Page 77 of Sweet Ruin

Wes wasin his room when I arrived, but I wasn’t greeted by my normally cheerful boyfriend. He seemed distant, and I knew something was up when he didn’t move to kiss me or give me a hug when he answered the door. As I walked past him and into the room, I tried to reach out to him, but he stepped back. Seeing him recoil from me made my heart fall. I’d been worried about how Wes would react to all this, but I hadn’t even told him yet, and already it didn’t look good.

“I heard about Noah’s party,” he said once he’d closed the door behind him. “About his announcement and his arrangement with your father.”

“You already heard about last night?”

“Everyone’s heard, Isobel,” he said. “Did you grow up under a rock? It’s all anyone can talk about. It’s been on the news and everything. What I don’t understand is why I didn’t hear it from you.”

I thought he was being a little harsh, but I knew he was only lashing out because he was shocked and upset. How was I supposed to know that something like this would make the news? Maybe it was naïve of me not to have thought about it, but it’s not like I’d been in this kind of situation before.

“I didn’t realize,” I said. “And yes, compared to you, I did grow up under a rock.”

He winced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

I shrugged because I thought perhaps he had. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you last night. I was upset and just trying to process what had happened.”

“And what about you and Noah?”

“What about me and Noah?”

“Why were you in his car?”

The blood drained from my skin. “How do you know about that?”

“One of the guys on the rowing team saw you two in the parking lot. I was planning to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you got back an hour ago and didn’t even tell me.”

I was really getting sick of this school and the way nothing ever stayed secret for long. “I got a ride back to school with Noah because Cress is staying in New York for an extra couple of days and my father wants us to play nice. I’ve been with Anna since I got back. I was going to tell you.”

“Were you?”

"Of course, I was.”

“And you think I’m just supposed to believe nothing’s happening between you two now?”

“Yeah, I do,” I said. “Just like when you asked me to believe you about that photo of you and Sarah.”

“That’s different.”

“Is it? Because you asked me to trust you, and I did. Now, I’m asking the same.”

“I trust you. You know I do,” he said. “It’shimI don’t trust.”

I let out a sigh.

“Seriously, Isobel. Noah betrayed his grandfather to side with your family. Can you really tell me he doesn’t still have feelings for you?”

It seemed like Wes thought Noah’s sole reason for the takeover were his feelings for me. There’s no way he could have known the true reasons, but it showed how anxious he was about me and Noah. I couldn’t tell him the full truth behind Noah’s and Matthew’s actions, but even if I did, I suspected Wes would still believe Noah was partly motivated by me.

“Noah didn’t do it to simply side with my family,” I said. “He certainly didn’t do it for me. He had other reasons. But Noah’s feelings aren’t the ones that matter. Mine are.”

“I realize that,” Wes murmured. “And I know you had strong feelings for him.”

“Had,” I emphasized and walked toward him. This time, he didn’t move away, and he let me place my hands on his chest. “And Ihavestrong feelings for you. Noah is my past, and you are my future.

“It’s just hard not to worry that might change now,” he admitted.

“Wes, you’re the only one I want to be with, and nothing that’s happened changes that. I told Noah as much on the drive back. He knows how I feel about you.”

“You did?”

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