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I feel like he's just punched me in the gut. “She’s moving in?”
“We have to make this look real, Drix," Dalton continues, his voice low and serious. "But don’t worry she’ll have her own suite.”
“That does not make me feel any better,” I mutter, my mind reeling with the implications of all this.
Moving to stand, Dalton reaches into the inside pocket of his coat, pulling out a magazine and dropping it onto the bench. “This was published two days ago,” he says, gesturing to the glossy cover featuring Robert and Melody smiling on the front steps of the hotel. “According to Robert, the magazine sold just as many copies covering their wedding as it did when the latest Royals tied the knot.”
I let out a humourless laugh. “That man is delusional. What a dick.”
Dalton shrugs nonchalantly, but then locks eyes with me as his expression turns serious once again. “I have one more thing I want to say before I leave.”
“Yeah, and what’s that?” I ask, bracing myself for whatever truth bomb he's about to drop.
“Don’t you think you owe it to Daisy to at least try to salvage your relationship with Lia?”
Dalton's words hit me like a sledgehammer. It's a reminder of all the things I've been avoiding. “Don’t tell me what to fucking do, Dalton," I snap, my anger flaring up again.
“Then don’t be a selfish prick," he retorts, his voice sharp and unyielding. "Stop hiding out here when you have a real chance at happiness. Some of us don't have that luxury–believe me, I should know," he adds bitterly before turning on his heel and striding out of the gym leaving me speechless.
Exhausted and jittery, I plop down on the sofa in my flat above the gym and cradle a steaming cup of black coffee in my hands. Letting out a heavy sigh, I try to process Dalton's advice, but my thoughts are a chaotic mess. The impending wedding between my best friend and my little sister swirls through my mind, a tempest of conflicting emotions that leaves me feeling overwhelmed and disoriented. On one hand, Daisy's sacrifice has already benefited me greatly–it has lifted me from the crippling debt and has given me the opportunity to find happiness. But at what cost? How can I justify allowing Daisy to tie herself to someone else for my sake? Selfishness gnaws at me, threatening to consume any sense of rationale or morality. And yet, here I sit, miserable and lost in this whirlwind of complicated feelings because ultimately I want a chance to make things work with Lia and Toby. I want them in my life for good.
Placing my cup on the coffee table, I pick up the magazine Dalton left behind in the gym and flip through the pages. Each picture tells a story of a perfect wedding between two people in love. Their happy expressions caught on camera, the written article accompanying it spinning a story of romance and devoted love. In contrast my life feels like a messy, unedited draft of a story.
As I flip through the pages, my eyes lock on to a picture of Lia and me, caught in an intimate dance with our lips locked in a kiss. At the sight of it my love is like a spark inside of me that grows into a blazing fire.
God, how I love her.
As much as I hate to admit it, Dalton is right. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t at least try to set things straight with Lia. No more putting off the inevitable, I need her to hear what I have to say. Getting into bed, I vow that first thing in the morning I’m going to fight for the woman I love.
Early the next morning, the sharp trill of my phone drags me out of my sleep, and I push upright, blinking as my eyes adjust to the light. On my bedside table, the LED light from my alarm clock tells me it’s just after seven am. Reaching for my phone, I glance at the screen. A sharp pang of dread shoots through my stomach when I see that it's an incoming call from Daisy. Is she calling me to say that Lia has left already?
"Daisy?" I grunt into the phone, my voice strained.
"Drix, you need to come home now," she whispers urgently. "Martin's here."
Martin? Fuck, no!
And then it hits me, the photo in the magazine.
"Shit!" I blurt out, fear creeping into my veins, a sudden wave of panic washing over me. “Where are you now?”
“With Toby. I heard the commotion and locked us both in his bedroom, but Lia is downstairs with him. He barged his way in, Drix. He’s going to hurt her!.”
I hear the sound of Toby’s sobs in the background, and it’s all I can do not to lose my damn mind. “Stay right where you are, and as soon as you hang up, call the police. I’m coming.”
THIRTY-FOUR
LIA
“You fucking whore, shacked up with another man!” Martin shouts, his voice filled with rage as I back up against the sofa, my whole body trembling with fear as my gaze locks onto his. I can only thank God that I’d been up to get a glass of water, and it wasn’t Daisy who’d answered the door. She would’ve heard the commotion and taken Toby somewhere safe.
“Calm down. Let’s talk like rational adults,” I reply, trying and failing to hide the tremor in my voice as I stare at the man I once foolishly loved dressed like he’s someone from the post office, he’s even wearing a baseball cap with the logo printed on it. That’s what I saw in the security camera attached to the doorbell. I just assumed it was a delivery. I’m an idiot.
"Did you honestly think that I wouldn't find you?" he asks, ripping off the baseball cap and chucking it to the ground. “Where’s your new man now, huh?”
I blanch as he eyes me knowingly.
“Yeah, that’s right, he isn’t here, is he? You think I haven’t done some investigation of my own? So don’t even think about pretending he’s here, because I know full well he isn’t.”
