There were only four shirts folded in the open suitcase on Layla's bed—the rest were either tucked away in the dresser or hanging in the closet where they'd been residing for weeks. Maybe leaving Red View with Colin was the right thing to do, maybe it wasn't. It didn't matter. Not when the envelope she held in her hands and the letter inside felt like a ticket to the freedom she'd been craving for years.

Without even a warning knock, the bedroom door opened. Colin slipped inside, expectant expression falling when his gaze landed on her suitcase.

"You're not packed at all. What the hell have you been doing this whole time?"

"This," she answered simply, rolling her shoulders back as she reached out to hand him the envelope. She continued when he took it, "I want you to give it to my parents for me. It's my resignation."

"Your... Layla. No." He glared at her, blue eyes cold as ice. "I'm not letting you waffle on this. Pack your shit and lets get out of here."

"No. I've made up my mind and I'm not coming with you."

"And where are you gonna go, exactly? Last I saw of your boyfriend, he was pretty pissed. I don't think you'll be staying here."

She already knew that Dawson was upset with her, and that it would be a long shot for him or anyone else to take her in after putting them through the rollercoaster of her decision making. But even as much as it mattered to her to make things right, whether anyone forgave her wasn't relevant to the choice she was making.

"So then I'll stay somewhere else. The point is, I'm not going back to New York. I'm leaving the company. And," she reached into the pocket of her jeans, pulling out the silver band and outstretching her hand for him to take it, "we're not going to get married."

He slapped her hand away, sending the ring flying as she gasped. His nostrils flared, voice raising as he snapped, "Think about what this means for me, for your parents. How the hell can you be so selfish?"

"Because," she straightened, matching his tone with a fiery one of her own, "this is what I want. And for the first time in my life, I'm not just going to push that aside."

"Very fucking convenient time for you to become delusional, Layla. Very fucking convenient for the rest of us." He breathed heavily, raking a hand through his hair. He turned, paced for a second before spinning back to leer at her. "Nobody gets everything they want. Nobody. You and I might not've wanted each other, but it was a damn small sacrifice to make for everything we could've had."

"For you, maybe, but for me it's asking too much. I'm not even sure I want what I'd get in return, not anymore. I either want to make it on my own, or with someone who respects me—and you don't, Colin."

"Not now, I don't. Ten minutes ago I did. I respected you enough that I would've given you the things you wanted. It would've been our company someday."

"Maybe you believe that. Maybe it's even true, I don't know." She let out a laugh, shaking her head. "Even if it is, it never would have been enough. I can't marry a man who I don't love, who doesn't love me."

"Well good luck getting the farmer to love you after you showed him and everyone else just how spineless you are." He scoffed, giving her a disgusted once-over. "I wish to God you weren't an only child, Layla. For your parents sake more than mine."

"Well." She paused, needing to let the weight of that comment ease up for a second. "Now you know how I feel." For years now she'd wished there'd been someone else to be first in line to the throne, so to speak. But just because there wasn't, didn't mean she had to accept it.

She shrugged, mustering a smile of acceptance. "That's it, Colin. I'll mail you the ring." If he wanted it back now, he could crawl around on the floor and look for it himself. All she wanted was for him to get out, to go back home and leave her to try to pick up the pieces of what she'd destroyed here.

"Yeah, right. I give this to your parents," he waved the letter around like it was contaminated, "and I'll bet a million you come running right back to New York after they chew you out."

"You might be grateful for this someday," she managed, even though his words struck fear in her heart. She didn't know what her parents would say, how severely they'd react. But she had to believe in them, had to trust that they'd forgive her and understand. "Someday if you meet the right woman, or even the right business partner, you might be glad we didn't handcuff ourselves to each other like this."

The laugh that came out of him was a mixture of amusement and revulsion. "I'll be grateful in a few months when I hear just how far you fall trying to start something of your own."

She refrained from pointing out that just a second ago he thought she wouldn't even make it that far. It just didn't matter what he thought. "Goodbye, Colin."

"See you in a few weeks, Layla." With those bitter words he turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. She heard the front door shut loudly not long after, and from her open window, the distant sound of a car starting and driving away. 

Finally, she let out a long breath. No matter what, this was a new start. The real beginning of her own life, and that alone filled her with pride and a jolt of excitement. Still, she hoped to the point of aching that she wouldn't have to do it alone.