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“Then what do you want?”
The bartender comes around to clear the table, but I can tell he’s keeping his ears on the conversation. A couple of men enter the bar, and my gaze follows them as they take their seats.
“I’m going to Tristan with this,” I shrug. You’re done.”
Luke laughs, then picks his glass up and drinks his Guinness. “It’s my word against yours, and last I checked, you’re the bitch who slept with her sister’s husband.” A foam mustache lay across his upper lip.
His word stings, but I retain my smile. I remove my phone from my pocket—the red dot on the screen blinking to indicate the recording. Luke stares at it, confused, and then his eyes widen as he understands.
“You wouldn’t—”
“I already sent a picture of you meeting Miles to Tristan.” I shake the phone and return my other hand to my pocket with the pregnancy strip. “This is just the nail in the proverbial coffin, Lukey boy.”
Luke lunges at me to grab the phone. I pull my hand out of my pocket to fight off his lunge, and the small plastic strip falls on the floor. Luke’s grip tightens around my arm as he glances at the fallen object. His eyes widen as he recognizes what he’s looking at, but before he can speak, I yell.
“Help!” I scream, flailing my arms. “He won’t take no for an answer! Help me, please!”
The men all rise at the same time, and Luke lets me go almost immediately. They gather him in a twinkle of an eye, and just as fast, I slip out of the smokey bar.
The rain has stopped. I flag a cab and jump into it before Luke comes out and tries to follow me. As the cab gets lost in the yellow sea of cabs, I pull out my phone and send the recordings and pictures to Tristan.
I am considering adding more texts. I think I should tell him I’m sorry, tell him I needed to see him and Ruby again, and tell him about the baby—our baby.
Instead, I block him and then delete his number.
Tristan said he never wanted to see me again. I will respect his wishes and be a good person who doesn’t put her selfishness above others for once. My hands rest on my stomach as I look out the window, trying to imagine my new life.
The sun shines brightly, and I take it as a sign of new beginnings.
Chapter thirty
Tristan
Istand at the floor-to-ceiling window in my office and look out at the sprawling city skyline in the evening light. My large desk is behind me as I watch. I can make out an obscure reflection of myself in the glass—my black suit and white shirt looking too formal for what I’m here for. I checked my watch, and it was almost 6 p.m.
My phone is clutched in my fingers like a gun, ready to shoot accusatory bullets at Luke once he steps in. He betrayed me, and I want to know why. I wonder where Layla is. Her parents—it’s still weird to think Ellen and Jacob are her parents—don’t know where she is.
I wonder if she’s okay. I accused her wrongly, but that doesn’t absolve her of the lies she told me. The weeks of deceit while I slowly came around to like and trust her. I’m not sure I’m ready to look for her or if I ever will.
Perhaps that chapter of my life is closed.
As it opens, the glass door creaks behind me, and I turn around to regard Luke. He’s wearing a white shirt tucked into black pants, and his eyes are bloodshot like he’s been drinking. One look at him, and I know he knows I know.
Luke smiles all the same and approaches me. “Hey, man, I didn’t know you’d be in New York today. That’s crazy.”
“Luke.” My cold voice stops him in his tracks.
“Are you good?” He asks, his brows raising. “Do you want some water? Man, what happened to your hair?”
“Cut the shit, Luke.” I bypass the desk and approach him. “Just stop the lies. Stop acting like you’re my friend.”
“Tristan, what are you talking about? I’m you—”
“Stop the fucking lies, man!” I close the gap between us till we’re inches apart. Luke’s eyes widen, then he takes a step back. “Just stop.”
Luke sighs deeply before speaking, then runs a hand through his perfectly slicked hair. “It isn’t what you think.”
“You weren’t feeding information to Miles? You weren’t behind the hit pieces?” I shake my fist at him. “You! Luke, my best friend! How could you do this to me?”
