Page 110 of The Ring
She caught that. I was hoping she would. When I made the decision, she was the first person I wanted to tell.
I’ve been working on myself. I know I can’t make her get back with me—I don’t know if she’d even ever consider it—but what Icando is make myself better, so if she one day chooses to, I’m someone better for her.
Since Monaco, I haven’t gotten drunk or touched any drugs. And for a while now, I’ve been auditing some architecture classes—prompted by Mr Guliger, the teacher I interrupted. No one knows except for West.
“Yes, as of September, I’ll be studying architecture at Imperial College,” I tell her. It’s a little over two months away, but I’m confident in my decision. I’m not going to back down.
Cornelia’s eyes light up, and she smiles. “Really?”
I nod.
“That’s… amazing, TJ. We need champagne to celebrate,” she beams, already turning around and scanning the room for a waiter. She catches the attention of one, who quickly comes to our table, and she orders it.
“Does anyone else know?” Cornelia asks. She’s probablythinking that if my father knew, he wouldn’t have lectured me, at least not about that. If he did know, his lecture would have been about how I should study business instead of architecture so I can take over the family company. It’s ironic, since our business is real estate development—right in the same field.
I think that’s one of the reasons it took me so long to realise I liked architecture and that it’s what I want to do with my life. I wanted to stay as far away from the family business as possible, so I condemned everything related to it. But either way, my father doesn’t want me to be the one designing and building the projects. He wants me to be the CEO.
“Just West and now you,” I reply.
Her smile grows, taking over her entire face. I haven’t seen her smile this big in a while. “And Weberly? Does she know?”
“No.”
Even though this all happened while I was with her, I never told her anything. Not that I was auditing classes, not that I applied, or that I got in. When I went to the lectures, I just told her I had something to do, and she never asked any further questions.
She frowns. “Shouldn’t that be something your girlfriend knows?”
“It should,” I say slowly, “but she isn’t my girlfriend anymore.”
Cornelia unconsciously grins but quickly realises it and picks up her wine glass, taking a sip to hide her grin behind it.
“Are you planning on eventually telling somebody else, or is this a secret just West and I are in on?” She sets her glass back on the table.
“I’m planning to tell the rest of The Heptad Society when we get closer to the date,” I answer.
It’s not that I’m trying to hide it, but I don’t want to make abig deal out of choosing what I’m going to do with my life when all of them did it so easily.
“And your dad?”
“Maybe when I get the degree,” I joke—kind of.
She chuckles, but then her gaze turns a little serious. “You should tell him. Maybe it isn’t what he wanted for you, but it’s still ahugeaccomplishment.” I love how she is talking like I’m building the Sagrada Familia when it’s just me going to college. I can only imagine how she’ll be when I graduate.
“I’ll think about it.”
“You should,” she says pointedly, picking up her wine glass. She takes a few sips, and in the middle of one, she laughs a bit but drowns it with another sip of wine.
I look at her, curious.
Cornelia notices my expression. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s clearly something.”
She sighs. “I was just thinking—” she pauses, maybe considering whether to steer the conversation elsewhere, but she quickly gives up and says, “how I find it funny that you’re going in while I’m going out.”
“What?” I ask, shocked.
“I’m not going back to college next term. I’m taking a break. I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I know what I’m doing right now isn’t it.” As she says it, it’s like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.
