12. Lily
— ? —
Lily
The Riverside Pavilion is a historic gazebo overlooking the water, a favorite spot for tourists and wedding photos. Crowded, public, nowhere for things to go badly wrong.
At least, that’s what I tell myself.
Edward is already waiting when I arrive. He looks terrible - unshaven, exhausted, a far cry from the polished man who worked charity galas with such effortless charm. His suit is rumpled. His eyes are bloodshot.
For the first time, he looks human.
“You came alone,” he says.
“What do you want?”
“I want to make a deal.” He steps closer. I step back. “Whatever leverage you have - the flash drive, the documents - destroy it. In exchange, I’ll give you everything.”
“Everything?”
“The settlement you should have had. Public acknowledgment of what I did. Full cooperation with whatever your lawyers need.” His voice cracks. “I’ll disappear from your life completely.”
“You want me to let you off the hook.”
“I want us both to survive.” He runs a hand through his disheveled hair. “I never meant - it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Elena was pregnant before I met you. My mother pressured me. I didn’t know how to get out of a situation I’d already made.”
“So you lied to me for three years.”
“I know. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m asking for mercy.”
Three years ago, I might have crumbled.
That Lily is dead.
“Mercy,” I repeat. “The man who made me believe I was worthless. Who gaslit me every time I questioned anything. Who watched his mother tear me apart and said nothing.” I feel the fury rising, cold and clean. “You want mercy?”
“Lily-”
“Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to release everything I have. And I’m going to watch you lose everything - not your money, but your people. The society friends who tolerate you. The business partners who pretend to respect you. The woman who thinks you love her.”
His face twists. “You’ll destroy Elena too. The children-”
“I’ll make sure they’re protected.” My voice is ice. “Unlike you, I actually care about innocent people.”
“I won’t let you-”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Approaching footsteps cut off his response.
Elena storms into the pavilion, her face twisted with rage. But she’s not looking at me.
She’s looking at Edward.
“You bastard.” Her voice carries across the water.
“You told me she was the problem. That she was the crazy one, the obstacle. But I checked. I checked what Lucas showed me. The hotel. The name you booked it under. The woman. You’ve been auditioning my replacement for years, you bastard, while I sat in the shadows feeling chosen. ”
Edward’s expression shifts. Trapped.
“I gave up everything for you.” Elena is shaking. “I had your children. I waited in the shadows while you paraded her around. And the whole time, you were planning to discard me the same way you discarded her.”
I step forward. “Elena.”
She turns to me, mascara streaked down her cheeks.
“I’m not your enemy,” I say. “I never was. Edward used us both. Made us hate each other so we’d never compare notes.”
Elena’s chin crumples. She presses the back of her hand to her mouth like she can shove the sob back in.
Then a new voice cuts through the tension.
“That’s beautiful. Really touching. But I’m afraid none of you are going anywhere.”
Victoria steps into the pavilion. Behind her, two men who are definitely not security guards.
Lucas is out there somewhere, waiting in the car where I left him, and I shouldn’t be thinking about him now, with armed men between me and every exit.
But my body hasn’t forgotten last night, the weight of him, the way he said my name low against my throat, over and over, like he’d forgotten every other word, and some reckless corner of me wishes he’d ignore every instruction I gave and walk through that door.
Not now. Victoria is talking. Pay attention.
“That flash drive has information about my family too.” Victoria’s smile is serene. “And I can’t let you release it.”