Chapter Fifty Seven
The Aftermath
I followed Cal upstairs.
I knew I had no right, but I still needed to explain myself.
This was not how I wanted him to find out about this, this was not how I planned for him to find out about this mess that I got myself into, so I had to explain myself. I didn’t keep that from him because I wanted to, but because I had to. Knowing something like that during the time I found out about it would ruin his relationship with Ardley.
Ardley needed him, he had no one—I had to explain myself.
He turned around and I froze in my steps.
“You lied to me about Clay?”
He titled his head to the side as he looked at me, “why would you lie to me?”
“I didn’t lie,”
I paused and took a breath, “I just—”
He tilted his head to the side as he glared at me. “You what? You just never mentioned it? Like how you never mentioned the fact that you dug up the time capsule and kept the hairpin, or the fact that you never thought to mention that you were Juliette Simons? Or the fact that—”
he chuckled, “the fact that you never mentioned you were engaged to that fucking asshole, because those I can deal with, but this? Juliette, Jesus Christ, he’s a whole baby. Someone’s responsibility, and now—” he took a breath, “just now I’m finding out he’s my responsibility.”
“I know!”
I cried, “Callum, I know it was wrong of me to do—”
“Wrong?!”
Callum took a step back, “Juliette, you deceived me. What you did was not nice!” He held the bridge of his nose, “and don’t try to tell me you did it for the sake of our brotherly relationship because that’s bullshit! Ardley’s my brother—sure, I’d give him hell, but I wouldn’t just cut him off.” He looked at me, I could see the pain reflecting in his eyes, “and you know that’s not something I’d do.”
“Then why else would I do it?”
I frowned as tears began to roll down my face.
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
I took a step closer in front of him as my brows furrowed, this time he stayed, he didn’t take a step back.
My chest brushed against his as my breath hitched.
I sighed as my voice softened. “Ardley needed you, if you found out then, at the funeral you would’ve never forgiven him—”
“And that wasn’t your call to make.”
His voice broke as he spoke. His eyes bounced around my face before they found mine again.
My lips trembled as I frowned. “Ardley had just lost his wife, you would’ve never forgiven him.”
I reached for him and pressed my hand against his wet cheek and cupped his face—his face softened as he leaned into my touch, only for a single second.
“Yeah, don’t hold your breath on that,”
he muttered as he pulled away, taking a small step back away from me, leaving me with his absence.
“He needed you, Cal,”
my brows furrowed, “and I know that’s not an excuse but it’s true—”
“When were you gonna tell me?”
His brows shot up as his eyes widened.
“Soon,”
I bit my lips as I nodded, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in my stomach, “really soon.”
He looked torn as he took a step in front of me again, “you lied to me,”
he repeated again as he dropped his forehead against mine.
I swallowed thickly as my eyes glistened with the tears that were at bay. “You can ask Ardley to explain everything to you, he’d be better at it.”
He took a deep breath as his hands cupped my whole face, our foreheads still connected. “Juliette,”
he whispered, and I bit my lips and held his wrists, he held my face—I was waiting for him to speak again.
“You know,”
he began, “your breath is my breath, I’m always ready to do anything for you. I love you so much…” his voice trembled.
I blinked as tears fell down my face. “But,”
I whispered.
“But I just need some time to process everything.”
He took a deep breath and finally let go as he took a step back, then—Cal turned around and walked away from me.
My world got smaller.
And smaller.
And smaller.