Chapter 34
DEVLIN
What am I going to do?
Devlin rested his head against the wall, his forehead pressed against the cool surface as he tried to calm the swirling blizzard of thoughts that whirled around his mind. The press conference was in twenty minutes. Twenty minutes until he would be expected to sit in front of the world’s media, smile for the cameras, and pretend like everything was fine. But it wasn’t. Everything was falling apart, and he had no idea what he was going to say when the cameras started rolling. Claudia would stay true to her word, he had no doubt about that. If he didn’t play along with her twisted plan, then she would hijack the entire conference and make it all about her. She would lie to the world and in doing so, she would ruin everything.
Devlin could already picture it: Claudia, with her flawless smile and icy demeanour, standing at the podium, weaving a tale of betrayal and lies, exposing him for the man he had always feared people would see — a fraud. His reputation would be destroyed, his business would crumble, and everything he had built over the years would be reduced to ashes.
The weight of it was suffocating.
Devlin had nobody to talk to. His mum was gone, he had no brothers and sisters. That was the trouble with retreating from life, he knew. That was the trouble with being a loner. Sure, there was nobody who could hurt you, but there was nobody who could help you either. And as much as Devlin hated being helped, he could really use some now.
But the only person who could help him was miles away, with no idea where he was.
Darcy.
With a grunt of frustration, he pushed himself off the wall and left the room. Claudia was nowhere to be seen, thankfully, and he made his way down the corridor towards the clinic’s large, open lobby. His doctor was there, speaking with a nurse, and he smiled at Devlin as he saw him approach.
“Mr Storm,” he said. “You’re recovering faster than I expected. It’s remarkable.”
“Please, I need a phone,” Devlin said, ignoring him. He didn’t have time for small talk.
The doctor blinked, taken aback for a split second with the sudden request.
“Of course, if you’ll follow me.” He nodded.
The doctor led Devlin to the reception desk, and the receptionist politely vacated her chair. Devlin sat down and picked up the receiver, using the computer to Google the number of the Royal Alpine. After a couple of rings, a young woman answered.
“Hello, the Royal Alpine. How may I help you?”
“I need to speak to Darcy Wainwright,” Devlin said.
“I’m sorry,” said the girl. “She’s not here. She left a little while ago. Can I take a message?”
She left? His chest tightened, a wave of panic crashing over him.
“No.”
Devlin hung up the phone. He thought about trying to find out Darcy’s mobile number, but there was no time. Anyway, the chances were she wouldn’t answer his call. He knew that photos of him and Claudia were splashed all over the news, and Claudia had told him they were trending on social media again. Darcy would have seen it all by now. She would have assumed he’d betrayed her, that he was back with his ex, and in twenty minutes or so it would be confirmed at the press conference. How else could she take it?
The thought of it was unbearable. It tore at his heart in a way he hadn’t expected. He had been prepared to live with regret, to carry the burden of the decisions he had made to protect his business, but he hadn’t been prepared for this. He hadn’t been prepared for the idea of losing Darcy. The truth was, he needed her more than he had ever needed anyone. She had been his lifeline in the mountains, not just physically but emotionally. She had seen him at his most vulnerable, and she hadn’t turned away.
But now she was gone, and it was his fault.
“Thank you,” he said to the doctor, walking out from behind the desk, barely noticing his polite nod.
Through the window he could see the clinic’s beautiful formal gardens. They were packed full of people, most of whom were holding video cameras or cell phones and waiting eagerly. There were two empty chairs at the head of the crowd, and Devlin knew that he would soon be sitting in one, Claudia in the other.
The sight of those chairs filled him with dread. They should have filled him with excitement. Under any other circumstances, this could have been a moment of triumph — surviving the Alps, returning from the brink of death, sharing his story with the world. It should have been a celebration of life, of victory. Of love. He should have been sitting in that chair next to Darcy, telling the world about the adventure they had shared, the connection they had found in the harshest of conditions.
But instead, it felt more like a trial. A punishment.
Devlin clenched his fists, trying to calm the fury simmering inside him. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.
“Mr Storm,” the doctor called from behind him. “We’ve just had word that your belongings have arrived. Would you like to come with me?”
No , Devlin replied, but only inside his head.
He didn’t care about his belongings. He didn’t care about the suit Claudia had arranged for him to wear at the press conference he didn’t want to take part in. All he wanted was to find a way out of this mess, to find Darcy and tell her the truth before it was too late. But that was impossible now. The wheels were already in motion, and he was trapped, caught in a web of lies he didn’t know how to escape.
With a weary sigh, Devlin nodded, his body heavy with the weight of his decisions. He followed the doctor out of the lobby and down a short corridor, his mind racing. He didn’t know what the future held, but one thing was certain — the hurt wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.