Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal)(30)

I shook my head. A tear trickled down my cheek. “What we had was nice, but it wasn’t real. None of this is.”

“What about our feelings?” he asked, moving back.

Our feelings.

I smiled bitterly.

Not real.

Not his feelings, nor mine.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to love.” I looked up at him. “As for you, if you really love me, if only a little bit, you’ll let me go. You’ll stop asking to see me. You’ll stop contacting me.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re not ready,” he said.

I shook my head. “No, Chase. Please listen to what I’m telling you. I don’t want to love you. What we have—had—will pass. There’s no point in believing there could ever be more. That…” I broke off, the pain too heavy.

For a long moment, there was silence.

“Okay,” he said. His expression was pained, but it was nothing compared to what I was feeling inside. “Okay.” His fingers settled beneath my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I’m going to let you go, Laurie, but I want you to know that I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll wait until you’re ready for my love.” I pulled away but he didn’t let go. “Twelve months. That’s how long it’ll take me to get your inheritance back.”

“Twelve months,” I repeated. “In twelve months I want my divorce. Until then…”

“I’ll stay away if that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want, Chase. No contact. I don’t want to hear from you again.”

His jaw set, but he said no more. He let go of me. I used the opportunity to get up and walk past him, closing the door behind me.





Chapter 20





The moment I slammed the door behind me, a first ripple escaped my throat. Pressing a hand against my mouth to stifle the sound, I headed for the bathroom and locked up behind me.


It was the only place where I knew Chase wouldn’t hear the silent cries.

It was the only place where I felt it was safe to let out my emotions.

To escape the pain I was feeling. When I had asked for a divorce, every part of me broke. It broke in the knowledge that I had fallen in love with him, and that no matter what I said or did, I wasn’t important to him. He wanted his revenge, and once he got it, I’d be a part of his past.

In spite of his claims, I was a tool he’d discard of once he didn’t need it any more.

Stripping off my clothes, I stepped inside the small cubicle and turned on the water, the coldness seeping into my skin.

It was going to be hard, but between the choice of seeing Chase every day, feeling the pain of knowing he’d never love me the way I loved him, and the choice of staying away, feeling the pain of his absence, I knew I’d rather go for the latter.

I sunk to my knees, burying my face in my hands, and let the water pound against my naked body in the hope it could wash away the pain, the love, my soul.

I didn’t know how long I just sat there, stuck in that one place where my dreams had been crushed, and I was forced to face the harsh reality that I had been a pawn in Chase’s game.

Eventually, the crying ebbed, and I forced my shivering body into an upright position.

I forced myself to take slow steps toward the mirror and face the woman I had become.

Her reflection stared at me, her eyes hard, unforgiving, as if she was questioning my decision.

“Shut up,” I whispered to her and wrapped a towel around my shivering body, then returned to my room to change.

Everything felt empty now that I knew Chase would be gone. He didn’t say when he’d be leaving, but my heart was already missing him like crazy. A few times, I caught myself glancing toward the door in the hope he’d magically appear and tell me his plans had changed.

That’s when I noticed the piece of paper on the floor.

Chase. I knew it was from him.

I dashed for it, my breathing trapped in my chest, as I lifted the paper to read the beautiful cursive.



Laurie,



I don’t want to part like this. Please meet me at the beach.

The driver’s waiting for you downstairs. If you don’t want to come, I’ll respect your wishes. You’ll get your divorce papers nonetheless.

I promise.



-C



No xox. No love. Nothing. Only a simple word: promise.

Promise could mean a lot of things in Chase’s world. It could also mean nothing.

I couldn’t go. Of course, I couldn’t.

It was out of the question. And yet my heart longed to see him one more time. After all the crying, I felt as if the worst was over. I had accepted that things were over, that nothing would change his mind, that he’d sign the divorce papers after the twelve months were over, that things between Clint and I would never be the same again after what Chase was about to do—not that they were great to begin with.

I retrieved my phone from where I had left it on the bed and scrolled through my missed calls. Clint’s number showed up a few times. Sitting down, I speed-dialed his number, my pulse spiking.

“Hi, Clint.” My voice sounded different. Strangled. Defeated. As if a part of me had died.

“Lauren.” His fake voice echoed down the line. “How’s my favorite girl doing?”

I cringed at his choice of words. It wasn’t like he had a few daughters.

“I’m good.”

A pause, then, “Where are you? I’d like to talk to you.”

“I’d rather do this over the phone.”

Another heavy pause.

“Why are you making things difficult for me?” His tone was still friendly, but underneath I could hear the anger, the accusation. “I raised you as the good daughter you are and how are you repaying me? You steal the contract we had and go behind my back to file a court order. Now, don’t deny it. I know you’re behind it. It’s okay. You can admit it, and I promise I’ll forgive you. But right now, I need you to stop those childish antics and withdraw—”

“It wasn’t me,” I cut him off.

“What?”

“I didn’t steal the contract.”

“But you know what’s going on,” he said matter-of-factly. “You’re a clever girl. I don’t have to tell you that going against me won’t bring your mother back.”

My grip on my phone tightened. “How come you never say her name? In all the years since she’s been dead, you never once said her name.”

I let out a wry laugh as the realization dawned on me.

“Of course I know Eleanor’s name. You know how much I loved her. I think of her every day.”

“You’re lying,” I said. “You never told me what happened the day she died. You never told me what happened to her. It’s like she never existed. All the years, I spent at Waterfront Shore, it was like I never had a mother.”

“It’s because her memory’s too painful.”

“You knew her for only two years, Clint,” I said dryly.

“In spite of her mental illness, she was still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

His words touched me. They made me incredibly sad. But there was something calculating about the way he said them. Like he had practiced them.

“Is it true, did you destroy other people’s lives?” I asked. “Did you convince people to invest their money in their business before you took everything away from them?”

The silence lasted for a second. “What does that have to do with my estate?”

Not your estate or the estate.

My estate.

“You mean my mother’s estate?” I asked. “The estate that had been in my family for generations before you came along?”

“You know it’s mine. It’s what your mother wanted.”

“Did she?” I asked.

The silence was short, the reply hateful. “What are you talking about? Your mother was mentally ill, but she wanted me to have the estate.”

“Exactly.” I nodded, for the first time really seeing Chase’s point. “Was she even able to make a rational decision?”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at, but I swear, I’ll crush you.”

The threat was there, not veiled. Plain and simple.

“We’ll see,” I said.

“You greedy bitch,” Clint said. “I agreed to give you one quarter of the inheritance, and that’s how you repay me? You don’t deserve it. You hear me? If you don’t drop the case, I’m going to make you pay.”

I hung up, my fingers trembling at his harsh words.

It didn’t take long before the phone began to ring.

I counted the calls as I put on clean clothes. By the third time Clint called, I was long gone.





Chapter 21





I found him on the beach. It was a beautiful place, I had to give him that. Much less crowded than I had expected, and so close to the hotel. He was sitting on the white sand, his eyes fixed on the horizon. He didn’t turn his face to me as I dropped down next to him, stretching out my legs as far as I could. The water was sparkling blue, beckoning to me to take a swim, if only this vacation hadn’t turned out quite so unexpected. If only I didn’t know Chase was about to leave.


For a while, we sat there, the hot Mexican sun warming my skin, but not quite reaching my heart.

Chase spoke first. “I didn’t think you’d come.”