22. Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
PENNY
O ver a breakfast of pancakes, strawberries, and coffee, Lucas is reading something on his phone, his brow creasing.
“Is everything alright?” I ask.
His head snaps up to look my way. “Sorry, what?”
“You’re frowning at your phone. Is something wrong? You look a little distracted.”
He sets the phone on the table and picks up a fork. “Sorry. Just last-minute adjustments Antonne is insisting I make to the exhibition tonight.”
“What kind of adjustments?”
Taking a bite of the pancakes and then a sip of coffee, he says, “Just a couple of photos he wants me to add. I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do.”
“Go with your gut. You’ll know if it’s right or not.”
He stabs at the pancakes. “I’ve never done this before. What if I bomb?”
“I’ve seen your photographs. Amazing doesn’t come close to describing them. People are going to love them.”
He smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He must really be worried. “Thanks. Although, I’m not sure many people want to come see the photographs of a fashion model photographer. They’ll probably think the room will be filled with beautiful women wearing Alessi gowns. I want people to see it’s not an Alessi Fashion photoshoot.”
“Your photos tell a story. You’ve captured the heart and soul of your subjects. I have no doubt they’ll see that.”
“I hope so.”
I reach across the table and place my hand over his. “I know so,” I say enthusiastically to try and get him out of his melancholy mood. I know firsthand what it’s like to present your work for others to criticize. It can be paralyzing.
Rising from the chair, he collects his plate and coffee mug and stacks them in the dishwasher. He walks to me and kisses me on the forehead. “Are you coming tonight?”
What a strange question. Why would he ask that? We’ve been talking about it for days.
I stand, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss his lips. “Of course I am. I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll meet you there. I have to drop off sample invitations to Tao for her baby shower on my way. It’s the only time she has available.”
“It’s okay if you’re busy and can’t make it.”
Is he so nervous about the exhibit he doesn’t want me there?
“I’ll be there,” I assure him.
His shoulders rise and fall on a heavy breath. “Great. Good. I’ll see you tonight. I’ll be at the gallery most of the day. Call me if you need me for anything.”
“I’ll be fine. Good luck.” I give him a quick kiss. “I love you.”
He smiles, and for a second, all the worry etched on his face disappears. “Love you too.” With that, he walks out of the kitchen.
Later that morning, I’m going over color samples for Tao and Virginia’s decorations when the apartment phone rings. It’s Samuel informing me that Claudia is wanting to visit. I tell him to send her up. While I wait, I tidy up the table and place everything into neat piles. After a few minutes, there is a knock at the door.
When I let her in, I immediately know by her expression she has bad news. My shoulders sag. Every time I see her there seems to be more drama. What’s going on now?
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
Claudia sets her purse on the coffee table and rubs her fingertips along her eyebrows. “It’s going to be bad.”
Chilly prickles pinch my spine. “What is?”
She takes a deep breath. “Maybe you should sit down for this.”
My insides turn to ice. Suddenly I want to cover my ears and not listen to what she has to say. “I’ll stand.” My legs are too frozen to move.
“I have a friend at Express Media, and sometimes, over drinks he leaks stories about what’s going to hit the press. Last night we were out, and after he had one too many cosmopolitans, he told me photos of…of…”
“Of what?” I encourage when she doesn’t continue.
She gnaws at her bottom lip. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?”
My hands ball into fists by my side. “Spit it out.”
“He told me photos of you are going to be published.”
“What do you mean? What photos? I haven’t been in public in days or had any interaction with Darren. What photos could the media possibly have taken?”
“They didn’t take them. Someone else did.”
I scratch my fingers through my hair. “Claudia, you’re not making any sense. What photos?”
She clears her throat. “The ones in the forest. Express Media has them.”
For a moment, I’m confused, then it hits me. The breath gets knocked from my lungs. “My naked photos in the forest?” Of course those photos; they’re the only ones I’ve taken.
Claudia nods, her eyes shimmering with tears.
Now my legs no longer feel like they can hold me up and I sink onto the nearest chair.
“I know how this is going to make you feel. Especially after what happened to you senior year. It’s going to dredge up old, painful memories.” Claudia doesn’t need to point that out. It already has.
I drop my face in the palms of my hands. This can’t be happening. How am I going to live through the humiliation again? This time on a larger scale.
I mentally shake away the initial paralyzing fear and try to think clearly. “This isn’t possible. Lucas said he deleted the photos. It must be a mistake. Could they somehow be the photos from high school?”
Claudia sits next to me. “He described a forest. The rain. No mention of a beach. They are the photos Lucas took of you.”
My head snaps up. “When will they be live?”
“In the morning.”
“Can we stop them before they’re published?”
“I’ve been on the phone all morning with our lawyer. There’s nothing she can do.”
“They’re being published without my permission. There must be something she can do? And how did Express Media get hold of them?”
Claudia shakes her head with regret. “Unfortunately, they have the owner’s permission.”
“That’s ridiculous. I would never give them permission.”
“Not you…Lucas.” Claudia’s tone is filled with accusation.
My heart sinks to my stomach. “He wouldn’t.”
But what other explanation can there be? He’s the only one who has access to his camera. No, I can’t believe he’d do something like that after everything we’ve been through. After he told me he loved me.
Claudia puts a comforting hand on my shoulder. “He’s done it before. Now he’s done it again. Probably still blames you for Garrett’s death, and this is his revenge.”
Too agitated to sit, I jump to my feet. “No… It was Travis who took the photos on the beach. Lucas knows how much it hurt me. He would never do that to me. Because he loves me.” He told me he doesn’t blame me for the accident. Did he not mean it?
Rising from her seat, Claudia stands next to me, a sympathetic expression on her face. “Then explain how they’ve gotten leaked. I know there’s no way you’d do it.”
I pace the floor. “Why? What would he get out of it?”
Why would he want to break my heart in such a humiliating way? Earlier this morning he said he was worried no one would show up at his exhibition. Is this his way of attracting attention? Nausea rolls in my stomach.
This can’t be happening. Lucas loves me. “There must be a mistake. Lucas deleted the photos,” I say to remind her, or am I just in denial?
“There’s one way to find out if he really did. Is his camera in his office?”
I nod.
“Let’s find out.”
She starts to leave, and when I don’t follow because my feet are glued to the floor in fear, she turns back, takes my hand, and pulls me along behind her.
“Better to get this over with,” she says. “Then you can deal with the low-life, lying jerk.”
Walking into Lucas’ office, even though I’ve come in here many times, now feels like I’m violating his privacy. By looking through his things, I’m guilty of being suspicious. Doubting his love for me and wondering how the hell I’ve found myself in this position again.
“Is this it?” Claudia drops my hand, picks up the camera on his desk, and hands it to me. My hands shake so violently I almost drop it.
“Yes,” my voice croaks.
Turning it on, I click through the many photos. Some I recognize as pieces he’s adding to the exhibition. Just as I’m about to give up and breathe a sigh of relief because Claudia is wrong, the next photo stops my heart. In it I’m lying naked on the forest floor on a bed of leaves and moss. Weak light filters through the canopy, cascading over my pale skin.
The blood drains from my face.
He didn’t delete them.
He lied.
“From your expression, I can tell you’re holding the proof that he’s not to be trusted,” Claudia says. There is an air of smugness in her tone, like she’s enjoying being right. “What are you going to do?”
I set the camera on the desk and hug my arms around my waist, trying to keep myself from falling apart. “I don’t know.” I can barely breathe. How am I supposed to know how I take the next step?
“Would you like me to call Lucas and tell him what a piece of shit he is? He’s worse than Darren.”
“No. I’ll deal with it.” Like a zombie, I walk from the office and into my bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I stare sightlessly at the floor.
“I always knew he couldn’t be trusted,” Claudia says from the doorway. “He spun you a story, and you fell for it. This was his plan all along. Get you to fall in love with him to then stab you in the back. I tried warning you.”
I rub my hands up and down my thighs. “Yes, you did.” From the first day I showed interest in Lucas—back in high school—Claudia continuously let me know that he was no good and he’d never return my feelings. He was a jock. I was invisible.
“I’ll keep trying to stop the photos being published. Don’t hold your breath though. Express Media is holding onto a goldmine.”
Lying on my side, I tuck my knees to my chest. Tears threaten to spill. I’ve cried enough to last a lifetime. I’ll be damned if I let them go.
Claudia rushes to my side and kneels next to the bed. “Oh, Pen. I’m so sorry this is happening. You’re the strongest person I know. You’ll get through this again. I know you will. Let’s order pizza and ice cream, and we’ll binge-watch crime shows so we can plot revenge on Lucas Alessi.”
“I just want to be alone,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. I’m too drained to speak. To move.
“Are you sure?” Her eyes fill with concern.
I nod.
“I’ll call you later to make sure you’re okay.”
“Thanks.”
She gets to her feet and looks down at me. “I hate leaving you like this.”
“I’ll be fine.” I give her a small smile, the gesture a huge effort.
“Love you,” she says, and I watch as she leaves the room.
Left alone, I lay still on the bed. My trust is broken. Everything I believed to be true is destroyed. How can someone I love, someone who says they love me, do something so brutal? For what? To bring me down? What did I ever do to deserve this?
Lifting myself up, I swing my legs over the side of the bed and brace my hands on the edge of the mattress. I can’t waste another minute here. There are things I need to do.
Deal with someone who can’t get away with this again.
I call a cab and make my way to the lobby.
This is the last time they get to humiliate me.