42. Chapter 42
Chapter 42
-Annabella-
I stared at Kace’s grandfather, unable to even form one coherent thought. His words were still ringing in my head, and I just began shaking it, not believing him.
“No,” I said.
“Yes,” he countered, holding out the folder again.
“It’s lies! It’s fabricated!” I gestured to what he held in his hand.
“It has his medical report.”
The temptation was strong. While I knew even a medical report could probably be faked by this powerful man, I couldn’t stop myself. I reached for it, opened the folder.
Then I saw so many things that didn’t make sense to me. I saw pictures of Kace walking around. I saw some without him wearing a shirt, and I could see the scars on his body, meaning this was after the accident.
He looked fine… But why? How? I flipped to his medical report, reading what the doctors wrote. Some words I didn’t understand, but I did get the conclusion, which was that the patient had been able to restore feeling in his legs after receiving months of physical therapy and had made a full recovery.
I let the folder fall down on my lap, not sure what to think as I couldn’t process what I was seeing. It was too much.
I slowly turned to the old man beside me, who was smiling, which made me furious.
“You’re lying. This is a lie. Kace wouldn’t do this,” I told him.
“Maybe he is more like me than you think, but ask him about it. Maybe even ask his friend. He knows the truth,” his grandfather revealed.
“Cody?” I inquired.
“Yes, Cody. He knows everything Kace does. They are inseparable.”
“No, they wouldn’t do this to me.”
“Even his staff knows. You’re the one being played, Annabella,” he stated.
“I… I…” I stammered.
“You didn’t get rid of your parents. You married someone just like them,” he repeated.
“No!” I yelled. “Kace is not like that, and he will prove it to me.”
“Sure, I can’t wait to see what lies he might come up with.”
“I will not listen to a word anymore,” I shouted, throwing the folder to him. Then I stormed out of the car before typing in the code for the gate and hurrying to the house.
I slammed the door shut behind me, feeling like I could barely breathe. I believed Kace! I believed him! So why was there a voice in my head telling me that there was nothing real about him?
-Kace-
When I came back home, it was so quiet, which confused me, and it was dark as well. I didn’t believe I was home that late, but maybe Annabella had gone to bed early.
I moved through the house, calling her name, but she didn’t respond. I thought she was asleep, but when I came out into the kitchen, I found her sitting there, drinking a little wine, and a single light still on, I rolled closer, finding her behavior strange.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked her.
“Nothing…” she whispered.
She was acting strangely, very dismissive, and I turned away to find something to eat. But I felt her eyes on me, and I glanced over my shoulder, seeing a confusing look in hers.
“What?” I inquired.
“I know we married fast, but married people are honest, right?” she began.
“Of course they are,” I replied.
“Yes, and you love honesty.”
“I do.”
“How do you feel about me?” she asked, and I drew back, surprised. Was she scared that I didn’t have feelings for her? That was an easy problem to solve.
“I feel a lot for you. I’m falling for you,” I admitted, seeing her eyes soften a little. But then they turned cold again, and I couldn’t understand why.
“Did you end up falling for me because I passed your test?” she inquired darkly.
I felt my heart stop in my chest. “What test?” I asked innocently.
“Your ultimate one? The one I probably would never have learned about. Were you testing me? Were you going to make me like a fool for the rest of my life like my sister and Zac were?”
“What?” I asked, feeling so confused now.
“Don’t lie to me. I have been going crazy all evening thinking about it. There were moments—these moments—that I made excuses for thinking you probably knew better about what you could handle or not. But now I wonder if it was all a lie. Can you just tell me if it was all a lie?” she pleaded.
“Annabella—” I began.
“Can you walk or not?” she shouted.
I felt my heart stop in my chest, and she looked at me with such a desperate plea in her eyes.
“Just tell me,” she whispered. “Did you lie to me?”
I sighed, looking down. I knew who had been talking to her. I was not stupid. Only one man would play me like this.
“It’s more complicated than that,” I said, facing her again.
“Stand up!” she demanded.
“Annabella—”
“Stand up!” she shouted.
I did as she requested, easily removing myself from the chair and standing in front of her. When she saw the truth, tears began appearing in her eyes.
“I can’t believe this... You really are like the rest, taking me for a fool!” she accused.
“No, that is not true!” I insisted.
Annabella tried to hurry away, so I reached out, grabbing her arm and holding her back. She spun around, pressing her hands into my chest and glaring at me.
“Don’t touch me!” she snarled.
“Just listen!” I pleaded.
“Why should I listen to a word you have to say?”
“Because I didn’t do this to play you for the rest of our lives. I didn’t do it to have something to laugh about later!”
“Why did you do it, then?”
“Because I realized after my accident that, besides Cody, I had no one around me. Everyone thought I had lost the ability to walk and would never become myself again. They all turned their backs on me, with only Cody standing beside me. I realized how lonely and cold I was, and I wanted it to change. I wanted something real. I wanted to see if I could feel something for someone, but I had to know if that person could love me for who I am.”
“So, you were going to tell me the truth?” she inquired.
“At some point, yes,” I admitted.
“When?”
“When we were in love and standing stronger,” I explained to her.
“That could have been months from now,” she pointed out.
“I know…”
“You really think that would have made me less angry!” she shouted.
“I had thought that—”
“Well, you’re wrong,” she interrupted. “I was already in love with you, and now I hate you!”
I drew back, shocked, not expecting that confession, but she looked at me like I had killed a person she loved. The feeling of betrayal shone out of her eyes, and I didn’t know how to make it better.
“Can’t you see it’s my grandfather’s doing?” I asked.
“No, Kace, this is all on you!” she shouted. “He didn’t ask you to play this game. You chose it!”
“Anna, please…”
“No, don’t say another word. Don’t ever talk to me again! I can’t even understand why you would take it so far. I just can’t! You think I wasn’t lonely too? You think I didn’t have trust issues too? But I never lied to you! I was honest, and how did you treat me?”
I saw her point, but my game had started before I even knew her. It had started before I knew her story. When I said nothing, Annabella shook her head and walked away. I wanted to stop her, but I feared I would make it worse if I tried. Shit, how was I going to fix this?