Page 88 of In Love with Lewis Prescott
There’s a cold detachment to his voice that I don’t recognize. It leaves me speechless.
“Lewis, what are you... You can’t mean that. You know that I’m different from your parents. So is my family. They’d never hurt you like that.”
“But they did.”
I tug a hand through my hair, hoping that the sudden sharp pain is a reset for the chaotic swirl of thoughts muddling my brain. It isn’t.
That stony look on his face remains. He’s clearly unmoved by my pleading and desperate tone.
“Lewis, my family and friends are trustworthy. For fuck’s sake, I told my cousin Naomi about you the day you moved in after we bumped into each other in the hallway and I accidentally grabbed your junk. She’s known about you the whole time, and she didn’t peep a word. Same with my friend Maren. She’s known about you almost from the get-go.”
He hops to his feet. “What the hell, Harper? Did you tell everyone about me?” He mutters a curse before going back to packing. “God, no wonder the paparazzi are swarming this place.”
My stomach churns at how disgusted and cruel his tone is.
“Lewis, it was your idea to have the wedding here. Don’t try to put all the blame for this mess on me and my family.”
He stops before slumping forward and resting his hands on his knees. “You’re right.” He looks so defeated.
“Look, I’m sorry I told them. You’re right, I shouldn’t have. But Maren and Naomi didn’t rat you out. Don’t you see that? They knew about you and kept you a secret because I asked them to—because they knew it was the right thing to do. Because your privacy meant something to them. And they don’t even know you...”
He yanks the zippers shut on both of his suitcases and glances up at me standing over him. When he stands to his full height and gazes down at me, his eyes glisten with unshed tears.
“We’re from two different worlds. I see that now.”
I recognize his muttered words as the same ones I spoke to him the morning after we exchangedI love yous. My chest tightens. My heart is either shattering into a billion pieces or I’m about to have a coronary.
“I made a mistake,” he continues. “I let my feelings for you cloud my judgment. I shouldn’t have been open about who I am to your family. I should have just left the day of the wedding.”
My lips tremble as I try my hardest not to burst into tears.
“I know you didn’t mean for this to happen, Harper. But I can’t go through this again. My privacy means everything to me, and I can’t have someone in my life who’s going to compromise that, even if it wasn’t intentional.”
Despite the tears pooling in my eyes, I nod my understanding. For a minute we stand and look at each other.
I swallow back the sob I’m aching to let loose. “I’m sorry, Lewis.”
“Me too.” He clears his throat while looking down at me.
He starts to move his forearm like he’s going to reach for me, but then it drops back to his side. My entire body goes cold.
“Goodbye, Harper.”
When he walks past me, I don’t move or speak. I stay planted in that spot while listening to Lewis’s footsteps echo down the hall and out the front door. There’s a blast of shouts, but the door slams shut and the noise turns muffled. A second later I break.
“How are you holding up? You can be honest. It’s me, Harper.”
Naomi’s concerned tone as I speak to her on the phone is both a comfort and a curse. A comfort because knowing that she cares enough to call and check up on me while on her honeymoon means everything. It’s a curse because every time she checks up on me, it’s a reminder of what I lost.
I take a slow, quiet breath and focus on the yellow letters of the Glad You’re Here sign that hangs above the office building where I’m parked. When I don’t burst into tears, I count it as a win.
“You’ve said that every time you’ve called me. I’m fine, Naomi.”
Even I’m surprised at how composed I sound. My tone is steady and firm. I definitely don’t sound like the heartbroken mess that I am. I definitely don’t sound like I spent every night of the last two weeks crying myself to sleep.
“I don’t believe you,” Naomi says.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you then,” I mutter.
