Chapter 3: Dream

The rest of the afternoon flew by. At some point, Florence managed to forget about Scott and focus on her tasks, so she could go home at the right time.

She wasn’t planning on working overnight, not even if that meant she would finish her goal before the end of the month. And today was definitely a day she could use the sleep and put her mind at rest for a few more hours.

Turning off her computer screen, she grabbed her purse, kissed Emma goodbye, and headed to the exit of the building, praying that she didn’t bump into anyone again.

The journey home was fast and tedious. Parking her car in the garage, she got inside the house and met her parents already waiting for her at the dinner table. She wasn’t in the mood for a chitchat, but it was hard for her to ignore them and reject the food her mother always prepared so wholeheartedly.

“Hi, mom, hey, dad. How was your day?” she asked, kissing them gently on their foreheads and grabbing her seat at the other side of the table.

“Hi, sweetie. It was good, lots of work, but we can’t complain,” her mother replied with a kind smile on her face. One that Florence knew was fake.

Her parents had developed a habit of lying to her when it came to problems involving money. Her father still felt the guilt of putting his family in trouble, and apparently, he’d never forgive himself for that, even if she and her mom had already forgiven him.

He was constantly feeling down and Florence always noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the troubled expression he had whenever he thought no one was looking at him.

She never addressed it and constantly tried to pretend the money she was getting wasn’t expected, so she could help to pay the bills without them knowing she was sacrificing herself.

“Dad?” she called to him, noticing how he didn’t answer her question.

“Hmm? Oh, it was good, honey. Nothing new, how about yours?” he asked with the same fake smile on his face.

Florence instantly remembered the encounter she had with the CEO of Lee Pharmaceuticals. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t feel like mentioning that to them. Since money was a sensitive topic inside the house, she always chose carefully what to mention.

“Nothing new as well,” she lied. “A lot of work, but as mom said, I can’t complain. So, let’s eat? I want to go to bed early tonight,” she concluded, grabbing her mom’s plate, and serving her a portion of rice.

Dinner went by smoothly, with lots of old stories being shared and Florence trying to lighten up the mood a bit, even if she didn’t feel in a good mood herself. She knew her parents were working hard, and to be honest, she always wanted them to have a simpler and more comfortable life.

They had worked a lot during their entire lives and if it wasn’t for the bad investment, her parents would probably be retired by now. So, as a good daughter, she should do the best she could to make them work less.

Which meant she should work harder. However, she couldn’t imagine where she’d go if she ever quit her job at NYU. They paid her a good salary and she enjoyed her job.

Part-time jobs were also not an option since she worked the entire day at the university. She would not have the time to get a job somewhere else. Maybe she could try to talk to her boss and get some more extra work to get more money, but she couldn’t imagine what they could possibly need her for other than what she was already doing. Which was already consuming most of her time.

Sighing, Florence grabbed her towel and went straight to the bathroom, craving a hot shower. The water fell on her back, making her close her eyes and simply enjoy the nice feeling it caused.

She didn’t like to feel sorry for herself, but sometimes she allowed herself to think of the nice things she wanted to experience as a young woman. She was never really a party girl or someone who felt the need to do extreme things to say she had lived a nice life.

But she also couldn’t pretend she didn’t want to do things people her age did, like travel around the world with a group of friends, getting home late from a night at the club when she had to go to work the next morning, or even making crazy choices out of love.

Florence widened her eyes in shock, trying to understand what kind of trick her mind was playing on her. Why would Scott’s face jump in front of her at the simple thought of love? Why did she think about him just now?

She shook her head, turning off the water and wrapping herself with the towel. She was probably still impressed by the earlier events of that day, so it was only natural she would still think about him. It was the only different thing that had happened to her in a long time.

After closing the window and the curtains, Florence put on her pajamas and turned off the light, feeling the softness of her mattress welcome her body and embrace her like a soothing lullaby.

It didn’t take much for her to fall into a deep sleep. Suddenly, she saw herself in a field full of tulips, the most stunning landscape she had ever seen. The smell of the flowers was intoxicating and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach as the man by her side wrapped her waist with one of his arms and pulled her close.

Florence lifted her chin, and her eyes met him, causing her heart to do back flips inside her chest.

“What do you think?” he asked with a soft voice and a charming smile. A smile he saved only for her.

“It's mesmerizing,” she whispered, unable to break eye contact.

“I knew you’d love it. We can come here every year to celebrate our anniversary,” he suggested, slightly brushing her lips with his before claiming her entirely to himself.

Florence woke up startled, her heart pumping hard against her ribcage. The word ‘anniversary’ coming out of Scott’s mouth in her dream was already shocking enough to her. But the taste of his lips felt so real, and when he deepened the kiss, it felt as if she was the only real thing in his world.

“What the f*ck…” she murmured, patting her chest softly, trying to calm it down, still feeling her lips tingling from the inexistent kiss.