Power of Attorney: A Novel (A Greenburg Family Book 1) (13 page)

Patrick took the news like a blow to his gut.
He felt as if there was a train running straight through his body as he heard it. He’d learned the transfer was final from Henry, who phoned him just after Sarah had left his office. He had been in court that morning, trying his best to stay focused, and failing miserably, as his thoughts kept returning to Sarah.

The judge had finally called for
recess after nearly fining Patrick for contempt of court for not paying attention. His client had been pissed as well, but none of that could be helped in the moment. He had to get back to the office.

But when he got there, all of Sarah’s things were gone.
The empty desk seemed so foreign in his eyes. Then the call from Henry had come before he’s even had a chance to mourn their loss. She was gone, leaving tomorrow. She hadn’t even told him goodbye.

Patrick was racing down the hallway, on his way to the 24
th
floor to confront Suzanna when he was intercepted by Henry and Adewale next to the elevator. They had to pin him to the wall to keep him from being reckless.

“Stop it,” Henry urged. “Let’s go to your office to talk.”

…

An hour later, Patrick had a better unde
rstanding of what had occurred, but he still couldn’t believe what he’d been told. Sarah was leaving on her own, had made the choice to transfer.

“She told me Suzanna offered to let her stay,” explained Henry, who was also shaking his head. “I still don’t understand it, but Sarah told Suzanna she not only preferred to go, but wanted the transfer to be immediate.”

With his face full of sympathy, Henry looked at his brother. “Patrick, she’s leaving tomorrow.”

As if a gong had sounded in his head, the word ‘tomorrow’ vibrated inside his mind. She was
really leaving, almost gone already. His heart almost broke inside his chest.

Was the
mistake he made so big that Sarah couldn’t forgive him? Was the rift between them widening apart so much that it was impossible for them to close that gap now? There had to be more to this, he just couldn’t believe she would leave him of her own accord.

Henry was silent
as he walked with him to Sarah’s apartment. He had given Patrick one last squeeze on his shoulder before he went off on his own. There were no words that could comfort his brother’s broken heart after all.

Sarah came into his life one day and changed everything. She just couldn’t leave like nothing happened. He needed her to stay. He needed her to stand by his side just as much as he wanted to be there for her. After meeting her and loving her, Patrick just couldn’t imagine himself alone anymore. Or rather, he didn’t want to remember how to be alone anymore. The lone wolf of Johnson and Smith
had found a mate. He just hoped his little blue bird wasn’t going to fly away to some place he couldn’t reach.

He knocked on Sarah’s door with perfect realization that this might be the last time he would ever get to knock on this wooden door, to enter this cozy room.
This could be the last chance he would get to see Sarah Blake, the woman that made him felt so human again.

Sarah didn’t look surprised to see him. In fact, it was as if she expected him there. She always saw right through him
, after all. People always thought that Sarah was the transparent one in their relationship. But it was the other way around. She could see right through him no matter how hard he tried to conceal it.

“Please,” it was a simple plea. He said it
with such a broken voice, begging for the last time for her to not leave him. He didn’t want to sit by the empty desk ever again. Patrick never felt alone, now he was sick of it, frightened he could never find happiness again. He’s had everything, and now was losing it.

Sarah only shook her head and looked down at the floor
. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t sound angry, not like the
day before. She sounded just as broken as he was. There was a trembling pitch in her little voice.

Two of the most confident and powerful lawyers were reduced to this, two broken lovers
trying to hang on to their last moments together.

“If
it’s because of me, I’m sorry. I don’t know what you want or how you want me to fix this but, please just give me time. Just tell me what you want or what I should do and-”

“It’s not about you
, Patrick,” Sarah stopped him. She couldn’t bear to see Patrick like this, so sad and desperate for her to stay, thinking everything was his fault. Although he was the one who started it, he surely did everything in his power to fix this. She could never let him know her true reason for leaving.

“It’s me,” she said finally, “I just need to leave. I know you did everything that you could to make sure that I
could stay, and I appreciate your effort.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because…” she trailed off. Her eyes looked at the empty birdcage. Everything that she let go never came back to her. She had to let Patrick go, had to free him to be the attorney he once was. It became clear what she’d have to say.

“You hurt me
, Patrick. There’s no denying that.”

Sarah could see the guilt in his eyes
, watched the tears well into his eyes. She could also feel her own tears trailing down the side of her face. “It’s best that I go back. I’m tired of your mood swings, your grumpiness and overall bad mood. If you can have me transferred once, how do I know you won’t try it again?”

“
I wouldn’t. I won’t. Let me show you.”

She looked in his dear face, this brilliant man she so admired and did the one thing she swore she wouldn’t do. She lied.

“I don’t believe you. It’s best that you go now.”

Patrick didn’t move. Desperation
was written on his face.

“I don’t want to go back to that kind of life,” Sarah’s hand came up to his cheek. She didn’t want this to be how they parted. Both in tears and with huge regrets lingered upon their hearts. She didn’t want to hurt him just like
he was sorry for hurting her. Their joyful heartbeat synchronized as well as their heartache. They hurt each other…because that was what love also did to you. It made you fly and do the impossible as well as tear you down to pieces and leave you without your other half.

For now, Sarah and Patrick
drank in this last moment, their last time to feel so complete. They both hope that it was temporary. They both knew it wasn’t.

The kiss the shared that
night was bittersweet. Patrick’s lips were chapped rough against hers. She worried for a moment that he wasn’t taking care of himself, or was maybe biting his lips in frustration.

Patrick breathed in the last of Sarah’s scent. His hands roamed
down her body, as he were trying to memorize every curve. He touched her face, ran his hands through her hair. He wanted to remember it all.

The love they made that night wasn’t passionate
. It was longing, pure and simple. It was two people holding on tight to the other as if they were experiencing their last night on earth. It wasn’t pleasure they shared, neither was it pain. The love they shared that night was a goodbye. It was more sensual than sexual.

They were totally connected… body, mind and spirit. They gazed into each other’s eyes, as if memorizing the other’s face. They whispered love words
, their voices cracking from the strain. Love just isn’t always enough.

Patrick ran his hand through Sarah’s hair as they bathe
d in the afterglow of their climax. He gave her forehead a gentle kiss, a sign of goodbye. Sarah’s hand met his and trailed down to his shoulders and pulled him to her for the last time. She looked into Patrick’s face before closing her eyes and falling asleep. She wanted the last image she had of Patrick to be this one.

Patrick did not
spend the night. He waited for Sarah to fall completely asleep. He had planned to leave right away but ended up staying another half hour. He couldn’t bear to walk away, take his eyes from her calm face.

She looked so beautiful like this
. Tucking one stray strand behind her ear, Patrick slowly untangled himself from Sarah’s limbs. He tucked the duvet over her body and got dressed.

He tried to not look back at Sarah’s sleeping form
, but he couldn’t stop himself. Was she better off without him? He knew he would always think about her when she left. But if this were another test of their relationship, he would gladly take it. Sarah said that she needed time, and Patrick would give it. He just wished it wouldn’t be long. He wished Sarah would have some faith in him, in their love.

Henry was waiting for him at his apartment with a bottle of
fifteen-year-old whiskey. Henry said nothing as he handed him a glass full of amber liquid. Patrick downed it in one go and handed the empty glass, asking for more.

“I
lost her,” he said when he was on his third one.

“
You’ll get her back,” Henry said and took a sip of his own. He was already on his third one too. This was probably the only time where Patrick would beat him in drinking as his sadness seemed to absorb the alcohol rather than his body.

“What if I can’t?”

“The Patrick I know would never let that happen.”

Patrick
had given one stiff laugh before it turned into a loud, almost maniac like howl. Henry never thought that love would made his brother lose himself like this. His heart ached to see him in this much pain.

“The thing is
Henry; I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t know what I can do or should do anymore. I couldn’t make mom and dad stay together. I keep messing with your life. I ruin other people’s happiness and now, I can’t convince the one person who matters to me the most stay. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore.”

And so Patrick cried on Henry’s shoulder that
night, which Henry gladly lend him. Patrick had always tried to be strong for everyone around him and Henry always believe that the ones who cried wasn’t weak. They’d just been so strong for so long that they faltered and let out the strength they had been carrying for a long time.

The next day, Patrick wasn’t there to wave her off, they had already said their goodbyes.
He just walked past her apartment building and winced when he noticed the ‘apartment available’ sign. He came close to going inside, putting down a deposit and renting it himself. Anything to never be reminded that her rooms were now empty.

“Get on with it, I haven’t got all day.”

Patrick wanted to punch Henry so badly he might end up punching himself instead. He could not punch the person in front of him because he still valued his life. That damn brother of his had left him in the middle of dinner with her… Jane Hunt.

It started with a call from his brother in the middle of his usual sulking afternoon. He
said he wanted to arrange a dinner with Patrick to cheer him up. Patrick didn’t want to go, didn’t want to be cheered up. Besides, food wasn’t as tasty as it should be since she left. It tasted like paper and ash now, tasteless and dry.

The energy that used to thrive within him was drained away every time he turned his gaze upon
the empty desk across from him. Henry just dragged him out of the room one day and threatened to strap him down in a chair if he had to.

Twenty minutes after he ordered the food, or
he should say that Henry handled everything, Jane Hunt walked in and sat right opposite of him. He glared at Henry with eyes full of accusation and utter betrayal. This was Henry’s idea of cheering him up? Making him talk with one person he didn’t want to talk to the most. But before Patrick could utter one more word, Henry disappeared into thin air like some phantom ghost of the night.

As much as he wanted to walk away, Patrick
wouldn’t, not in front of Jane. He would not be the first one to give up when it came to him and his sister. Their first ten minutes was in total utter deadly silence. Jane just quietly ordered her favorite ribs while Patrick sulked in his mind.

“If you didn’t have anything to say, I’ll just finish this and go,”
she finally said after another half hour had passed. Henry was still MIA, so they had eaten their dinner without him.

“Why are you here?”

“Henry called me and told me what happened. He said you’ve been depressed and could use some sisterly love.”

D
amn that brother of his. He would get him back for this.

“That is none of your concern.
I’ll be just fine.”

“I don’t think that calling in sick for three days straight and moping around the room
is equal to being fine.”

He
really was going to kill Henry, sharing such personal details, giving her perfect ammunition against him. Things were bad enough as it was.

Back at the office, things had gone back to where it was before Sarah first came
.  He became the topic of the gossip bowl again and was once again avoided. Some said that he was playing around her and that he was jealous of her skills. How dare they? They knew nothing about Sarah or their relationship.

“Again, why do you care?”

Jane put down her fork and knife down beside her plate. She let out a huge sigh. It was probably the first time they look at each other since the start of the dinner.

“Can’t I be worried about by dear little brother?”

Patrick felt a sudden rush of blood flowing into his face at her words. Little brother indeed. The little brother she abandoned so long ago, the little brother she kept at an emotional distance now. She hadn’t earned the right to be concerned.

“Like how you care
d for me, or Henry, or even mom when you left?”

Jane’s normally poker face twisted at the
insult; he could also see a tad of hurt. They had an unspoken agreement never to discuss their parent's divorce, it had become almost a taboo in their family. Both children had chosen to stay with their respective parents, and none of them felt the need to address why. But today, Patrick was just too tired, too sick and annoyed to be toyed with anymore.

“Oh, are we going to bring that up now?” Jane spoke in a tone he hadn’t heard for a long time, a tone she used whenever she was about to use her authority. He had heard it countless time when she fought with Henry when they were little.

“I don’t know since we are going to have a
sibling talk
, let’s start with that. Why should I listen to you? Actually, why should you be here at all? You weren’t there for me, or Henry or Mom. Even if you knew that
he
was the one that started this.
He
was the one that was unfaithful.”

Patrick knew he wasn’t just re
-opening old wounds. He was digging into the fresh scars that were still raw exposed from his recent heartbreak.

“So
, you think mom was the only person who ended up hurt from their divorce? That’s simple thinking, Patrick. Simple thinking that keeps you stuck emotionally like a little boy. You’ll never move past it until you grow up.” Patrick was grinding his teeth while she spoke. Jane was still treating him like a kid.

“
I’m judging from what I see and from what I heard. He used me as an excuse to betray her.”

“Then you didn’t look hard enough
.” Jane knew something that Patrick seemed to be missing. She held the final trump card for this storytelling.

“
The woman you saw that day wasn’t just someone he met. She was his first love. She was the girl dad promised to marry before he met mom. In fact, they were together since high school. They went to university together, graduated together. Until one day, she moved away because of her family problem. Debts, I think.”

“You are finding excuse for them
.” Jane was making his father and that woman seem like a fairy tale story. Patrick refused to fall for it. There was no excuse for his actions toward him or his mom.

“
If you would open up your mind and listen, you’ll see I’m trying to share both sides of this story. Can you at least be open for a minute?”

To get the lecture over with, he nodded.

“When dad meet her again, it was like a dream come true. He knew it was too late; he had already married mom, had a family with her. But, it seems he couldn’t stay away, the love he’d tried to suppress for so long came to the surface. He wanted one more time with her. But one time wasn’t enough.”

“That still doesn’t justify what he did
.” He refused to let some love story erase the wrongness of the person who destroyed his trust.

“I’m not saying that what he did was right. I’m saying that there was a story behind it,” Jane finished her side- or more of his father’s side of the argument
. “The wrong ones didn’t have to feel like they were right, Patrick. I think that you of all people should know that.”

So Henry did tell her everything after all. Then why bother
to ask him for details? Jane was trying to read him again with her questions. What did she want this time? To rub more salt in his wounds?

“If I were to put this story into a hundred thousand word script for some romantic movie, people would say that dad belonged to
Rahna and not mom. That they were fated to be together. But that’s not it, Patrick. I’ll have you know that after the divorce, dad never saw her again.”

Patrick whipped his head up to look at Jane in surprise
. He was actually quite shocked. For all his life, he thought the reason his dad divorced his mom was because he wanted to be with that woman. So why didn’t he? 

“And why him? Why not stay with mom? Even if he didn’t marry her, what he did was still wrong. Your choice
was selfish-”

“Don’t you dare say it
, Patrick Greenburg!” He knew half of the people in the restaurant were looking at them when Jane raised her voice. It was the first time he saw Jane snap, ever. “Don’t you dare say that my choice is selfish because if I am, I would have stayed with none of them.”

Patrick couldn’t speak. His mouth froze as the word stopped at the tip of his tongue, feeling threaten
ed by Jane’s words. He swallowed those words back as he saw rage in Jane’s eyes.

“I wanted to be selfish and just take the opportunity to run away from
everything. I wanted just to start a new life somewhere like a teenager and her stupid young dream of starting her own life with a backpack. If I had been selfish, I would now own a restaurant and be a chef as I’d always wanted to. I wouldn’t have stuck with a depressed father who pressured me into following his footsteps. I would have ran, lived my own life. But I didn’t.”

Patrick remembered it. He remembered once that
Jane’s dream was to open a restaurant because she loved cooking. He wasn’t sure if
used to love
was a more appropriate term. He remembered the cookies she always baked on Sunday and how she would always demand everyone give them a taste.

“I love mom
, just like you and Henry, but she and I would never get along. We are just too different.” She took a sip of her water, then wiped her mouth with her napkin.

“I knew what lay before me when I chose to go with dad. But do you really want to know why? He had no one left. Mom had you and Henry.
But dad… he had no one. Mom wasn’t the only one that was hurt from this, Pat.”

They were all scarred from it, the whole family. Each one of them lost something on that day. Patrick lost his trust in others. Henry lost his innocence. Mom and Dad lost their
love, and Jane lost her dream.

“I never want
ed to work in this company. At first, I felt sick sitting on that chair. Now, I’m just numb. I can’t even remember that young girl dream I used to have anymore. So when you said that what I did was selfish, Patrick, I always considered that choice to be the most selfless choice I had made in my life.”

Patrick was amazed. In all these
years, he’d never know how much pain his sister had endured. He had assumed so much, assumed it wrongly it seemed. What else had he gotten wrong?

He kept
everyone, even his family at arm’s length. He never thought of reconciled with Jane before because he always thought she never cared for them. But since Sarah, oh sweet Sarah, made him open up to everything, he started to listen to those he pushed away. While it was eye opening, he felt something was stinging him at the same time. How had he been so blind to Jane’s choice?

“I’m sorry
.” He had been saying that word so much lately. The mistakes he never wanted to admit seemed to fly back into him one by one. Patrick wasn’t really a perfectionist. He was just a man who held an illusion that he wasn’t wrong for such a long time.

“Don’t
we all, Patrick?” her voice was back to normal. The soft tone that she used with her cool and calm demeanor. “And now what will you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“You and Sarah. What is your next move?” Patrick could only shake his head. He was waiting for Sarah to come back. She said she needed time, and he would give her time. He didn’t have any moves left to play when all he could do was wait for her. And waiting was such a painful feeling because he didn’t know how long it would be.

“There is no next move. She said that she
needed time, so I have to give it to her.”

“So you are just going to sit down and wait like a good boy? You both are hopeless
.” Jane took a quick sip of her wine, looking at Patrick with a look of irritation. It made his eyebrows twitch in annoyance, too.

“For
all I know, the relationship between and Sarah and I could be over. I broke her trust.”

“Then regain it
.” Jane made it sound so easy. Trust wasn’t something that could be built so easily. Patrick knew that because it took him a long time to trust someone again.

“You
make it sound so easy.”

“I didn’t say that it would be easy. Jesus, are you
really that dense? If you continue to mope like this, you will end up like Mom and Dad.” Patrick swore Jane just pulled a muscle in his brain and a vein somewhere on his forehead popped. She always spoke in riddles and retorted him instead of talking straight. This was one of the reasons why he hated speaking with her.

“What do you know about love
, Jane?” He doubted someone like Jane would understand what it was like to love someone and lose them. He had never seen her with anyone, not that he saw her much. He never heard anything from Henry concerning her love life either.

Jane looked at him with blank eyes
, a look of sorrow he’d never seen her wear before. She tugged at the silver chain she always wore. She pulled her necklace up to reveal a silver ring hanging loosely on that thin necklace. The size of the ring was too large for Jane’s finger. It looked more like a man’s size. Realization hit Patrick like an oncoming train.

“He passed away days after we exchange our vows. Not that I didn’t expect it
.” Patrick had never seen her wear a ring. If she did get married then, it couldn’t have been a big ceremony. Jane was the center of media attention anyway, so nothing escaped nosy journalists. He was amazed she had been able to keep her secret.

“I knew from the start that he
didn’t have long. He refused to get married at first, saying I only married him out of pity. ” She laughed, a sound he wasn’t used to hearing from her. “Then I just smacked his head and said that I would take him no matter what he is or if he already had one foot in the grave. It was a short one year, but it was a happy one.”