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“Actually, there is,” Willow replied to her, spinning in her chair to face her. Her back was to me now, and I had no idea what to say or do. I looked over at Ford, but even he was watching with raised brows. “I’m sure you’re aware of the girl your daughter assaulted at school.”
“I am—”
“That girl,” Willow interrupted, “was my sister.” Her inhale of breath could be heard a second before she said, “My sweet baby sister who did nothing—”
“That’s a lie,” Ford ground out, causing everyone’s attention to focus on him. “And you know it.”
Willow gasped, her hand flying to her chest, and all I wanted was to dissolve into thin air and not be here. “How dare you?”
“How dare I?” Ford asked, pushing his chair back and standing. “How dare you? How dare you come here and—”
“Ford,” Aria’s small voice interrupted, and she placed her hand on his arm. I narrowed my eyes at it, rage flowing through me I hadn’t felt before.
“No, Ri
, he’s goddamn right.” Sal stood, his face a mask of fierce protectiveness. “What the hell possessed you to bring her here, Cade?” His gaze met mine, and his eyes narrowed on me. “We all know what that girl has done to Aria. She made her life hell in that school, and you think it’s okay to—”
“Excuse you,” Willow cut him off. “My sister hasn’t done anything to that little bitch!”
“Mommy! The nasty lady cursed!” Belle shouted out.
“I know you didn’t just call her a bitch,” Lola growled out at the same time Jan stood and flung her chair backward.
Everything was going to shit around me, but all I could focus on was Aria and her paling face. “That’s enough!” I roared, slapping my hand down on the table. The table went silent, the only sounds I could hear were the thumping of my heart. “Enough,” I repeated. I stood and took a deep breath, trying my best to calm down, but it wasn’t working. I wasn’t sure if I was angry over the fact Willow hadn’t let it go, or the fact I’d had to bring her here in the first place.
It was all my fault. If I’d have talked to Aria properly after Ford had turned up at my house and not pushed her away, then we wouldn’t be in this situation. I could have explained to her what Ford had said, and we could have worked through it. But instead, I’d taken it into my own hands, and now we were here, on the edge of losing everything. But it wasn’t my job I was scared of losing, or my reputation. I was scared of going to jail and having to leave Aria.
Her words rang out in my head, repeating over and over again as I got myself under control. “I can’t lose you.” This was for her. Everything I did was for her.
“We’re leaving,” I told Willow as I stepped away from the table. “Now.”
She turned. “What—”
I darted toward her and gripped the sides of her chair, caging her in as I lowered my voice so only she could hear me. “I don’t care what you want right now, we’re leaving. Get up, and walk out of this house with me. Now.”
“Fine,” she gritted out.
I moved back to allow her to stand, and with one last look at Aria whose head was down as she stared at her lap, I spun around and walked out of the house with Willow on my heels. My strides were twice the size of hers as I headed to my car, and by the time I’d slipped into the driver’s seat and started the engine, she was pulling the passenger door open. My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.
“What the hell, Cade?” Willow sneered as I pulled out onto the road.
“What?” I asked, trying to keep my temper under control. It was all her fault. She was the one threatening to tell everyone what she’d seen. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be in this situation right now. I’d be with Aria, or maybe I wouldn’t, but we wouldn’t have this hanging over our heads.
“It was her, wasn’t it?” She paused, waiting for me to answer, but I didn’t have one for her. “She’s the girl you told them about.” It was a statement, one I wouldn’t confirm or deny, sometimes it was better to say nothing at all. “Oh my god.” She gasped. “You were having a full-blown affair.”
My nostrils flared, and I gritted my teeth. Bringing her here was a mistake—I should have known better. Of course, she was going to see another side to everything. She was under the illusion what Aria had said in the classroom was true, when it wasn’t, not at all.
“This changes things.” Her voice was different now, less angry but not calm. “Wow…okay.”
I had no idea what she was thinking, but as I pulled up to her house, I realized it wouldn’t be anything good. I hadn’t confirmed what she was saying, but my silence had spoken for me. I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for her to get out of the car.
“You’re not to talk to her again,” Willow demanded.
“That’ll be pretty hard to do considering she’s in several of my classes,” I told her, not willing to look away from the windshield.
“You’re just going to have to find a way. If I find out you’ve been talking to her, I’ll go to the principal, the cops, the papers. I’ll out you both.” I turned to face her and tracked the features on her face. The slight curve of her lips told me she knew she had me exactly where she wanted me with no way out. “Your life will be over, and I’ll make sure hers is too. She may not go to jail like you, but I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she doesn’t get accepted to any colleges. I’ll drag her name through the mud, simply for the fun of it.”
My jaw was clenched so tight I was sure my teeth would break from the force. “What do you want?”
