means it will hurt so much more when you eventually cross out my name on the contract and hand it over to the next girl."

Ouch. Hurt to say those words out loud.

"So, in the interest of my own self-protection," I continued shakily. "I need to end this now. I hope you can respect my decision."

It was difficult to say those words, and by the look on his face, even more difficult to hear. I couldn't bear the sight of him anymore.

"I need to go," I said, turning to leave.

But his hand shot out, and he grabbed my wrist, pulling me back toward him.

"Please. Please, don't go."

He squeezed my wrist even tighter.

"Annabeth Chase, I love you."

Don't say that. Not now. Not like this.

"Red," I said, stunning myself and him with the fierceness of my tone.

He immediately dropped my wrist and held up his hands like he was turning himself in for committing a crime.

"Oh, god," he said. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I just…I'll see you around."

"Yeah. Okay. I'll see you around."

He walked away from me and sat down alone at the dining room table he had set for two. For a second, I saw myself running to him, kissing him on the lips, serving up the food he had prepared, making sweet love to him for the rest of the night. But instead, I felt the ice-cold doorknob in my palm and heard the sound of the door clicking shut.

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