“Yep,” I say.
“Well, fuck,” she breathes. “So… what now?”
I give her the low-down on my conversation with Dad, and she fills in any gaps with noises andI told you so’s, finally musing, “An annulment. And it just wipes it away? Like it neverhappened?”
“Like waves against footprints in the sand,” I murmur. “Like he was never even there.”
“Don’t think it’ll wash away the pain so easily.” Neither of us says anything for a moment, and then Sasha asks, “How did he get out of it? The deal.”
“Dad didn’t give me specifics, just said Declan had found a loophole. And Dad admitted he didn’t fight too hard to stop it from happening.” My mouth twists in a puzzled frown. “Or not happening, I guess.”
“You said you told your dad everything today,” she states. “Do you think…? Did he already know?”
“How could he have?” I ask dumbly.
“Lily, what’re the chances he let Declan back out of the deal without any kind of explanation? And with you going AWOL?”
I freeze, cursing myself for not realizing. “God. This is just… freaking hell. Dad was so vague about it all, but you’re right. They must’ve talked. But Dad, he—” my words cut off as realization brightens, like a dimmer bulb being slowly turned up.
“He, what?” Sasha prompts impatiently, oblivious to the mental gymnastics that are taking place in my head.
I sigh, leaning forward to smack my forehead against the top of the steering wheel.
“He wasn’t surprised,” I share quietly. “He was surprised to find me there, but he wasn’t shocked by what I told him. He was just—” My throat bobs on a swallow. “He was disappointed I didn’t come to him, but he was kind of flat, like he’d?—”
“Had time to prepare,” she finishes for me.
“Exactly.”
“Why’s he doing this?” I ask desperately, and she doesn’t have to ask who I’m talking about.
“I don’t know, babe. But you need to decide how badly you want answers, and whether talking to him would be worth it.”
“I keep hearing that phone call on repeat in my head.” My breath hisses out, renewed anger burrowing under my skin. “And then I remember Silvia knew all along that it was never real between me and him.” Shame flushes my cheeks, but I refuse to let it settle in. Thisisn’t on me; it’s all on him. “He led me around like a puppet on a string and they all knew—his friends, his family, probably his colleagues. Everyone but me. I’m the last one in on the joke, and only after he publicly humiliated me. He doesn’t deserve for me to hear him out.” The declaration settles in my heart, and I know it’s the right choice. Declan might want the last word, a chance to sway me, but he doesn’t deserve it. I’ll find my closure another way.
“Sing it, sister,” Sasha cheers loudly into my ear, making me smile. “So, nothing’s changed for you then?”
“No,” I say firmly. “I told Dad the same thing, it doesn’t change a single thing. It doesn’t take back what he did or undo the pain he caused. And it doesn’t explain?—”
“Silvia,” she hums. “But he told you they were just friends?”
“Tell you what,” I grouse, “I don’t talk to my friends that way, and I definitely wasn’t secretly chatting to any other men on my honeymoon.”
“Men have done dumber things,” Sasha says. “He grew up with her, right?”
“Yeah, their fathers are extremely close.”
“And he told you he saw her as a sister.” I scoff, but she ignores me, theorizing, “So, maybe he sees everything she does through rose-colored glasses, blind to the woman she’s become because he still sees the innocent girl he grew up with.”
“I don’t think that bitch was ever innocent,” I mumble, thinking of all the pictures and messages I’d received this week. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
She lets out a knowing little hum that makes me want to slap her, but stops pushing. “Alright, I’ll buy what you’re selling. For now. Are you coming back here?”
I think for a second, before shaking my head, even though she can’t see it. “No, it’s time to put this all behind me,” I say, infusing my voice with a confidence I don’t feel. “It’s time to go home.”
CHAPTER 14
Declan
