I can hear Sasha arguing in my head that I’ve already fallen apart, but I think I deserve a little leeway here. She’s lucky I’m not curled into a ball in the corner, honestly.
Once I feel like my brain won’t actually implode on all thewhat the fuck’scircling, I tell Dad unwaveringly, “That doesn’t change anything.”
He lifts his head, giving me an assessing look. “Are you sure? You don’t think we should?—”
“It changes nothing,” I insist, lips thinning. I shake my head as the word sweetheart rings in my ears, a strident, infuriating echo. This isn’t just about Hi-Tech, and him finding a way out of the deal that should never have happened isn’t enough, especially when he only did it because he got caught.
Too little, too late.
Derisive amusement races through me, knowing that now he’s lost both the company and me. I hope that failure feels like teeny tiny shards of glass piercing his lungs with every single breath; a never-ending painful reminder of everything his own arrogance and ambition had cost him.
Not wanting to sound like the bitter shrew I’m beginning to feel like, I hold my tongue, looking up to find my dad leveling me with a piercing look. I meet it head-on without flinching, and he frowns, but a knock on the door stops his words before they can form.
I look over my shoulder as Julie pushes the door open just enough to stick her head in.
“Dinner’s ready,” she announces cheerfully, her eyes bouncing between the two of us curiously. “I lied about it keeping, so I hope you’ve had enough time to sort out your issues.” She pauses, then chuckles to herself. “Never mind, there’s not enough time in the world for that, so you’d better have worked up your appetites, at least.” She’s gone as fast as she appeared.
Unable to help myself, I chuckle quietly, some of the tension leaching from my bones. “She’s something else.”
He huffs, grumbling, “She’s proof that someone can work for you for too long.” I look over at him, just in time to catch something flickering through his eyes that peaks my curiosity. “Come on then, Lilypad. Let’s eat before she comes after us.” He gives a dramatic shudder, eyes wide with mock fear. “She knows where to hit to make it hurt.”
Julie joins us for dinner at Dad’s insistence, sitting on his left, while I’m on his right. The conversation flows easily enough, a silent pact that we avoid talking about anything Declan. I appreciate the break. It lets me pretend that outside the walls of this house, my world isn’t completely falling apart, and my stress levels drop until I feel almost normal.
Dad disappears back into his home office after we finish. I help Julie clean up, the two of us working in quiet unison. When the last dish is put away, I give her a tight smile.
“I’m gonna head out. Tell Dad goodnight for me?”
“Of course.” She watches me, her expression concerned, but after a few seconds, it clears. “You’ll be okay, Lily,” she says confidently. “You’re strong, and this isn’t the thing that knocks you down.”
“I already feel like I’ve been knocked down and stomped on.”
She tilts her head to the side, eyes shining with pride. “It might feel like that right now, but you’ll see the truth soon.”
I want to believe her, but I stood in front of everyone and vowed tolove a man who’d never spoken a single honest truth to me, so I was feeling skeptical. But I don’t argue, just giving her a hug before ducking out, needing time alone to process everything that happened that afternoon.
In my car, I twirl my keys around my finger, eyeing my bag. Before I can second guess the move, I put the keys down and pull out my phone, opening my thread with Sasha.
Lily: Did you know?
Sasha: That I’m amazing in all ways? Yes. My mom tells me every day.
Lily: She does not. I’ve heard her call you weird.
Sasha: If my truth wasn’t what you wanted, you should have been more specific.
Lily: Sigh.
Sasha: That doesn’t have the same effect through text.
Sasha: Consider me *unmoved*.
Lily: Did you know Declan backed out of the sale?
She calls me, yelling before I can even get the phone to my ear. “What the fuck?!”
“I know,” I murmur back, picking at a thread on my seat.
“So, what?” she demands, fury thrumming through her voice. “He literally did it all for nothing then?”
