Page 113 of Abyss

With that, I hastily leave them, almost sprinting to my room as if being chased, before shutting the door behind me.

I lean against the door, trying to catch my breath, when I hear Madison’s incredulous question. “Wait.She lives here?How long?”

Fuck! This is a disaster.

I had every intention of telling Madison the truth—especially after her wedding when Hudson and I established there was more between us—but with her finding out like this, I look like the world’s biggest asshole. Like a friend who not only betrayed her trust, but who exploited her generosity.

She got me this job when I was in a desperate place, struggling to make ends meet, and how do I repay her? By sleeping with her dad.

Of course she’d look disappointed and betrayed. Of course she’d chuckle without an ounce of humor. I’ve fucking deceived her, and she’s literally the only close friend I have.

Not waiting to listen to Hudson’s response to his daughter, I quickly wiggle into a pair of ripped jeans and a T-shirt, securing Nathan’s old red and blue flannel around my waist.

I step out with my purse in hand, because as much as I want to confess and have this conversation with her, I’m not sure she’s looking for an explanation from me first. And if Hudson and I were on the same page with regards to our relationship, I would have tackled this alongside him together.

But given the way it stands now, I decide to go for a walk and give them some privacy to speak alone.

My hope is, once he’s spoken to her, Madison and I can have a heart-to-heart about everything.

She’s reasonable and compassionate, and I’m confident that once she understands how her dad feels about me, we can have a more meaningful conversation. And given that Hudson’s been clear that he does care about me, I can only hope that the tension between all of us—especially the one I felt between Madison and I—will be resolved quickly.

Stepping into the hallway, I pause, gathering my thoughts and my nerves, before striding toward Hudson and Madison on the couch. Our dinner delivery sits untouched on the kitchen counter, the scent of the Thai takeout we’d ordered now making my stomach turn.

I give them both a tentative smile, noting the way Hudson averts his gaze when I look at him. “I’m going to step out for a little bit and give you guys some time to chat.”

Madison rises off the couch, stepping toward me with a softer expression than ten minutes ago. “Kavi, I didn’t mean to come off so . . . harsh—”

“No.” I shake my head as a bolt of sadness hits my chest. I have no idea how to process it, but it feels like everything—her graciousness, Hudson’s strange response, and my own guilt—is winding like a coil inside me. It’s all I can do to notsob. “Your reaction was completely valid, Madison. I just need to get some air.”

With her blonde hair resting over her shoulders, she steps closer, gently taking hold of my biceps. “I get it, but can we talk later?”

God, I wish she’d tell me to fuck off. I wish she’d rage at me about being the deceitful, ungrateful friend I’ve been.

I can barely keep my tears at bay as I nod vigorously before rushing toward the exit.

But it’s not any of that that has me sobbing as soon as I’m outside the door, leaning against the adjacent wall. It’s the fact that not once did Hudson object to me leaving. Not once did he utter a word of his usual concern.

And then it’s the next words out of his mouth—ones I wasn’t supposed to hear, but ones I’m hearing, nonetheless, as I stand outside his front door—that seal our fate, cracking my heart right down the middle.

“Everything just got out of hand. You know me. I can barely manage a relationship in the same city; it was crazy of me to think I could manage something long-distance.” He takes a long pause before clearing his throat. “The terms were clear. It was never meant to be more than a fling.”

I suck in a frayed breath, my fingers trembling over my lips, trying to hold in my sob, along with my urge to vomit. It’s as if I’m being hurled into a past I’ve tried to lock into that small closet I was stuck inside for hours, bleeding and begging to be let out.

The terms were clear . . .

“The terms were clear for your little friend Nate here: pay up on time or pay the price. The rich don’t get richer by making exceptions.”

A void opens up inside me, cavernous and unending, as his words swirl around me. The terms were clear? To fucking whom? Definitely not to me.

I wanted to believe he was different—unlike any of the callused rich pricks I’d had the misfortune of running into during my childhood. But clearly, Vance was right about one more thing—the rich didn’t get richer by making exceptions. And I wasn’t an exception to Hudson, either.

It was never meant to be more than a fling . . .

The two murmur a few more words, but I can’t grasp any of it through the blood pounding inside my ears until I hear Hudson deliver his final blow. A blow that seals our fate. “I’m going to have to be honest with her when she comes back. She deserves that.”

Walking away on wobbly legs, I nod as streams of tears cascade down my cheeks, dripping onto the collar of my old shirt. This was never meant to be more than a fling, was it?

He’d known. He’d seen it exactly for what it was.

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