Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Ellie
I was sitting in a café with my laptop when a woman walked over to me.
“Ellie Scott?” she signed.
“Yes.” A smile crossed my lips. “Can I help you?”
“May I sit down?”
“Of course.” I gestured to the seat across from me.
“I’m Lillian Walker, Henry’s mother,” she signed.
“Wow. It’s so nice to meet you. How did?—”
“I wish I could say the same, but I can’t. I’m here because I want you to stay away from my son,” she signed.
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
“Did my son tell you he’s going to be a father?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as a sickness formed inside me.
“Excuse me?”
“I figured he didn’t. Did he tell you he was engaged to another woman when the two of you met?”
“No.” My body began to shake.
“Well, he was. He was engaged to a lovely woman named Kirsten, and he broke off the engagement out of nowhere. I suspect that had something to do with you. Now that Kirsten is pregnant, Henry plans on doing the right thing.”
“The right thing?” I signed.
“Yes, darling. He is going to marry her, and they will raise their child together. I don’t want to hurt you. You seem like a very sweet girl. But it’s better you found out from me since Henry has been keeping secrets from you.”
The air around me felt constricted as tears sprung to my eyes.
“I know it’s hard, but you deserve someone better. Someone who won’t lie to you and always tell you the truth. Unfortunately, my son lacks that. I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. Take care of yourself.” She got up from her seat and walked out of the café.
I sat there as my body shook from head to toe, and tears streamed down my face. Shutting my laptop, I grabbed it along with my purse and ran out of the café. When I got home, I broke down like I had never broken down before. My body trembled, and I felt sick. Running to the bathroom, I vomited. This wasn’t happening. Henry would never do this to me. Then my mind flashed back to the day on the yacht when he was on the phone and turned away so I couldn’t read his lips. And how his behavior changed after he ended the call.
Grabbing my phone from my purse, I saw I had a text message from him.
“Hey, beautiful. I just wanted you to know I miss you.”
“We need to talk,” I replied.
“I’ll come over after work. Is everything okay?”
“No. Things are not okay.”
“Are you home now?”
“Yes.”
“I’m on my way.”
“The door is unlocked. Just come in.”
I nervously sat on the couch, my heart racing a mile a minute as my belly was twisted in a knot. Before I knew it, he knelt in front of me, and our eyes locked.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
I looked away from him, and trying to speak became difficult. My hands trembled, and he grabbed hold of them.
“Ellie, what is it?”
Even though I couldn’t hear his voice, I saw the pleading and the worry in his eyes.
“When were you going to tell me about Kirsten and the baby?” I finally managed to ask.
A shocked expression overtook his face as the color drained from it. I pushed him out of the way and got up. He grabbed my arm and spun me around.
“Don’t walk away from me. We need to talk about this. How did you find out?”
“Not from you. That’s for sure,” I shouted as I signed. “How could you do that to me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
He gripped my arms and then quickly let go.
“I wanted to tell you. I just found out she was pregnant on our last day on the boat. I needed to figure things out before I told you,” he signed.
“You were engaged to her when we met,” I shouted. “We went out, and you were engaged!” The tears streamed down my face.
“I broke it off with her. Ellie, you must listen to me. I never loved her and was miserable until I met you.”
“If you didn’t love her, why were you going to marry her?!”
“Because of my parents! You don’t know them. If I were to gain control of the company, I needed to be married or engaged by the time I turned thirty. They introduced us because they thought she was perfect for me. I gave her a chance, but I never loved her. And then, when I met you and instantly fell head over heels for you, I knew what I had to do.”
“But you never told me about her! You never said you were engaged. I asked you if you lived alone, and you told me yes!” I signed and shouted at the same time.
“I did live alone. She had her place, and I had mine. She wanted to move in, and I wouldn’t let her.”
“Why did you keep her a secret?”
“Because I was scared. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to see me anymore, and I couldn’t risk that. I love you, Ellie. You are my entire life. You have to believe me. Who told you?”
“Your mom. She came to the café I was at earlier and introduced herself to me.”
“What?” His eyes narrowed.
“She asked me if you had told me about your engagement and about the baby. She said I am to stay away from you because you’re going to marry Kirsten, and the two of you are going to raise the baby together.”
He placed his hands on his head and paced around the room.
“I am not marrying that woman!” he signed in anger.
I stood there as the tears fell from my eyes, and I physically felt my broken heart.
“You should have told me about her from the start. You lied to me, Henry. This whole relationship has been one big lie.”
“Don’t, Ellie. Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. I’m telling you the truth. Something you should have done from the beginning.”
“Would you have gone out with me if I told you I was engaged?”
“No.”
“Exactly!” He pointed at me. “I broke it off with her right after we met and before we slept together. That is the honest to God’s truth! I cannot believe my mother did that.”
“I’m happy she did because now I know something.” I wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Know what?” he signed.
“That you’re a liar and a cheater, and I can never trust you. I need you to leave right now.”
“Ellie.” He gripped my arms, and I wiggled out of them.
“Don’t make this any harder. If you love me like you say you do, then you’ll leave me alone!” I shouted. “Please. Just go.” I cried as I ripped the necklace he gave me from my neck and threw it at him. “Get out!”
Tears filled his eyes as he stood there and stared at me.
“I love you,” he signed.
“Stop! Don’t do this. I don’t love you anymore and never want to see you again!”
He picked up the broken necklace from the floor, placed it in my hand, and closed my fist.
“No matter what, you will forever have my heart, Ellie Scott. Whether you want it or not.”
“Just go,” I cried.
He tucked one hand in his pocket and walked out the door.