Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
I nod. “Yeah, you and everyone else.”
“Are you okay?” She grabs my arm, tugging me forward and closing the door behind me.
“No,” I tell her, barely holding on.
Within seconds, she has a glass of prosecco in my hand, and we’re sitting out on the balcony staring at each other. She lies and says it’ll be okay. She asks about Ronan, and I don’t answer. “He loves you,” she tells me, and my heart drops. “You two are going to get through this. I know it,” she says, and I love her deeply, but hearing her say that hurts more than she could ever know.
I finally confess, “I have to tell you something.”
“You can tell me anything.”
I let it slip out, and I can’t stop it. “It’s all a lie.”
She cocks her head to the side. “What’s a lie?”
“You know…”
Her eyes narrow. “I don’t know,” she says softly, not breaking eye contact.
“I’m talking about my engagement. It’s all one big charade.”
She lightly gasps, surprised and taken aback. Her mouth drops open, and my friend, who I grew up sharing all of my deepest darkest secrets with, looks back at me like I betrayed her. Tears prick again, and my throat feels as if I’m going to choke, but I hold it all down.
“What?” she questions like she doesn’t believe what she just heard.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” I apologize, knowing she’s hurt that I didn’t tell her the truth.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks. “You could have told me.”
“I promised Ronan I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Do you not trust me?” The hurt is evident in her tone.
“Of course I do.” She abruptly stands, downing her drink in one large gulp before filling it up again.
I’m hesitant at first but find the courage to ask, “Are you mad at me?”
“Yes.”
We lock eyes, and mine swell with the threat of fresh tears.
She’s quick to add, “But I understand.”
I nod, feeling slightly less anxious now that she’s aware of the truth. Now that I can actually talk to someone I trust.
“You promise you don’t hate me?”
“I could never hate you,” she says, hugging me.
I can’t describe the feeling going through me. Knowing that at least I can trust her and she still loves me.
When she pulls back, she asks, “And what about the video?”
“I don’t know who sent it or why, but at first, it was used to try to get Ronan fired.”
“What?”
“That’s why we lied about it,” I explain.
“Oh my God. That’s why the sudden engagement.” She puts the pieces together. “You were just lying so he wouldn’t get in trouble for sleeping with a student?”
“Something like that. There’s also a morality clause and sex in a public place is… well, it’s definitely on the list of ‘don’t do that.’”
I take a steadying breath and continue, “But then it was sent to our friends and now leaked to the press.”
“And both times, I think that was intended to hurt me, not him.”
“But who would do that?” she questions, and I can see the wheels turning in her mind. She’s probably compiling the long-ass list of people who either hate me, hate my father, or simply would find it entertaining to see the public fallout of a notorious socialite.
She sits back in the chair in front of me, taking another sip from her glass, and I do the same. Except I down my drink like she just did hers, and she refills it before we continue.
“Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
She responds without hesitating. “I promise.”
“Did you watch the video?”
“I mean… you look great. Those yoga classes really paid off. And your tits looked amazing. Seriously, you’ve never looked better.”
If I wasn’t so emotionally drained, I might actually laugh. I bury my head in my lap. “Oh God. That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“I know. I was just trying to reassure you. It’s very ’90s celebrity sex tape of you, and look how well that turned out for them.”
I shake my head. I know she’s only trying to make me feel better. But all I can think is that this video will destroy my life. I start to tell her about my theory regarding my trust, but she cuts me off.
“Isn’t it kind of weird that the video was cropped, and he’s hardly in it? Like… it’s a little weird.”
My stomach sinks, and I say, “I know.”
“Do you think…?” I start to ask her if she thinks Ro could have been involved in it at all, but she shuts the thought down immediately.
“Don’t be so pessimistic. It’s not in your nature. You need to manifest good things. Here.” She grabs one of her rocks off the table. She’s always been a little hippie-dippie. “Hold this.”
“Aspen, your crystals aren’t going to save me right now.”
“Hold it anyway.”
I chuckle despite myself.
I do as I’m told and hold the smooth pink crystal as hard as I can, like it will magically make this all disappear.