“None of those reasons is right. Not even close!”
“It hardly matters anyway,” she mutters, covering her face in her hands. “I’ll stay out of your way, okay? Hopefully, it will be safe for me to go home soon. Maybe you and Lindsey can get back together or something,” she says.
“What in the world did Lindsey say to you at the party?” I stammer, horrified that she thinks I want to get back together with that woman. “I have absolutely no interest in her at all!”
“It seemed very much like you two were very good together from what she said. I think she can give you everything you want. Things I can’t give you,” she whispers.
I step forward and wrap my hands around her shoulders, forcing her to look at me.
“I don’t know what Lindsey said, but please understand, please listen… You have it all wrong. The real reason I didn’t want you at that party was that I only went there to play mind games with Jaco. I planned to toy with him as part of my revenge and to see if I could extract information from him. I figured it was a risky move, and if you were with me, it might put you in danger, which was the last thing I wanted. Regarding my ex, I had no idea she would be there, and I have zero interest in her or ever being with her again. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Do you hear me?”
I shake her softly, trying to emphasize what I’m saying.
She looks up at me with eyes stained red from tears.
“Was it really because of that?” she asks, knotting her brows.
“Yes, princess. I promise you. It didn’t have anything to do with what happened between us. I don’t want to avoid you! It was just for that night, because of Jaco.”
“Lindsey told me…” she whispers, but can’t seem to get the words out.
“What did she tell you?” I ask gently.
“She told me how she knew all of your preferences…um… in the bedroom and how she knew exactly how to give you what you wanted. She said you two were better together than anyone could ever understand,” Blair says, unable to look me in the eyes while she’s speaking.
An angry growl rumbles through my chest.
“She’s a piece of work. And it’s not true. Our relationship was destroyed because she went behind my back and betrayed me. Does that sound like someone who is perfect for me? Someone who knows how to make me happy?”
“Not really…” she stammers, wiping her eyes.
“I’m so sorry for what she said to you, but I imagine that Jaco coached her to mess with you. He probably told her to talk all that shit to get under your skin. You can’t believe a word she said,” I say sternly.
Blair nods, her body is less tense than it was a little while ago, and she’s stopped crying. She still looks upset and very drained.
I pull her into a hug and hold her tightly against my chest. “It was a mistake not to take you as my plus one. You werebeautiful there, and you handled yourself very well talking to all of those powerful families,” I tell her.
She sighs softly.
“I’m very tired. And my feet hurt,” she mutters, pulling away from me.
“Do you believe me?” I ask, worried.
“I do. Thank you for explaining it,” she nods. “But I want to go to bed now.”
“Of course. Get some rest. You really look beautiful tonight, Blair. That dress is exquisite on you.”
“Thanks,” she says with a tight smile.
I let her go, and she turns away from me, walking upstairs to her room. If I had done a better job tonight, she would be coming to sleep in my bed instead of feeling heartbroken over this misunderstanding.
She says she’s forgiven me, but the tension is still there. I guess she needs time to process and rest. Lindsey clearly went overboard with whatever she said. Those two are evil. I wish Blair had never been exposed to either of them.
I must find a way to make things right between Blair and me. Explaining with words is only so effective—I want toshowher that she was wrong.
