Page 47 of The Ring Thief
I hum thoughtfully. “I explained some of what happened.” She winces in sympathy when I grimace. “He was shocked, obviously, and rushed to tell me I could take longer if I needed. The idea of walking back in there and explaining to everyone what happened…” I shudder dramatically at the idea of facing everyone and announcing, ‘Oh, I’m actually not married, so…” is still horrifying, even weeks later.
“It’s not a reflection of you, what’s happened,” Sasha says fiercely. “It just says what a douchewaffle he is.”
“Maybe,” I murmur. “But it won’t stop people wondering how I couldn’t see it. They’ll think how could she be with him for a year and not know him at all? People will look at me like there’s something wrong with me, like I’m damaged goods.”
She makes a noise in her throat that drags me out of the chasm of self-pity I’m stuck in.
“What was that?”
She shoots me a bemused smile, but it doesn’t fool me. “What was what?”
“That noise,” I demand pointedly. “You made a noise.”
“It’s called breathing,” she says snootily. “Look, sometimes I have problems with my sinuses and it’s rude of you to point it out.”
I stare at her, but then switch gears. “You know what, I saw a post on Instagram the other day. From Lucas.”
Her eyes flare briefly, but she smooshes her expression into something disinterested. “Oh?”
“Yep, he was at a paint and sip night, which I thought was weird for him. He doesn’t seem the type.”
“I wouldn’t know,” she says airily. “And not sure why you’re telling me this. I don’t follow Luke, and I don’t particularly care where he was.”
I ignore her. “Well, there was an arm in the photo. A feminine arm.” She purses her lips, carefully averting her gaze. “And that arm had a bracelet on it.” I reach out and grip her wrist before she can twist away, yanking her arm up until we’re both looking at the delicate silver chain, a small daisy charm dangling off it. “And it looked suspiciously like this.”
Her mouth twitches. “I’m sure it’s a very common bracelet.” I stare back at her, waiting, until she finally looks away with a grumbled, “Goddamn Luke and social media. What kind of lawyer is he, anyway? Doesn’t he know that social media is the first place they look for evidence?”
I don’t let her derail me. “Are you and he…?” I mimic the move she made at Lolita’s, making a circle with my thumb and forefinger, and poking a finger through it vigorously.
She scowls darkly. “No. No. I’m not fucking Luke.” She makes a grunting kind of snort that has me biting back a smile. “He’s a total tool that thinks he’s god’s gift to women.” She lifts her nose in the air, yanking her arm away from me. “And have you heard from Voldemort?”
I’m the one looking away now. “Still not supposed to say his name.”
“Well, have you?”
I admit, “I haven’t seen him since he came by after the she-bitch’s visit.”
“I still can’t get over her audacity.” She shakes her head. “She knows it was fake, right? So, why the attempt to chase youoff?” I lift a shoulder, but Sasha doesn’t seem to need my input. “And how come she didn’t know you’d filed for an annulment?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“It’s weird he hasn’t contacted you, especially after what he did.”
I’d tried to avoid any mention of Declan, his family or her in the last two weeks, but it’d been near-impossible to miss the fallout after Declan had suddenly resigned as CEO of Nexus.
Was I mildly surprised he’d basically blown a crater-sized hole in his father’s company and then walked away, the world still smoking behind him?
Yes.
Did it change anything?
No.
Everything I said to him that day still stands. He didn’t have to agree to his father’s unhinged plan, and he could’ve done literally anything else but marry me under false pretenses, pretending like I would never find out the truth. And there’s no way I wouldn’t have found out, eventually; secret phone calls aside…which just leads into my other problem.
Sweetheart.
The sound of it still echoes through my brain, eerily similar to one of those kid’s toys where you know you shouldn’t but you push the button anyway, and an eternity passes before it stops.
