Chapter Sixteen #2
She reached the hallway just in time to hear voices drifting from one of the private meeting rooms. She recognized her sister’s purr instantly. Stopping just outside the slightly ajar brass door, Sarah listened.
Her chest tightened. She heard Emily’s vile, desperate offer, and a cold knot of dread pooled in her stomach.
As much as she loved and trusted Julian, fear clawed at her throat.
Emily was undeniably beautiful, a master at manipulating the men she desired.
She waited for Julian’s reply, her breath caught in her lungs.
Then came Julian’s voice, ringing with disgust and unwavering loyalty. He rejected Emily without a shred of hesitation. He called her worthless. He declared his love for Sarah.
A wave of profound relief washed over her. The remaining insecurities she carried from her past shattered completely. She took a deep breath, pushed the brass door open the rest of the way, and stepped inside.
She watched Emily try to spin the situation, wiping her mouth and offering that venomous lie. Julian looked completely terrified. His eyes were wide with panic, pleading with her to listen. He actually thought she’d fallen for her sister’s sick game.
"I don't want an explanation, Julian," Sarah said, her expression softening the moment the words left her mouth.
She walked right past her kneeling sister and went straight to him. She reached up, placing her palms gently against his pale cheeks.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for being perfect for me."
Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed a quick, loving kiss to his lips. Julian blinked, the sheer relief washing over his features so clearly it made her heart ache with love.
Sarah turned her attention back to the floor. "You can get up now, Emily. Drop the act. I was standing in the hallway; I heard every single word."
Emily’s fake smirk vanished. She scrambled to her feet, her face flushing a deep, ugly crimson. Before her sister could hurl an excuse, Sarah looked back at Julian.
"Please leave us alone for a minute, Julian."
He hesitated, his protective instincts flaring. "Are you sure? I don't want to leave you with her."
"Yes," Sarah replied firmly. "I need to have this conversation with my sister. Alone."
Julian nodded reluctantly. He glared at Emily one last time before stepping out and closing the door behind him.
The room felt entirely different with just the two of them. The faint thumping of the bass from the party outside was the only sound for a few ticking seconds. Sarah stared at the woman who shared her blood, searching for any trace of the girl she used to play with.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Sarah asked. The question wasn't angry; it was just tired—baffled. "What did I ever do to make you want to destroy my life?"
Emily’s face twisted into a snarling mask.
"Because you have everything!" she yelled, her voice echoing off the paneled walls.
"You always get the best of everything. It just falls right into your lap, Sarah, and you don't even appreciate it!
The perfect grades, the parents' approval, the successful firm, and now the billionaire fiancé. "
"I worked for my firm," Sarah shot back. "I rebuilt my life from the wreckage you caused."
Emily let out a manic, bitter laugh. It was a harsh, grating sound. "The wreckage I caused? You think you were the victim in that marriage? You think Harrison belonged to you first?"
Sarah frowned, her stomach twisting. "What are you talking about?"
Emily took a step forward, her eyes gleaming with a twisted sense of victory.
"He didn't tell you, did he? Saint Harrison kept his dirty little secret right to the end." She smiled, a look devoid of warmth. "I met him two years before you did, Sarah. In San Diego. We spent two weeks having the kind of sex you’re too repressed to ever give him. You’re too much of a prude to actually know how to fuck a man, Sarah—and that’s exactly why Harrison always wanted me. I had him first. He was mine."
The revelation hit Sarah like a physical blow. Her mind raced back to the day she introduced Harrison to her family. The way they had looked at each other.
"You lied to me," Sarah whispered, the scale of the betrayal expanding in her mind. "Both of you. For years. You stood at my wedding and smiled at me."
"He could have told you the truth, Sarah, but I suggested he keep his dirty little secret—and he listened. The minute we were all living in the same house, he was begging for it.” Emily spat.
“We were fucking on the kitchen counter while you were upstairs reviewing blueprints.
He was taking me in the basement, in your bathroom, on the hood of his car while you were completely oblivious.
You were just his safety net, Sarah. I was his real obsession. "
"And look where that obsession got you," Sarah replied, the shock settling into a cold, hard clarity.
She looked Emily up and down, taking in the desperate dress and the bitter lines around her mouth.
"You threw away your dignity to be his dirty secret, and then you threw him away the second Ryan gave you a better offer.
You don't know what passion is, Emily. You only know how to steal things you think belong to other people because you are empty inside. "
Sarah turned around and reached for the brass handle.
"Enjoy the rest of your pathetic life, Emily. Do not ever come near me or Julian again."
"My husband is cheating on me!"
The scream tore out of Emily’s throat, ragged and desperate. Sarah froze, her hand still resting on the doorknob.
"He has been cheating on me all along," Emily kept going, the words pouring out in a hysterical rush. "I am the perfect wife. I am the perfect mother to his children. I just gave birth to his second son less than three months ago, and it is never enough for him."
Sarah turned around. She saw her sister, her face completely contorted in pain, tears streaming down through her carefully applied makeup. It took every ounce of Sarah's willpower not to step forward and comfort her.
"Ryan is with his mistress right now," Emily whispered, her voice breaking. "He is holding her hand while she is in labor."
A sharp pang of empathy pierced Sarah's chest.
"He wasn't there for my first birth," Emily sobbed.
"He was out of the country. For my second, he barely arrived at the end because he was 'stuck in a meeting.
' But today? Today, his mistress gets his time.
His mistress, who is living right now in my guest house.
" Emily let out a desperate, broken laugh.
"We were dressed. We were ready to walk out the door for a charity event that I organized myself, and a maid came to tell us she was having contractions.
I told him we could still go to the event, that labor takes hours—that it would give him plenty of time to be present for the birth.
But no. He couldn't leave his precious Sloane alone. "
Sarah recognized the name immediately. Sloane was a young, ambitious junior associate who had started at the firm shortly before Sarah resigned.
Emily broke down, crying openly, venting her absolute devastation. The venom was gone, leaving only a terrified, broken woman in its wake.
Sarah walked over to the side table, poured a glass of water from a crystal pitcher, and handed it to her sister. She pointed to a leather chair. "Sit down."
Emily collapsed into the chair, clutching the glass with shaking hands.
"Get a divorce, Emily," Sarah said firmly, looking down at her. "Take your children, leave that estate, and start over. Go find actual happiness."
"You don't understand," Emily cried, shaking her head. "I love him. I didn't even know what love was until I met Ryan. Yes, at first I was seduced by his wealth—by the lifestyle. But now I love him more than anything."
"Your love for Ryan can't be worth more than your dignity, Emily," Sarah countered, her tone unwavering. "Sometimes, love just isn't worth the cost."
"I can't leave him," Emily wept, burying her face in her hands. "Ryan and my boys are my entire life. I want my children to grow up in an intact family."
"Do not let your life pass you by running after a man who doesn't make you a priority," Sarah told her. "Despite everything you did to me, I hope you make better choices for yourself and your children."
Emily looked up through her tears, her mascara smudged beneath her red-rimmed eyes. "Will you ever want to meet your nephews?"
Sarah gave a weak smile, shaking her head gently.
"You can send me photos. But it wouldn't be fair to those boys if I met them and then disappeared.
It is impossible for us to have a relationship after what you did, Emily.
Especially when, just minutes ago, you were on your knees trying to destroy my happiness all over again. "
Emily broke down into fresh tears, hiding her face in her hands once more.
Sarah turned her back. She grabbed the brass handle and pulled the door open. "I hope you find happiness, Emily." she said.
She stepped out into the brightly lit hallway and immediately saw Julian leaning against the wall just a few feet away. He pushed himself upright as soon as the door clicked shut.
"I just wanted to be here in case you needed me," he explained gently.
Sarah closed the distance with hurried steps. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder as if she could hide from the rest of the world there.
Julian didn't hesitate for a heartbeat. He pulled her flush against him, his hands splaying across her back, anchoring her. He was a solid, warm wall against the cold tremors that were starting to take hold of her limbs.
He held her with a fierce, protective pressure, one hand moving to cradle the back of her head, shielding her even though they were alone.
He didn't demand words. He didn't ask for the details of the venom Emily had spat.
He just breathed with her, his steady heartbeat a rhythmic, grounding promise against her own frantic pulse.
"Are you okay?" he murmured, his voice a low, rough vibration against her hair, thick with a concern that made her throat ache.
Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath that finally broke into a sob she’d been holding back for years. She leaned into the comforting, familiar scent of him, letting his strength carry her weight.
"No," she whispered, her voice cracking as she rested her cheek against the solid, unwavering heat of his chest. "But I will be. Because I have you.”