Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Rage raced through me at her words. “I. Never. Fucking. Said. That.”
“I may not have known you very well, but I did question Sarah about it. It seemed so contradictory to the way Alex described you, or the feeling I got when I saw the two of you together.”
“I would never have deserted her.” I frowned at Emma. “When I came back, I looked for Ally. I hired a PI who got nowhere. I even went to see Sarah. I begged her to tell me where Ally was, and she refused.” I looked down at my hands that were twisting and grasping my pant legs in agitation. “She threw it in my face that Ally had been unhappy with all the traveling I’d been doing and had begged me not to go. She knew about the fight we’d had and told me Ally decided I wasn’t worth the hassle and decided to move on. I was so shocked that she had confided in her, and at the way she had broken up with me. It totally threw me.”
Emma’s cheeks colored, and Alan reached over to take her hand. “That’s my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Sarah told me what you had supposedly said, I, um, well, I called you a bunch of names and said I couldn’t believe you’d do this, just because the two of you had a fight.” She shook her head. “Sarah sort of played along as if she knew what I was talking about, and I told her everything Alex had told me—about your fight and the phone call and how distressed she was she couldn’t get hold of you to apologize.” She sighed. “Alex was so upset with herself. All she wanted was to hear your voice and know you were all right.”
I sat back in shock.
Ally hadn’t told her mother.
I wasn’t an unfortunate error in judgment.
“She texted Ally while I was at her place,” I frowned. “She showed me her reply.”
Emma raised her eyebrow. “I don’t think it was Alex who replied. None of what happened was Alex.”
Sarah lied. It had all been lies.
When the accident happened, Ally still loved me. I should have stayed and pushed more, gave the PI time and let him do his job. Instead, I had let Sarah win and left. I’d deserted Ally—again.
I drew in a deep breath.
“Tell me everything, Emma. Don’t leave out a single detail. Especially the part about how Bradley Bennett ended up engaged to my fiancée. Then I can make a plan.”
Her eyes widened. “Your fiancée?”
I nodded emphatically. “I asked her to marry me before Elena died. She said yes. And I gave her a ring she loved, but we had to have it sized. With everything that happened, though…” I cleared my throat. “We hadn’t told many people. But Sarah knew. She fucking knew.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Fight for her. Get her back.”
“She doesn’t remember you, Adam.”
“Then I’ll get her to fall in love with me again until she does remember. Now, start talking.”
I sat back, angry.
Sarah and Ronald had taken her away.
I was going to get her back.
I found out quickly that when Emma was upset, she tended to talk too much. Her hands waved, and she was emotional. After about ten minutes of her ramblings, I realized the best way to get information would be to ask her questions.
“Why was Sarah here when Ally was in the hospital? She was still in recovery then, wasn’t she?”
“Yes. Sarah went between here and Calgary a lot.” She blew out a big breath. “She had obligations here as well, she informed me.”
“Her only fucking obligation should have been her daughter,” I snapped, then paused to collect my thoughts. “Why didn’t you return my messages?”
“I didn’t get them.” She sighed. “I wish I had.” She met my stare, her face earnest. “I did call the magazine, trying to find you. They told me you no longer worked there and were out of the country indefinitely. I came by here to check, and I ran into one of the tenants. He told me you had moved. I thought Sarah was telling the truth and you had deserted Alex. Moved on with your life.”
I shook my head. “I thought she had gone because of me. I left so she could return to her life here. There seemed to be no point in staying, so I disappeared.” I swallowed the pain in my throat. “I couldn’t be here without her. It hurt too much.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I made a huge mistake not keeping the PI on her parents. I let Sarah mess with my head. I should never have left. Or believed a word that came from that woman’s mouth.”
She nodded in sympathy. “We both believed the wrong thing.”
“Tell me about her recovery.”
Emma sighed. “I can’t tell you everything. Like I said, Sarah and Ronald took control of Alex and her life. I saw her only rarely—she remained in Calgary to do her therapy, so I was farther away. And I was blocked from much contact.”