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Natalee let out a groan that told me she was no more enthused about climbing off our island than I was, but she was halfway there, tossing off the covers.
"Voicemail?" I offered, giving her an out if she wanted.
"Tempting," she sighed, scooting off the edge. "But Tamara is holding down the fort and I told her to call if there was an emergency."
She fished through her purse and tapped the screen before she cradled it between her shoulder and ear. "I hope the shop is on-" She frowned, meeting my eyes. "What are you talking about?" She dropped her eyes to the floor, and turned her back to me, headed back out on the balcony. "Right, we're on the boat and-wait, how do you know I’m on a boat?” She gasped. "There are pictures of us?! But how and-” She let out a choking sound. “But he wouldn’t...he said...” She fell silent for a moment and even from the bed, I felt her shaking. “And this woman, she mentioned Delilah?"
I kicked off the bed. "Everything alright?"
Silence was my reply.
Feeling an unsettling bundle of nerves in my gut, I made my way onto the balcony.
Something was wrong.
I could feel it.
I reached for Natalee, her back still turned to me. The minute I touched her, she spun on her heels and slapped me across the face.
My world stood still for a moment, shock turning me into stone until the sting of pain brought me back to life. "What the-"
"I knew this was a mistake." There were no tears in Natalee’s eyes, but her voice was drenched in pain. "You're a mistake." She backed me into the room, murder in her eyes as she put her clothes back on in a rage that made me keep my distance.
Once she was clothed, I made another attempt to find out what the hell was going. "Look, I'm not sure what's happening-"
"Right," she laughed bitterly. "I'd ask you about her, demand to know her name, but we both know names aren't your strong suit, are they?" She waved her hands through the air wildly, no longer interested in having a conversation or sharing the same air as me. "Go to hell, Jason."
She stormed from the room, but instead of following her, her words made me reach for my phone. If I didn't have mine on silent, I would have caught the ten calls and voicemails that Delia left.
I tapped the most recent one and even though I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the message, I tapped the speaker button.
"Jason, it's me again. I think your phone is on silent which is a really bad idea, FYI. I hope you get this before Natalee gets ahold of this news. There are photos of you two boarding the ship and there's a woman who claims that she's the love of your life. That you two were childhood sweethearts? She’s telling everyone that you proposed to her on Delilah.”
*
