Page 56 of Sweet Ruin

I left dinner feeling no more or less certain if I was doing the right thing in keeping quiet for Veronica. My conversation with the girls sure hadn’t helped convince me either way. The only thing I seemed to have learned was that I wasn’t the only one who thought they were a terrible match, which, although reassuring, wasn’t going to help me sleep better at night.

I’d told Veronica I’d keep the information to myself until next weekend though. So, I was just going to have to stick to my word and hope the time passed by fast so I could hear her explanation sooner rather than later.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Ifound it far easier than I expected to keep Veronica’s secret over the next week. Mostly because Noah refused to help me with our business management assignment, so I couldn’t have told him even if I wanted to.

I still couldn’t believe we’d been paired together, but I was doing my best to approach the whole situation maturely and leave my emotions aside. But every time I tried to talk to him about the assignment, he said we’d discuss it later and walked away. Of course, later never came. I knew we had a few weeks before it was due, but it was frustrating not being able to at least get a start on the project.

I shouldn’t have been surprised Noah was avoiding me. He’d made it clear multiple times he wanted nothing to do with me, but the chasm between us only seemed to be growing larger. I wondered if his hatred for me was being fueled every weekend when he went to spend time with his grandfather. Seeing William at Luther’s party had reminded me how intensely that man despised me, and I knew how much he influenced his grandson.

There was one moment during the week, however, when I briefly questioned the hostility between Noah and me. Just one. It was Noah’s eighteenth birthday on Tuesday, and a cake was organized for him at dinner. He’d barely cracked a smile as they’d placed the cake in front of him. The whole dining hall was singing happy birthday to him, and yet he didn’t seem all that pleased. He likely had something much more extravagant planned for his birthday celebrations, so this was probably no more than an inconvenience to him.

But when he lowered his head to blow out his candles, his expression changed. His eyes lifted to mine, and for a moment, something flared between us. There was passion in his gaze, but I couldn’t tell whether it came from a place of animosity or somewhere else. Whatever the emotion was, I felt it with such intensity that it briefly took my breath away. His eyes danced with mischief as he lowered his mouth and blew out his candles. The moment was over as soon as those flames had guttered though, and I questioned whether it had happened at all.

I spent the rest of the week counting down the hours until my trip to New York. Matthew had invited me to join him for some work event on Saturday night, and while I wasn’t all that excited about the function, I was looking forward to spending time in the city with him.

I was even more excited about the drive to New York. Cress’s parents had arrived in the city, and she was visiting them for the weekend, which meant we’d be road-tripping to New York together—Cress driving, of course.

We left straight after school on Friday, and the trip was so much fun. We chatted about our boyfriends, sang along to the Spotify playlist she’d put together for the journey at the top of our voices, and ate so many snacks we were both feeling slightly ill before too long.

When the jagged New York skyline rose up ahead of us, I let out a squeak of delight. I had so many great memories from my last trip to New York. I’d been sightseeing with my friends and had gotten to know my father a little better. And it was the place Wes and I shared our first kiss, which was pretty unforgettable.

My previous trip to the city had also included its fair share of drama and food poisoning—both things I was eager to avoid this time.

“Thanks for driving me,” I said as Cress pulled up outside my father’s apartment building.

"Anytime,” she said, reaching out to give me a tight hug. “Thanks for letting me sing Taylor Swift songs on repeat the whole way here.”

“Not a problem.”

I climbed out of the car, got my bag from the back, and waved at Cress through the window as she moved off down the street. It was sad to say goodbye even though I’d see her for the drive back on Sunday. I spent every day with Cress, and it felt weird to know she wouldn’t be sleeping in the bed next to mine that night.

As I entered the building, the concierge welcomed me and helped me carry my bag to the elevator, which I took to the very top floor. As the doors opened on the penthouse level, I found my father’s butler, Caldwell, waiting just inside the entrance.

“Miss Isobel.” He greeted me with his familiar condescending drone.

“Caldwell.” I smiled back as sweetly as I could. “How are you?”

“Very well, thank you.”

“Good to hear. Is my father—"

I didn’t get a chance to finish my question as a high-pitched squeal sounded from inside the apartment.

“Isobel!” My mom dashed toward me and pulled me into her arms.

“Mom?” I gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Surprise!” She squealed again as she stepped out of my grasp. “Matthew invited me to join you both for the weekend. And things are so quiet at the café I couldn’t bring myself to say no.”

“You’re spending the weekend with us?” It was hard to contain my excitement.

“I sure am.”

“You actually left the café for a whole weekend for the second time in a month?”

“I did.” She sounded so proud of herself, and I had to admit I was proud of her too. It took courage to step away from work when it was your entire livelihood. Mom found it nearly impossible to hand over control to someone else, but she didn’t need to worry because I knew Norma would have everything in order while she was gone.

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