Morgan, after his departure you searched the globe for Drake, hoping to find him and bring him home. What made you so determined that you would find him?

From the moment we met, Drake and I have had a connection; as cliché as that sounds. We tried to stay away from each other knowing what would happen if we were caught breaking the stupid rules Drake’s dad set for him. We were careless and we got caught by Adrian in Vegas. Within a matter of days my world had crumbled around me. I no longer had the job and career I had worked so hard for. Drake had dropped out of my life and I felt hopeless. Drake Sr.’s words tore right through me as he said Drake would already be off in the arms of someone else, but even as I heard them, I knew something wasn’t right. Drake Sr. tried to tell me that he had dissolved his son’s position and that Drake wanted nothing to do with me, but I still felt our connection. I knew he had been sent somewhere as a punishment, I just had to figure out where. Having nothing but time on my hands, I set out to find Drake and bring him home. It wasn’t so much that I was determined I’d be able to find him, more like I didn’t know how to move on with my life without him.

But you weren’t able to find him…

Sadly no. And I was able to find a way to continue living my life without him in it but I was devastated. I never gave up on him though, and now that I have Drake back, I never have to.

Drake, you were understandably miserable in Zurich. What kept you going during that time, and how did you manage not to repeat past behavior with women, drugs, and alcohol?

It’s not what kept me going, but who…this beautiful woman sitting right next to me. I made the selfish mistake of flying Morgan out to Vegas for the weekend. I missed her, and wanted her out there with me. If I would have kept my head down, and returned home to her when the weekend was over we wouldn’t have missed that time together. I am a big believer that what happens always happens for a reason though. Perhaps the time we spent apart reaffirmed what we already knew, which was that we wanted to be together forever. Knowing that if I stayed the course and did my job in Zurich I could be together with Morgan again kept me together and focused. Being with Morgan was all I needed to push through every day. As far as past behavior, I don’t need anything or anyone to make me feel complete. Using drugs and women in the past was my way of filling the hole in my heart left by my mother’s death and my father’s absence. Morgan makes me feel whole. She’s the only one I see. The way I dealt with things in the past is no longer on my radar.

Morgan, do you ever worry that the mistakes Drake has made in his past will come back to hurt him?

No, I’ve never worried about that. Drake has been completely open and honest with me about his past. There isn’t anything that could surface about him that I’m not already aware of. We’ve all made mistakes before and I’m so proud of Drake for turning his life around and not repeating that cycle of behavior. He lives his life determined to make each day better than the last. If any part of his past should try hurt his future I’ll be right by his side supporting him.

Drake, how did it feel reading Morgan’s emails, knowing you couldn’t answer them?

Morgan’s emails were heartbreaking. Knowing I was the one causing the pain and with just a quick email or phone call I could explain everything and put us back on the right path was soul crushing. Morgan knows what she means to me, and to see her so heartbroken that she was questioning whether or not I would come back to her was really hard to read. I appreciated her honesty though. Each email she wrote me, however hard it was to read, still renewed my focus to return to her without further breaking any rules because by writing to me, it meant she still cared.

Drake, how hard was it not to turn around when you heard Morgan calling your name in the airport in Paris?

I took that trip to Paris to get away from Zurich for the weekend and clear my head. I was missing my girl and needed to feel close to her without screwing up in any way. That is why I chose to go to Paris. Morgan loves it there and we’ve talked about spending time there together so many times that I thought a weekend in Paris would renew my focus in doing my job so I could go home to her. When I saw Morgan in the airport I felt completely gutted. I was twenty feet away from her as she walked around that mom tying her kid’s shoes. I wanted so badly to call her name, or run up to her and throw my arms around her and just hold on forever but I knew I couldn’t. Morgan knows I trust her completely. I knew she wouldn’t have told a soul that we saw each other, but even so, I couldn’t risk it. My dad was a very connected man, and it would have only taken one person to recognize me with Morgan and report back to him and it would have been over. I think it was even harder for me not to turn around that day when Morgan called my name than it was to leave for Zurich in the first place. I could hear the excitement and the sadness in her voice as she called to me. Watching her collecting her bag then hailing a cab completely defeated and heartbroken is a feeling I never want to have again.

Read and excerpt from Bending the Rules.

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