Chapter 28 #2
“Am I? Think carefully, son.” My heart leaps into my throat when he pauses.
“Tell me, does your wife know I told you about the gala attack before it happened? And did you ever tell her that for all of this time, you knew her father had been the target? That I told you everything when we were at the hospital that night?” He pauses.
“That’s a pretty big secret to keep from your wife, isn’t it, Lochlan? ”
I recoil, my eyes flying open wide.
“You bastard.” Lochlan’s voice is barely a whisper. “That’s not… you didn’t tell me what was going to happen. You said to keep my eyes open, that something was going to happen. You never told me DiMicheli was the target.”
My legs wobble like limp noodles, blood rushing between my temples.
“It doesn’t matter. Because I told you… before you married her.
And you kept that secret. You never exposed it.
” Eamon’s voice turns oily. “How do you think Adriana will react when she finds out? That her father spent weeks in a coma while she sat by his bedside, and you knew all along that something was coming but never said a word? That information made her a bigger target after her dad was shot but you didn’t bother to tell her. To protect her.”
“You son of a bitch,” Lochlan bites out.
“Get her to turn over the reins or I tell her everything. What you knew, what you never warned her about. Do you think she’ll ever look at you the same way?”
I can’t breathe.
He knew. Lochlan knew something was going to happen at the gala, he knew my father was the target, and he never told me. He never warned me about a bigger threat to my family’s safety.
I told him that first night to never lie to me. And he’s been doing exactly that from the very beginning.
The whole time… all those nights he held me while I cried about my father… he knew.
“I’ll give you time to think about it.” Footsteps start toward the door. “Don’t take too long. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to sit on this information.”
The door swings open. Eamon stops when he sees me.
A slow smile spreads across his face.
“Adriana. Good morning. What a pleasant surprise.”
Lochlan looks up, startled, and the color drips from his face.
“Adri—” he starts to say.
“You knew.” Shock coats my words. “You knew about the gala attack. Eamon told you my father was the target. And you sat on it all this time.”
“I didn’t know it would be an attack. My father just told me something was going to happen. I didn’t get any other details until that night at the hospital,” Lochlan says.
“Details that you never bothered to share.” I step back. “My father almost died. He spent weeks in a coma. And you knew he was meant to die.”
“Adriana, I saved your life. The moment I realized what was happening—”
“Yeah, great. You saved me that night. But then you left me vulnerable. Me, Luna, my mom. You could have said something about my dad being the target. But you didn’t. You kept his secret,” I sneer, slanting a glare at Eamon.
Eamon watches like it’s entertainment. I want to scream and claw his fucking eyes out of his skull; and if he doesn’t disappear right now, I just might.
“Get out of my home,” I say through clenched teeth.
“Technically—”
“Get the fuck out,” I yell.
He holds up his hands, still smiling. “I’ll leave you two to discuss.”
He walks past me. I can’t look away from Lochlan.
The man I was falling in love with. The man I just had sex with. The man who held me last night and said he was already there.
The man who has been lying to me since the night we met.
“Adriana, please. Let me explain.”
“I told you from the very beginning that I didn’t trust you.
I told you I thought you were playing me, that you wanted my father’s empire, that everything you said was part of some scheme.
” My voice shakes even though I’m trying damn hard to keep it even.
“And you stood there and convinced me I was wrong. You made me feel like a fool for suspecting you. You made me believe I could trust you.”
“You can trust me—”
“Liar! You’ve been lying to me since the night we met!
” Each word lances my heart harder. “Every time you held me while I cried about my father, every time you told me everything would be okay, every time you looked me in the eye and said you were on my side… you were carrying this secret. You watched me suffer and you said nothing.”
“I didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid—”
“What else have you lied about?” All control is lost at this point, and I don’t fucking care. “Was any of it real? The things you said, the way you looked at me. Was that all part of the plan? Make me trust you, make me fall for you, so your father could absorb my family’s empire?”
“No. God, no. Everything between us is real. I swear to you.” His expression is pained, his eyes brimming with regret.
“How am I supposed to believe anything you say?” My voice cracks, and I hate myself for the weakness.
“I let you in, Lochlan. I broke every rule I’ve ever made for myself.
I spent my entire life keeping people at arm’s length because I knew…
I knew… that the moment I let someone close, they would find a way to use it against me.
And you made me believe I was wrong about that. You made me think I was safe with you.”
He reaches for me. I twist away like his touch will burn my skin.
“Don’t you fucking dare try to touch me,” I seethe.
The look on his face almost breaks me. But then I remember my father on the floor of the gala with blood spreading beneath him. I remember my mother’s screams and the weeks of my mom and I sitting by his hospital bed, holding his hand, begging him to wake up.
And Lochlan knew my dad was targeted for death, that the attack was coming.
How could he have kept that from me? It wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but to keep that secret when he knew it would shatter me?
I can’t be around him right now. Maybe ever again.
He betrayed my trust, and I don’t know if I can ever give it to him again.
“I need to leave.”
“Adriana, please. Don’t shut me out. Please, let’s just talk about this.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I can’t be here right now. I can’t even look at you.”
I run into the bedroom to grab my purse and keys. He follows me to the elevator, and the desperation in his voice almost makes me stop.
Almost.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
“My mother’s. Or Luna’s. I don’t know.” I stab the button but don’t turn around. “Don’t follow me. Don’t call me. Just leave me alone.”
“We need to talk about this. Give me a chance to explain—”
“I don’t want your explanations.” I finally turn to look at him, my heart hammering against my ribcage. The devastation on his face mirrors exactly what I feel inside. “I trusted you. I let you past every wall I’ve ever built. And the whole time, you’ve been lying to me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You were protecting yourself. Just like I always suspected.” My jaw tightens to keep the rising sobs in my chest. “You’re exactly who I thought you were in the beginning. I just let myself forget.”
The elevator door slides open, and I step inside. Thankfully, the door closes before he can respond, before I can see the damage my words have done, before I can change my mind and stay.
I slump against the wall, finally letting myself fall apart where no one can see.
I was right about him from the start. Every instinct I had, every suspicion, every wall I used to keep him out. I was right—and smart—to do that.
Except I failed myself. Somewhere along the way, I let him convince me I was wrong.