Then
Thirty-six hours earlier.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, checking the time on my phone every thirty seconds. I sat on the small armchair near the window, one foot tapping wildly against my crossed leg.
“I can’t believe she’s coming here,” I said more to myself than Elliott, who sat at the edge of the bed looking down at his phone.
He looked up at me with his brows pulled together.
“Are you worried she’ll back out?” he asked curiously.
I was worried; she had a toddler and a seemingly wonderful life in New York with her husband. Putting all of that in jeopardy didn’t seem like it would be worth it. But she immediately agreed to come to California and get this done.
A sudden, gentle tap on the door startled me from my seat. Approaching cautiously, I peered through the peephole. Relief flooded over me when I saw her standing there, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the floor.
“Hana,” I choked out as I opened the door; for some reason, seeing her familiar, friendly face brought me to tears.
She immediately smiled and tilted her head at me. “Jackie,” she whispered, reaching out to wrap her arms around me. Her hug instantly relaxed my body, reminiscent of the embrace she gave me all those years ago.
We let go after a moment and I turned to a smiling Elliott as he began to stand up.
“This is Elliott,” I announced proudly. “Elliott, Hana.”
“Elliott, hi.” She smiled and waved, seemingly a little anxiously.
I gestured into the room. “Please, come in.”
Elliott and I sat at the edge of the bed, facing the armchair where Hana had made herself comfortable. She set her purse down on the floor beside her and clasped her hands together in her lap, wringing her fingers nervously. Her light blonde hair flowed past her shoulders, and she bit the side of her matte red lips.
“It’s really good to see you, Jackie. You look well,” she said with a smile. “Even though, obviously, things haven’t been all that well,” she added quickly.
I shook my head. “No. If Michael hadn’t forced himself back into our lives, things would actually be really good.” I let out a bitter chuckle.
She smiled nervously and glanced at Elliott. I couldn’t be certain if his presence alone made her uneasy, but I could empathize—after all, we were about to discuss committing a serious crime, and Elliott was still a stranger to her.
“I think I’ll give you two some time to catch up,” he said as he stood up, sensing the tension. “I’ll be out in the courtyard.”
We both watched as he exited the small room and gently closed the door behind him. Hana looked back at me with raised eyebrows and a crooked smile. “Jackie, that man is gorgeous,” she said lightly.
I laughed and nodded. “Inside and out. Truly.” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell her about how we met, but I decided I needed to—I couldn’t leave anything out because I wanted her to trust me. I trusted her and hoped she felt the same. “Unfortunately, Michael had something to do with our meet cute.”
I proceeded to give her the details about Michael hiring him, about how when Elliott learned of all the things he had to done to me, he immediately cut ties. I could see the worried crinkling of her forehead as I explained, but her sad eyes indicated that she felt sympathy toward me.
“And he…he knows about all of this?” she asked hesitantly. “About what we have planned?”
I nodded. “We’ve already planned the small details, but he’s aware he hurt you as well, and he unquestionably agrees with how we feel. In fact,” I leaned a little closer to her, “he wanted to do it himself.”
She nodded as if she understood. “It took a lot of convincing for Jack to let me do this instead of him. But I needed to be here, and one of us had to stay with Jenny, just in case anything happened, you know?”
“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, Hana. I’m gonna do the dirty work. I just want you to be there to watch him burn.”