Chapter 24
Elodie
“The Billionaire’s New Mystery Woman.”
The headline from The Chronicle stares me right in the face, the words blurring in and out of my vision.
Beneath it is a picture of Dorian and me kissing on the yacht.
We look like a couple in a big-screen movie, lost in the throes of passion.
I grabbed a copy on my way into school while I was getting coffee. At the newspaper stand, I saw the same image either on the cover of other papers or tucked within the first few pages.
The story was pretty much everywhere.
I bring my hand to my cheek and stare at the image of us.
I’m sitting behind my desk in my office.
I’m glad I came in early this morning. The timing has given me a few quiet moments to get my head together. I share this office space with Skylar and three other teachers.
I don’t want them to see me like this. As my friend, Skylar would take one look at me and know something is off, but I think the others would, too.
The bags under my bloodshot eyes would surely give me away. I didn’t even look like this when I was trying to split my time between my job here and at the coffeehouse.
After that whole fiasco with Dorian last night, I didn’t sleep. It was difficult to even try.
Knowing Dorian was in the same house as me was enough to stop me. How could I sleep? I’ve never been so humiliated in my life. And that’s saying something given the crazy things that have happened to me.
To say I’m hurt is an understatement. But I’m more confused than anything.
I spent the night thinking about what happened and wondering where I went wrong. Because surely, I must have done something to change his mind.
The way Dorian just stopped… it was like he suddenly remembered the contract and that we’re not supposed to be real.
Dorian Vale is colder than a fish, but the way he touched and tasted me was real. Going further than what we did would have made that part real, too.
I didn’t know how someone so emotionless could make me feel so alive.
But I suppose that’s exactly it. Dorian is good at making people see and feel anything he wants them to. He’s been doing that for a lot longer than me.
And now there’s this. I flick the crumpled edge of the newspaper and scowl. The damn yacht party was only last night, and by morning, I—the girl from nowhere—am on the cover of every tabloid.
People are talking about me. And him.
I scan the story.
The sources say this is Elodie Harper, a girl who grew up with Dorian Vale.
They go on to say that we’ve been seeing each other on and off for years.
Apparently, we were pulled apart by tension between our families. Now, finally, we’re together.
They built a whole narrative, one that ends with a question of what will happen next.
Of course, Grace is mentioned. But people seem to like me. They’re speculating that the scandal with Grace Astor pushed Dorian and me back together.
I realize the ‘sources’ the article is referring to must be Dorian’s PR team. The story feels too streamlined and curated for it not to be.
On the plus side, it feels believable, and the article sounds positive, intriguing even. But I guess it goes right back to what Dorian said.
If you have enough money, you can make people believe whatever you want.
What a life to live.
To have that kind of power.
I wince at the paper as if it can see my disgust and remove me from Dorian’s lips. Of course, it doesn’t.
What the hell am I going to do?
Clearly, I still have feelings for him, or I wouldn’t be upset.
How am I supposed to marry him, have sex with him, have his children, and switch those feelings off? I hadn’t realized that I was going down the rabbit hole to hell from the moment I ran into him at the coffeehouse.
Now I’m stuck in a marriage contract with a man who told me he would never love me.
I feel like I’ve been walking backwards since this whole thing started.
If I’m being honest, it’s actually since Clara screwed me over.
It was as though signing that contract to stand as her guarantor shoved me into some kind of twisted dimension where everything feels reversed.
I can’t seem to get myself out.
I sit straighter and fold the newspaper in half.
I’ll bet everyone will be talking about me here at school, too.
This is my first week back on my usual shift. I had my hours rescheduled when I took the job at the coffeehouse.
I’d normally be there at this time, with Maria breathing down my neck. So many things have happened over the past week, I haven’t had a chance to fully appreciate the thought of not seeing her again.
A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts.
I lift my head.
The only people who’d be knocking at this hour of the morning are the cleaning staff. The students don’t usually start arriving until nine.
“Come in,” I call out.
The door pushes open, and Jack pokes his head in.
My eyes widen at the sight of him, and I instantly brace myself for another argument.
I pray he’s not here to continue what we started the other day.
There’s a newspaper in his hand. It looks almost identical to the one on my desk.
That’s not a good sign.
It means he knows.
He hasn’t stopped calling me since our argument, and I never officially told him I’d accepted the marriage offer. But I suppose it was obvious when I left him what I was going to do.
He steps inside and closes the door. There’s a stiffness about him, but otherwise, he seems like his usual self.
“Morning,” he speaks first.
“Hi,” I answer carefully. “Please don’t tell me you’re here to argue with me again.” Normally, I wouldn’t be so blunt, but my heart can’t take it.
To my relief, Jack shakes his head. “I’m not here to argue, Elodie. I just came to see you.”
He lifts the paper, showing it to me. It’s one of the other tabloids that have Dorian and me on the cover.
“I didn’t come because of this,” Jack clarifies. “I just saw it on the way. But I guess it answers a few questions. Looks like you accepted the deal.”
I clear my throat and straighten. “I did.”
He presses his lips together, and something inside me recoils.
“I’m not overly fond of this, Elodie,” he speaks slowly in a way that suggests he’s been doing a lot of thinking. “But you’re right. This is about your future. It’s not about me.”
I’m shocked to my core. In all my years, my brother has never backed down from an argument as much as this. And even accepting I was right.
“I just came to say I’m here to support you,” he adds, then smirks. “In whatever you need. Even if that means respecting your wishes.”
My wishes?
After last night, I’m not so sure I made the right choice. Perhaps I should have owed Dorian. And repaid the money over what? Ten to twenty years.
No. Don’t think like that, Elodie. You did make the right choice.
The choice was about getting a better, debt-free life. And I still stand by that.
Getting the man, too, wasn’t part of the contract.
“Thank you.” I smile, reassuring myself further. It’s good to see Jack. “Your support means a lot to me.”
“That’s why I’m here. You’ve been through enough. I don’t want you worrying about me.”
I can breathe easier just hearing him say that. “You have to know that I thought about it, and I just… I need something different to happen to me in my life. It can’t all be bad. I can’t walk around looking over my shoulder.”
“No, you can’t. You deserve more than that. I guess I lost my shit because I couldn’t help you. Dorian stepped in and did what I couldn’t.” He takes a long, sad breath. “And you were right about Marcus. You were right to act fast.”
“I was scared, Jack.”
“It shouldn’t have come to that. But you figured it out. Credit to you.” He lets out a rough sigh. “I had a… terrible feeling you’d get married without me.”
“No.” I stand. “I would never do that.”
A weak smile drifts across his lips. “That’s good to know.”
“Why would you think such a thing?”
“Well, you haven’t been answering my calls,” Jack says. “And since I’m not exactly fond of your husband-to-be, I figured maybe you would.”
“I’d never get married without you, Jack,” I assure him.
“I’m glad.” He tips his head. “So, when’s the wedding?”
“In two weeks. The invites will go out in the next two days. We’re getting married at Oheka Castle.”
His brows lift, but he holds back whatever he was about to say. “Alright. Well, I guess I’ll get to see you get married. To the guy who used to be my best friend.”
I feel like I should say sorry, but I’m so tired of apologizing for things I shouldn’t.
“I think everything will work out,” I tell him instead, but it feels like I’m saying the words outside my head so I can comfort myself.
Jack bites the inside of his lip. “You always had a thing for him—Dorian.”
My skin warms. I shouldn’t be surprised he noticed. All those long years ago when I thought I was quietly watching Dorian from afar, Jack was aware.
He’s always aware.
“I was, um…” My voice trails off. This isn’t like the other day when I told Skylar I was young and dumb. This is Jack. He’ll see straight through me if I try to lie. “Things are a little different now.” That’s a half-truth.
“I don’t think so. That’s why I want you to be careful.
” He observes me with an openness I’ve never seen in him before.
“He’ll never put you first, Elodie. When it matters most, he won’t do it.
I don’t mean to hurt you by saying so. It’s just the truth.
That’s what he did to me. Over twenty years of friendship gone just like that. ”
The bitter warning makes the sinking feeling in my stomach grow.
I ignore it. It’s best to.
“Don’t worry about me.” I imbue my voice with a strength I don’t feel.
“I always do, little sister. I always do.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“I hope so. I should go. I have to be at work early.” He comes closer. “Can I have a peace hug?”
I smile back at him. “Of course, you can.”
I move toward him, and he pulls me in, holding me against his chest. He rests his chin on the top of my head.
“I’m sorry, Elodie.” His voice is low and weighted.
The words settle strangely inside my chest. Or maybe it’s his tone.
It makes him sound like he’s saying sorry for so much more than what’s happened. Maybe he is.
Maybe he’s sorry for what’s to come.
What’s to come for me.