Page 84 of Conflagration
I stop instantly when I open the door to Branson’s office. My current and former fiancés are eyeing each other, and slowly, they both turn to me. A look of satisfaction crosses Ben’s face, while Branson looks at me with pure disdain as he snaps a pen in half.
“What the hell is going on? What are you doing here, Ben?”
He turns back to Branson. “We’re done here. I have nothing left to say, Wellington.”
“Yeah, we’re fucking done,” Branson growls, causing my blood to run cold. I’ve never heard him sound so taciturn, unfeeling, angry, and I don’t understand why.
With a nod, Ben shifts his gaze to me as he stands. “I’m sorry, Ariana, but I thought he deserved to know the truth before he ended up making the biggest mistake of his life. After all, I should thank you from making sure I didn’t do the same.” His tone sounds so sincere, and I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about or what game he’s trying to play.
“Excuse me?” I hiss, seething that this poor excuse of a man thinks he can come here and try to ruin my very existence.
“Oh, give it up. He knows everything.” Just as he starts to pass me, he leans in close, whispering in my ear, “Everything.”
I shudder and wonder how I ever allowed myself to come so close to marrying him. Pushing him away, I glare at him.
“Get the fuck out of my office. Now,” Branson fumes, and when I look at him, I can no longer read his expression.
With one last head nod, Benjamin leaves, and I stand in the doorway, unsure of how to approach Branson.
“Close the door, Ariana,” Branson says, his voice low and husky.
I do as he asked but don’t move any farther into the office. “What was Megan doing here? Or Ben for that matter?”
“Let’s just say…she was enlightening me. For some reason, my ex thought it’d be a great idea to meet yours. And, well, enlightening it was.”
“I don’t understand,” I say, racking my brain on what Megan could possibly know about me that would matter to him.
“Have a seat.” He gestures towards the chair in front of his desk, leaning back in his own. All anger seems to have faded, and while that should make me feel better, it does little to relieve me. His demeanor is now calculating, and he’s looking at me not as the woman he loves but as if I’m an annoyance he has to deal with. Some employee to be reprimanded. A bug to squash.
Lifting my chin, I plant my feet firmly into the carpet. “No, thank you. I’d rather stand.”
“Suit yourself,” he retorts as he holds out a file to me. “This is why Megan was here.”
As much as I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of caring what Megan wanted, curiosity gets the better of me. I slowly walk forward, my hands shaking as I take it from him.
“Now, I don’t believe for a second Megan gave me this information for altruistic reasons. She has an ulterior motive, and unfortunately for her, it won’t work. I, however, am somewhat interested in what she brought to my attention. Care to tell me about these?”
I open the file and my breath catches when I see newspaper clippings and what look like financial reports. The first clipping is a wedding announcement for Ben and me, which is followed by the notice of postponement. My eyes widen as I scan the financials, and I suck in a deep breath, steadying myself on the chair beside me, as I put two and two together, knowing exactly what Megan was trying to prove to Branson. What Ben was lying about.
I should protest. I should deny, deny, deny. Because the truth is that this is the first time I’m seeing these reports. I had no inkling that Covington and Cunningham was having financial trouble, and I certainly wasn’t privy to the fact that my own father was on the verge of bankruptcy. In fact, I thought they were flourishing and that’s why they were so eager for Benjamin to come on board. So both our fathers could retire and he’d take over their dual roles. None of this is making sense, but Branson seems to have it all figured out.
“All you’ve done is trade in one for the other.”
Megan’s words from the hospital ring in my ear, and when I look up from the file to see Branson’s expression, I have no doubt that she reminded him of that fact. He is placing me in the same category as her. Everything I never wanted to be is what he now thinks I am.
With one look, one expression, and without him having to say a word, my world shatters.
My heart breaks.
The fragile bubble I built around us that I thought was finally bulletproof explodes into a million tiny pieces, and I know I’ll never be able to pick them back up again.
“I didn’t know,” I whisper, sounding meek and pathetic, my own voice causing me to cringe.
“He said you’d say that.” He lets out a small laugh, shaking his head. “I’d almost hoped he was wrong. Do you remember the night of our first date?”
“Of course. It was one of the best nights of my life.”
“That night, you told me you’d overheard something and that’s why you ran out on him.”
