6. Lily
Lily
“ S o, are you going to tell me why you’re home early?” my father asks carefully. I glance at him out of the corner of my eye as I use my fork to push a piece of steamed potato around my plate.
It still feels like there’s a hard rock sitting low in my stomach, a feeling I’ve had since I last ate yesterday, my appetite having vanished completely.
I clear my throat. “I told you. Declan had a work emergency.”
Just like he did the first time I told him, he makes a small noise of disbelief. “A man does not cut a honeymoon short for a work emergency,” he scoffs. “Even when he’s a CEO. It’s called delegation.”
I arch an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you know what that word means.”
He has the grace to look a little ashamed, both of us fully aware that he was just as absorbed in his own company when I was growing up. There were more milestone moments missed than there should’ve been, but I worked out my forgiveness for him a long time ago.
Now it looks like I’ve either married someone just like my father, or someone much, much worse.
“Does that mean you’re moving out of Grandma’s cottage?” Dad asks now, slicing into his steak, his knife scraping against his plate as he presses down too hard. “Last I checked, you hadn’t even started packing. ”
I shake my head. “I’ve got just over three weeks left off work,” I say dully. “I’m going to take that time to slowly move everything over.”
I don’t want to lie to him. I hate it, but can I really tell my dad the truth when I can’t even be sure what the truth is?
I need to talk to Declan, as much as I’m dreading it, terrified of what the conversation will reveal about the man I married.
“I’m glad it worked out this way,” I say, forcing a bright note into my tone. “The lead up to the wedding was so chaotic, I would’ve hated trying to move, then.” I send him a knowing look. “You know I can’t stand living between two houses.”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Those two weeks before you finished renovating the cottage were hell on both of us. So, you’re at the condo tonight, then?
I didn’t think you’d have the keys until you got back.
” He frowns. “What about your furniture?” He finishes his meal, pushing his plate away and leaning his arms on the table, eyes on me.
“Declan moved his furniture into storage last week because Carter didn’t need it,” I say easily. “He called the real estate agent to arrange getting the keys early, and then the moving company. I met them there earlier today.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Money definitely talks in this town.”
I shoot him a dry look, pointedly looking around the formal dining room, complete with chandelier centered over the mahogany table. “I don’t think you’re one to talk, Dad,” I quip.
He shrugs unrepentantly. “I worked hard for all of this, and now I get to reap the benefits.”
Julie, our housekeeper, walks into the room from the kitchen, eyes bouncing between us. “All finished?” She frowns when she catches sight of my almost-full plate.
“My stomach was a bit unsettled last night,” I confide. “Probably something I ate.”
She nods in understanding. “I’ll get you a ginger ale.”
I stifle my grimace as she gathers the plates and takes them to the kitchen, hating every lie that falls from my lips. Anger at Declan boils just under my skin, everything in me blaming him for the situation I’m in.
Dad stands up, distracting me. “Let’s go into the living room.” He walks off without waiting for my agreement, and I roll my eyes, detouring into the kitchen to find Julie fixing our drinks.
“I’ll take those, Jules.”
She scrunches her nose up at the nickname, but the gleam in her eyes gives her away. “I’ve missed you around here,” she tells me. “Now that you’re living with a boy, you have to make sure you’re not a stranger.”
“I’ve missed you, too.” I come forward and press a swift kiss to her cheek, grinning when her face goes pink. “And I’d never give up your cooking, Jules.”
She bites back a smile and huffs. “That’s only because you can’t cook yourself.”
“Possibly.” I laugh at her dubious look. “Or most definitely.”
“Here.” She slides the drinks closer to me. “Take these, before your father starts thinking we’re talking about him.”
“But that’s exactly what I’m gonna tell him.”
She swats at me with a dish towel, and I dodge out of the way, grabbing the glasses and heading toward the living room. My father’s already comfortably ensconced in his favorite armchair, the daily news on the mounted television, volume muted.
“I don’t know why you keep watching this,” I complain. “It’s depressing as hell.” I pass him his whiskey before sitting on the couch, tucking my legs up under me and sipping at my drink.
“Thanks, Lilypad.” He takes a generous sip of his drink, ice clinking against the sides of the glass. “And it’s my way of keeping up to date with the world,” he says, keeping his eyes on a breaking headline about some celebrity being admitted to rehab.
“I can see why that’s important,” I drawl, ignoring the stink eye he sends me.
“We were talking about you reaping the benefits,” I say, directing the conversation back to what we were talking about.
“So, what’re your plans?” He’s been talking about selling his company over the last year, but hadn’t made up his mind yet.
“I’m selling. It’s official.” Just as I’m taking another sip, he casually adds, “And I thought I might take up salsa dancing.”
I splutter, covering my mouth to avoid spraying ginger ale everywhere. “What?” He laughs at my expression. “That was about the last thing I expected you to say. Why salsa?”
“It seems fun,” he shrugs.
I watch him for a moment. “So, that’s it, then? You’re really selling Hi-Tech?” I press my lips together, cocking my head. “You’ve spent your entire life building the company from the ground up. Are you sure giving that up is what you want?”
He looks away, his expression contemplative.
“I’ve spent my entire life working, Lilypad.
Even when I was needed elsewhere. I think it was leftovers from my own father, making me believe that if I wasn’t working, I was letting my family down.
After your mother—” he presses his lips together tightly, my mother being a subject we tended to avoid.
“After that, I buried my head in the sand, really. I knew you needed me at home, but I lost myself in the company, too focused on just providing for you. There’s not a lot I regret in my life, but that…
” He shakes his head, eyes bright with emotion when he turns to look at me. “That’s a big one.”
“I didn’t miss out on anything, growing up like that. Dad, you gave me everything I needed.”
“That’s kind of you, but it’s also not true.
There’s more to life than financial security.
” He looks over at me, his expression unusually solemn.
“When you first brought Declan to meet me, I was worried. Our families…” His forehead creases, mouth pulling down at the corners.
“There’s a dark history there, and I thought?—”
Dark history ? I stare at him wide-eyed, because this is news to me. “You thought, what?”
He grimaces, sending me an apologetic look. “I thought he might have an ulterior motive for courting you.” Unable to help myself, I snort at the word courting, and he grins. “Sorry, would ‘wooing’ be better?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Anyway, that history was all a long time ago, and it became clear he was all in with you.” He smiles wistfully, lost in his own world.
“You were so beautiful in your dress, Lily. For a second, it was like seeing your mother on our wedding day.” He blinks rapidly, like he’s clearing a fog from his vision.
“Walking you down the aisle was something I always dreamed about. Dreamed and dreaded, I suppose. ”
“Dreaded?” I ask, unable to help the small curl of amusement.
He taps his fingers along the side of his glass. “You’re my only child, my daughter. I couldn’t bear the thought of literally giving you away to someone else. But the way Declan’s eyes lit up when he saw you?” His smile was crooked. “That man is so gone for you, it’s not even funny.”
He doesn’t seem to notice how tense I’ve gone, his mind still in the past. “My entire career was spent working towards more. What I had was never enough, not when I wanted you to have stability.” He glances around the room, eyes touching on the large original landscape painting sitting above the marble fireplace, the high vaulted ceilings, and the oversized cashmere furniture—made to order.
“I built this house,” he murmurs quietly, “and I filled it with everything you could possibly need; everything you could want. But I forgot to give you a home.”
“Dad—”
He doesn’t seem to hear me. “I neglected to give you me, I guess. And Declan… well, he’s ambitious, driven.
His entire focus has been on Nexus and continuing his father’s legacy.
Honestly, he reminded me so much of me, and I didn’t want the cycle to keep repeating, Lily. You deserve so much better than that.”
I clear my throat, trying to keep my voice even. “What changed?”
Dad lets out a contented sigh, his eyes warm as he looks at me. “It was all in the way he looked when he first saw you walking down the aisle towards him. He looked at you like you were his everything. You found a man who won’t just give you security, Lilypad. He’d give you the world if he could.”
I didn’t linger after my dad’s little speech. I still wasn’t ready to let him in on everything, so I told him that I wanted to spend time with Sasha while Declan was working late.
Luckily, Sasha hadn’t needed any convincing and she’d picked me up, which is how I found myself on her couch, drinking wine out of a box and eating my body weight in chocolate.
“Why did you have that in your car?” I ask curiously, pointing at the box parked on the coffee table.
She shrugs, grimacing as she sips from her glass. “Emergency wine supply?” she guesses, before admitting, “I don’t actually know. And I don’t know how long it’s been there. But it works, right?” A beat passes. “Wine doesn’t go off, does it?”
We stare at each other, before simultaneously deciding we don’t care. I hold a piece of chocolate out, offering it to her, but she waves me off. “I have an early morning class, and I need to fit into my yoga pants.”
I wonder why wine is okay, but chocolate isn’t, but it’s not an argument I’m actually invested in, so it dies a sudden death before ever leaving my mouth.
My phone chimes beside me and I pick it up, expecting it to be Declan even though he hasn’t tried to contact me at all today. Instead, it’s a message from Silvia.
No words but an attached image.
I blink down at the screen, feeling more cracks appearing in the shield I’ve been trying to pull around myself. “Oh my god…”
“What?” Sasha’s head swings around at my tone, her eyes wide. “What is it?” She scrambles from her end of the couch to mine, peering over my shoulder. “Oh my god,” she echoes. “That absolute dickbag!
“Dickbag?” I murmur, eyes fixed on the image of Declan sitting across from her.
The photo was taken from the outside, looking through the window at them, and I know the place.
I’ve met Declan there for a quick lunch during the day, or we would stop on the way back to his place if we didn’t feel like cooking.
We’ve probably sat at that very table, looking just as intimate as they do.
They’re leaning towards each other, soft smiles on their faces.
It looks cozy and not at all like an ‘emergency’ at work.
“Yeah, shorthand for bag of dicks. Who sent you this?” Sasha demands.
“Silvia,” I whisper brokenly.
“Well, maybe it’s not from today,” she reasons. “Maybe it’s an old photo…” She trails off when I zoom in on his hand, resting right on top of hers, wedding band in plain sight. “Oh.”
I squeeze my eyes shut as Sasha snatches the phone from my hand, grumbling under her breath.
After a moment, she announces, “I’ve put your phone on Do Not Disturb.
” She tucks it away out of my reach, turning to me with a fierce frown.
“We’re not doing this, not tonight. He’s an asshole, but he’ll still be an asshole tomorrow. ”
She tucks an arm around my shoulders, drawing me against her. I don’t resist, lying my head on her shoulder, staring at the TV screen as it plays some reality show about someone else’s romance, and the way they publicly air their drama out.
Am I now one of these people?
My husband of four days cut our honeymoon short and appears to be on a date with his childhood friend. And if the phone call I overheard is right, he’s probably having an affair with her and plans to end our marriage, leaving me wondering why he went through with it in the first place.
“Can I get an annulment?” I ask suddenly. “If he’s cheating.”
Sasha startles beside me, before saying, “I actually have no idea.” She brightens. “Luke is a lawyer. We could call him!”
“He hates it when you call him Luke.”
“And I hate him, but we all have our crosses to bear.”
I snort, and she smiles, even if it’s edged in sadness. “There she is.” She cuddles closer, saying, “This isn’t going to break you, Lily. But we could go break his kneecaps.”
I pat her thigh. “You’ve been reading too many dark romances.”
“No such thing,” she argues back. “But also, maybe.” She goes silent for a moment before asking, “Where does he think you are right now?”
I lean forward to swipe another chocolate out of the tray on the table.
“At the condo,” I tell her, shoving it into my mouth. “I told him I’d get everything set up for when he gets home.”
She eyes me. “And what will he actually find when he gets home?”
“Not me,” I say. “And a few surprises, plus a dismantled bed.”
“You devious imp,” she cackles. “I love that for him. Doesn’t the moving company do the furniture setup?”
“Sure, but I tipped them extra to leave it the way it was.”
“That’s my girl.” She leans forward to grab her wine glass, clinking it against the one still clutched in my hand. “What’s your plan now?”
I honestly hadn’t thought that far ahead, but I know a confrontation is looming on my horizon. “Wait for him to show up, I guess. ”
“You won’t take him back?”
“No.” I sink lower into the couch, the backs of my eyes burning. I hate how pitiful I feel, but I’m giving myself a couple of days to wallow and then I’ll pull myself out of the funk. I’m all up in my feels, but soon, I’ll get up off my ass and get on with life.
A life that doesn’t include Declan Masters.