Page 90 of Broken Vows

“No, no, please stay,” Dr. Astor says, setting his hands in his jacket pocket. “I’ve traveled all this way to see you.”

“That’s your fucking problem, not mine.”

Jesus Christ.

The man is not backing down. Maybe Theo was just a bratty, angry teenager. Maybe this is simply how his family talks to one another. Or maybe Dr. Astor really is as arrogant and narcissistic as Theo said and feeds off this kind of energy.

Even so, confrontation has always made me uncomfortable. “Theo, stop,” I whisper under my breath, and the moment the words leave me, I know it’s a mistake.

Dr. Astor’s smile changes. Something a tad darker, more sinister, more knowing. He can smell it on me. Did his home security alert him to our visit that one time? Did he watch the footage of me screaming and moaning as his son’s cock ravaged me in his childhood bedroom? My cheeks feel like they’ve turned the color of my hair.

“Gemma, my goodness, it’s been so many years since I’ve seen you.” He pauses. “I hope you’re doing well?”

“Don’t.” Theo pushes these words through a clenched jaw.

“Don’t what, Theo?” Dr. Astor turns his gaze towards Theo. “Don’t ask how one of my former student’s is doing?” He shifts his gaze back to me, and I feel like I’m going to choke. “I must apologize for my son’s behavior, Gemma. Looks like those sleepless nights are finally catching up to him.”

“It’s, ah, fine.” I need to get the hell out of here. I haven’t even processed what happened upstairs in Theo’s apartment, and I can only dissociate so much. “Planning a wedding is stressful. It’s totally understandable to be… on edge.”

Dr. Astor’s quiet chuckle fills me with dread. “Well, I’m so glad you were able to reconnect with your friend, Theo. You must have been thrilled to see Gemma after all these years and to have her help plan the wedding.”

Friend? Theo has never once said he remembers me. Maybe Dr. Astor is mistaken. Maybe he’s testing me. “Oh, ah, no, I mean, working with your son has been… lovely,” I say, silently begging him not to read my face. “Yes, we were at school together, but Theo and I didn’t really know each other then. You don’t always remember everyone you might have crossed paths with, and I don’t blame Theo for not recognizing me.”

Dr. Astor cocks his head and the corner of his lip twitches in the faintest of smiles. “Didn’t remember you? I find that extremely hard to believe.” I glance at Theo, who seems nearly frozen in place. “Funny how I saw more of Theo during the semesters you worked for me than I did throughout his entire schooling. In fact, if memory serves, you spoke quite a bit about Gemma after the unfortunate incident.”

My gut coils into a hard rock at those words. No… this doesn’t make sense… I don’t understand. Theo was interested in me? At school?

“I do believe my boy was quite smitten back then, not that he’d ever admit it,” Dr. Astor says, with a sliver of a twinkle in his eyes. “But a father always knows.”

“What are you doing?” Theo snaps at his father, then tugs on my arm. “Let’s go.”

Dr. Astor’s gaze locks on the motion, and he inches closer. “Oh, please indulge me for at least a few more minutes. I traveled all this way to check in on my son, but what a surprise my former student is here, with him, at his home.”

“Dad.” The words hold a sharp, heated warning.

The lobby is too hot. I grip my purse and debate about how quickly I can get out of this place. Whatever bullshit is happening between the two men, I want absolutely no part of it.

“You know, Gemma,” Dr. Astor says, “I thought about you so much over the years, and wondered if you ever sought help—”

“Dad.”

“I felt terrible after everything happened,” Dr. Astor continues. “You had such a bright future ahead of you.”

“Dad, stop.”

“I remember the way you talked about graduating early, moving on to graduate school and your dreams of opening your own practice… and now, it appears you plan weddings?”

“Enough!” Theo barks, but I barely register it over the thunder of my own heartbeat.

I’m not where I originally thought I’d be in my career, but goddammit I still made it. I pulled myself out of the deepest despair and became a steady, good, reliable worker. I was trusted with a high-profile wedding, and considered an essential enough employee that they want to keep me at the company during layoffs. I stand a little straighter, rage simmering under my skin at the judgmental tone in Dr. Astor’s voice.

“Here I am, a psychologist that lectures all over the world, and yet I failed to recognize the classic signs of self-sabotage in my favorite student.”

No… no that’s not true. I didn’t do anything.

“Shut the fuck up.” Theo’s voice booms into the space. He grabs my hand and pulls. I want to shake him off, but my body’s immobile. “Lexie. We’re leaving. Now.”

Dr. Astor takes another step forward and focuses a hard gaze on Theo’s hand against mine. “I have to wonder if some of those unfortunate tendencies are still haunting you today.”