Page 57 of Take the Wheel

The groom stood in the doorway, Cal, still in his sharp wedding suit, his tie slightly loosened, as if the day had finally started to wear him down.

Ari gave him her most chipper smile. ‘Mr Paris. What’s up?’

His jaw tightened. ‘I just want to understand what happened.’

Ari sat forward, resting her forearms on her knees. ‘Let me guess. She told me I gave her the necklace out of the goodness of my heart, and now I’ve gone off the deep end because she got married? Maybe threw in a few tears?’

His throat bobbed. ‘She said you forced your way into her room.’

‘Well, that part is true, I guess. But I had my reasons.’

Cal shook his head. ‘I don’t know, Ari. Youdidhave the necklace. And she—’ He broke off, rubbing a hand over his jaw. ‘She wouldn’t just make all of this up.’

Ari scoffed. ‘Wouldn’t she?’

A pause. A long one. He wasn’t stupid, just foolish. And there was a difference.

She held his gaze. ‘Paris’s a liar. And sooner or later, she’s going to turn on you, too. And the reason won’t make any sense. It’ll just happen. It’s who she is.’

His fingers twitched at his sides. She could see the doubt growing, the slow unravelling of whatever story he’d been clinging to.

Ari let out a slow breath. ‘You know, I almost feel bad for you.’

His eyes snapped back to hers, sharp with irritation. ‘I don’t need your pity.’

‘No?’ She tilted her head. ‘Then why are you down here? Why not let security handle me? Why not let Paris’s version of events be the end of it?’

He shifted on his feet, hands slipping into his pockets, shoulders tight. ‘I wanted to hear it from you.’

‘No, you wanted me to give you an excuse to believe her.’ Ari said. ‘You married someone who lies as easily as breathing, and deep down, you know it. But you’re in too deep, so you’re doing what I did. You tell yourself it’s notthatbad. That there’s another explanation.’

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything.

Ari exhaled, shaking her head. ‘Because she has this way of making you feel likeyou’re the problem. Like every time she took something from you, your trust, your dignity, it was your fault for giving it to her.’

A flicker of something crossed his face. Recognition. ‘No, she’s not like that. She works so hard to give people things. You don’t see that. The foundation…’

‘Sounds like a good cover,’ Ari shrugged.

He blinked. ‘What do you mean?’

‘She uses the charity, right?’ Ari said.

He looked surprised. ‘Every penny goes where it needs to be,’ he said defensively.

‘No, I mean, she uses the image of the do-gooder,’ Ari told him. ‘It’s the perfect disguise for a narcissist.’

He looked away, staring at some fixed point on the far wall. ‘She’s not like that. You never really knew her. You didn’t know how to love her. That’s all she needs. I can do that.’

‘Look,’ Ari said, her voice quieter now. ‘I don’t care if you believe me. I’m done trying to convince people of the truth. But you should be thinking about what happens when it’syouin this chair. When she decides that whatever you’ve got is hers to take. And if you’re smart, you’ll start figuring out what that looks likenow, before it’s too late.’

His fingers flexed at his sides, tension rolling off him. He looked like a man standing at the edge of a cliff, trying to convince himself not to look down.

Finally, he blew out a breath and dragged a hand through his hair. ‘I—’ He hesitated, then let out a rough laugh, humourless. ‘I have to go back upstairs.’

Of course he did. He wasn’t ready yet. Maybe he never would be.

‘Yeah,’ Ari muttered. ‘Have a great wedding.’

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