Apollo did not believe in psychologists. But now, he was sitting stiffly on a leather couch in the office of a psychologist, arms crossed like he was preparing for battle. The psychologist sitting across from him was Kit Monday, one of his closest friends.
"I am not here for a session," Apollo started. "Don’t you dare start scribbling notes, Kit. I am not your patient. I am your landlord and I am here for an inspection of the building. If you scribble anything, I will evict you."
Kit, unfazed, leaned back in his chair. "Relax. I am not scribbling. I am just enjoying the rare sight of you sitting still. Usually, you are rushing to a party or coming from one. In the old days, you would be too busy antagonizing Claire to breathe."
Apollo scowled. "Antagonizing? Please. She started it."
Kit raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because I distinctly remember you in high school, hiding her calculator before a math exam. Or the time you swapped her essay with a menu from the cafeteria."
Apollo shifted uncomfortably. "She told Jonathan Jenner than I wanted to go to prom with him! Claire Dane cut my school trousers into booty shorts! I had every right to get back at her. All I did to her was in defense of what she did to me first."
"It seemed to me like you both enjoyed making each other miserable," Kit said. "Of course, the enjoyment depends on perspective."
Apollo waved a hand dismissively. "Anyway, I had this...encounter with Claire today. And then she fainted, I caught her, and now the whole world is calling her my ’latest collectible.’"
Kit chuckled. "You mean the pictures of you carrying her? Yeah, I saw those. You looked like a groom at a budget wedding."
Apollo groaned. "That’s not the problem. She is pregnant and I am sure it’s mine, but she doesn’t believe me. I even saved her life and somehow, she has twisted it into me plotting against her. Which, fine, I usually am. But this time I wasn’t. I want us to sit down like normal adults and discuss the baby. A lot of divorced couples hate each other but love their children and raise them well through co-parenting. I am sure she will not surrender custody of the child to me."
Kit leaned forward, voice sly. "Why start at divorce? You two have not even tried to get along and already you are dismantling a fictional marriage. Have you ever considered the possibility that you might be in love with Claire?"
Apollo froze. "Excuse me?"
"You have spent half your life chasing her, teasing her, running off any boy that smiled at her twice. You have given up businesses you could have won if you were ruthless because you didn’t want to hurt her. Now, you are rescuing her and stealing her motorcycle." Kit tapped his notebook. "That’s not hatred, Apollo. That’s courtship."
Apollo sputtered. "Courtship? She said I abused the privilege of being stupid!"
Kit shrugged. "Apollo, you only date models and actresses. They come to you for the free PR and you make them sign NDAs and contracts guaranteeing no physical relationship whatsoever. This started when Claire and Andrew went steady, by the way.
The last time you entered such an arrangement was seven weeks ago and you ended it as soon as you and Claire had a drunken encounter. You have been single since then. I wonder why?"
Apollo snorted.
Kit continued with a smile, "When she has business in a certain city, you also happen to have business there. She insults you and you smile! Anyone else would have found themselves in hot soup. You have built a private business empire and refuse to meet prominent businessmen and women, yet you still find time to argue with her about small things.
If you say blue, she says red--and then the two of you will stand and argue pointlessly over which color is better and why! For the life of me, I cannot understand why you do it. Claire Dane is not your enemy; she is your obsession."
Apollo snorted. "I am not obsessed with her."
Kit shrugged. "If you say so. Now that she is somehow pregnant with your child I am going to say something I don’t believe in. This has to be fate!"
"It’s more like chaos." Apollo grumbled.
Kit smirked. "And you like chaos. At least, if it has Claire Dane’s face and sharp tongue. Admit it."
Silence stretched. Apollo shifted, tugged at his cufflinks, then finally sighed. "If I were in love with Claire Dane--hypothetically--it would be the worst decision of my life."
Kit leaned back again, satisfied. "Congratulations. That’s the first honest thing you’ve said all session."
Apollo shot up from the couch as if a bee had stung his ass. "This is not a session! I told you, I don’t believe in therapy."
Kit grinned. "Sure. And yet here you are, threatening me with rent while unpacking your feelings. Therapy by extortion. Very Apollo Ashford on-brand."
Apollo stormed toward the door muttering, "I am not in love with Claire Dane. I’m....strategically irritated."
Kit called after him, "Keep telling yourself that, Romeo. I will send the bill to your secretary."
Apollo slammed the door.
****
Ritah Dane was also unpacking her feelings about Claire and there was just one word to describe her mood: enraged.
She had showed up to Redgold Hotel, which was owned by Andrew’s family thirty minutes ago. As soon as she forcefully stormed into Andrew’s office, she lifted a porcelain elephant art piece from his table and smashed it on the ground.
It didn’t matter to her that Andrew had been in the middle of a meeting. Ritah screamed at everyone to get out and started a rant about Claire that was still ongoing.
"Apollo Ashford! How dare she throw herself at a man like that? Does she think she deserves to fit in with the wealthy society we can’t even squeeze into?" She screamed. "I am the real Dane heiress! I am the only one that deserves a man like Apollo. Who does she think she is?"
Ritah was focused only on her own anger that she did not notice the flicker of annoyance in Andrew’s eyes.
"You know what, I am going to make my parents bring her back." She declared, stopping to take a sip of water from the open bottle sitting on the table. "As long as she is living in my house, I can always suppress her. I will never let that bitch get ahead of me in her life. Her fate is to be crushed under my heels, no matter how high she dares to climb."