Page 251 of Champagne Nights

“You can’t tell anyone.”

“You know I won’t, Addison.”

“I asked Paulie for help. He hacked into her doctor’s computer system and peeked at her file.”

“What made you think she was lying?”

“When you told me about the night of her parent’s anniversary party and how your condoms were missing. I know you, Henry, and if you said you had just bought a box, and you thought it was strange they weren’t in there, I knew something wasn’t right.”

“You are way too smart.” The corners of my mouth curved upward.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m great now that Kirsten is out of my life forever. Now I need to work on getting Ellie to forgive me.”

“You can do it. Christian, take me to the Plaza Hotel, please.”

“Of course, Addison.”

“You don’t want to stay with me tonight at the penthouse?”

“Nah, I have that amazing suite Mom already paid for. I’m going to order a ton of room service and purchase every spa service available.” She smirked. “Can I have the day off tomorrow?”

“Yes. You have earned a day off, little sister.” I kissed her forehead. “I’m not too sure what my future holds at Walker Capital in light of all of this, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

ONE WEEK LATER

Ellie

I was so heartbroken I could barely breathe. Each day I woke up was a struggle. But I had no choice because there was work to be done. Five new clients contacted me for website designs that I needed to work on, and I had a painting to finish. I’d spent most of my days locked up in my apartment because I didn’t feel like going out and dealing with the real world. After I reluctantly told Joni what happened, she lectured me like I knew she would. But then she showed up at my door with my favorite pizza, a large bag of my favorite chips, and a gallon of my favorite ice cream. Then she spent the night and sat up with me while I cried on her shoulder. I’d been through heartbreak before, but nothing like this. I’d never felt so empty inside, and I hated him for doing this to me.

I had been working on a website design all day, and I was hungry, so I got up and went over to the refrigerator to grab something. When I opened the door, I stared inside the empty refrigerator. Grabbing my phone, I thought about placing an order for take-out. But I’d eventually have to go food shopping at some point. After slipping on my shoes, I grabbed my purse andheaded to the grocery store to pick up a few things. As I picked out some apples and placed them in a bag, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I froze when I saw Henry standing there.

“Hi,” he signed. “Can we talk?”

“Are you following me?” I signed without speaking because I didn’t want to cause a scene in the produce section.

“No. I just stopped to get a couple bags of spinach, and I saw you standing over here.”

“Leave me alone,” I signed and threw my bag of apples in the cart.

Suddenly, I felt his hand lightly grab my arm.

“Ellie, Kirsten’s baby isn’t mine,” he signed. “She slept with someone in Chicago when she was on a business trip.”

“Then the two of you are made for each other,” I signed.

“Ellie, please.”

“NO! I thought you were different from every other guy out there! I gave you my heart, and you took it and smashed it into a tiny million pieces,” I signed, and people stared at us as they walked by.

“The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you. I would do anything for you, Ellie. Anything.”

“Then you should have told me about her so I didn’t have to hear it from your mother. Just leave me alone, Henry. Please.” I took my cart and walked away before he saw the tears in my eyes.

After I paid for my groceries, I stepped outside and saw Christian standing there.

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