13. Lily
Lily
I give myself a minute to process that bomb, vaguely aware of Dad working away on his phone. Every so often, he’ll throw a worried glance my way, like he’s checking I’m still there and not falling apart.
I can hear Sasha arguing in my head that I’ve already fallen apart, but I think I deserve a little leeway here. She’s lucky I’m not curled into a ball in the corner, honestly.
Once I feel like my brain won’t actually implode on all the what the fuck’s circling, I tell Dad unwaveringly, “That doesn’t change anything.”
He lifts his head, giving me an assessing look. “Are you sure? You don’t think we should?—”
“It changes nothing,” I insist, lips thinning.
I shake my head as the word sweetheart rings in my ears, a strident, infuriating echo.
This isn’t just about Hi-Tech, and him finding a way out of the deal that should never have happened isn’t enough, especially when he only did it because he got caught.
Too little, too late.
Derisive amusement races through me, knowing that now he’s lost both the company and me. I hope that failure feels like teeny tiny shards of glass piercing his lungs with every single breath; a never-ending painful reminder of everything his own arrogance and ambition had cost him .
Not wanting to sound like the bitter shrew I’m beginning to feel like, I hold my tongue, looking up to find my dad leveling me with a piercing look. I meet it head-on without flinching, and he frowns, but a knock on the door stops his words before they can form.
I look over my shoulder as Julie pushes the door open just enough to stick her head in.
“Dinner’s ready,” she announces cheerfully, her eyes bouncing between the two of us curiously.
“I lied about it keeping, so I hope you’ve had enough time to sort out your issues.
” She pauses, then chuckles to herself. “Never mind, there’s not enough time in the world for that, so you’d better have worked up your appetites, at least.” She’s gone as fast as she appeared.
Unable to help myself, I chuckle quietly, some of the tension leaching from my bones. “She’s something else.”
He huffs, grumbling, “She’s proof that someone can work for you for too long.
” I look over at him, just in time to catch something flickering through his eyes that peaks my curiosity.
“Come on then, Lilypad. Let’s eat before she comes after us.
” He gives a dramatic shudder, eyes wide with mock fear.
“She knows where to hit to make it hurt.”
Julie joins us for dinner at Dad’s insistence, sitting on his left, while I’m on his right.
The conversation flows easily enough, a silent pact that we avoid talking about anything Declan.
I appreciate the break. It lets me pretend that outside the walls of this house, my world isn’t completely falling apart, and my stress levels drop until I feel almost normal.
Dad disappears back into his home office after we finish. I help Julie clean up, the two of us working in quiet unison. When the last dish is put away, I give her a tight smile.
“I’m gonna head out. Tell Dad goodnight for me?”
“Of course.” She watches me, her expression concerned, but after a few seconds, it clears. “You’ll be okay, Lily,” she says confidently. “You’re strong, and this isn’t the thing that knocks you down.”
“I already feel like I’ve been knocked down and stomped on.”
She tilts her head to the side, eyes shining with pride. “It might feel like that right now, but you’ll see the truth soon.”
I want to believe her, but I stood in front of everyone and vowed to love a man who’d never spoken a single honest truth to me, so I was feeling skeptical. But I don’t argue, just giving her a hug before ducking out, needing time alone to process everything that happened that afternoon.
In my car, I twirl my keys around my finger, eyeing my bag. Before I can second guess the move, I put the keys down and pull out my phone, opening my thread with Sasha.
Lily: Did you know?
Sasha: That I’m amazing in all ways? Yes. My mom tells me every day.
Lily: She does not. I’ve heard her call you weird.
Sasha: If my truth wasn’t what you wanted, you should have been more specific.
Lily: Sigh.
Sasha: That doesn’t have the same effect through text.
Sasha: Consider me *unmoved*.
Lily: Did you know Declan backed out of the sale?
She calls me, yelling before I can even get the phone to my ear. “What the fuck?!”
“I know,” I murmur back, picking at a thread on my seat.
“So, what?” she demands, fury thrumming through her voice. “He literally did it all for nothing then?”
“Yep,” I say.
“Well, fuck,” she breathes. “So… what now?”
I give her the low-down on my conversation with Dad, and she fills in any gaps with noises and I told you so ’s, finally musing, “An annulment. And it just wipes it away? Like it never happened?”
“Like waves against footprints in the sand,” I murmur. “Like he was never even there.”
“Don’t think it’ll wash away the pain so easily.” Neither of us says anything for a moment, and then Sasha asks, “How did he get out of it? The deal.”
“Dad didn’t give me specifics, just said Declan had found a loophole. And Dad admitted he didn’t fight too hard to stop it from happening.” My mouth twists in a puzzled frown. “Or not happening, I guess.”
“You said you told your dad everything today,” she states. “Do you think…? Did he already know?”
“How could he have?” I ask dumbly.
“Lily, what’re the chances he let Declan back out of the deal without any kind of explanation? And with you going AWOL?”
I freeze, cursing myself for not realizing. “God. This is just… freaking hell. Dad was so vague about it all, but you’re right. They must’ve talked. But Dad, he—” my words cut off as realization brightens, like a dimmer bulb being slowly turned up.
“He, what?” Sasha prompts impatiently, oblivious to the mental gymnastics that are taking place in my head.
I sigh, leaning forward to smack my forehead against the top of the steering wheel.
“He wasn’t surprised,” I share quietly. “He was surprised to find me there, but he wasn’t shocked by what I told him. He was just—” My throat bobs on a swallow. “He was disappointed I didn’t come to him, but he was kind of flat, like he’d?—”
“Had time to prepare,” she finishes for me.
“Exactly.”
“Why’s he doing this?” I ask desperately, and she doesn’t have to ask who I’m talking about.
“I don’t know, babe. But you need to decide how badly you want answers, and whether talking to him would be worth it.”
“I keep hearing that phone call on repeat in my head.” My breath hisses out, renewed anger burrowing under my skin.
“And then I remember Silvia knew all along that it was never real between me and him.” Shame flushes my cheeks, but I refuse to let it settle in.
This isn’t on me; it’s all on him. “He led me around like a puppet on a string and they all knew—his friends, his family, probably his colleagues. Everyone but me. I’m the last one in on the joke, and only after he publicly humiliated me.
He doesn’t deserve for me to hear him out.
” The declaration settles in my heart, and I know it’s the right choice.
Declan might want the last word, a chance to sway me, but he doesn’t deserve it. I’ll find my closure another way.
“Sing it, sister,” Sasha cheers loudly into my ear, making me smile. “So, nothing’s changed for you then?”
“No,” I say firmly. “I told Dad the same thing, it doesn’t change a single thing. It doesn’t take back what he did or undo the pain he caused. And it doesn’t explain?—”
“Silvia,” she hums. “But he told you they were just friends?”
“Tell you what,” I grouse, “I don’t talk to my friends that way, and I definitely wasn’t secretly chatting to any other men on my honeymoon.”
“Men have done dumber things,” Sasha says. “He grew up with her, right?”
“Yeah, their fathers are extremely close.”
“And he told you he saw her as a sister.” I scoff, but she ignores me, theorizing, “So, maybe he sees everything she does through rose-colored glasses, blind to the woman she’s become because he still sees the innocent girl he grew up with.”
“I don’t think that bitch was ever innocent,” I mumble, thinking of all the pictures and messages I’d received this week. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
She lets out a knowing little hum that makes me want to slap her, but stops pushing. “Alright, I’ll buy what you’re selling. For now. Are you coming back here?”
I think for a second, before shaking my head, even though she can’t see it. “No, it’s time to put this all behind me,” I say, infusing my voice with a confidence I don’t feel. “It’s time to go home.”