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She could already feel the tingling burning in her nose when he said, “You sent your boys after my daughter. To distract her, to seduce her. You directed them to play with her mind so she wouldn’t see what was really going on under her nose.” He turned his attention to her. “Which one is it you’re dating, Sabrina?”
She. Couldn’t. Breathe. Couldn’t believe anything she was hearing. They were supposed to be in this together. They were supposed to care about her. All that time they’d spent together, talking, laughing, loving…and it had all been a…lie?
It was impossible to wrap her head around the concept, even as her heart broke into pieces, one for each man she loved.
And she did love them, she realized. It hadn’t even been a conscious decision. She’d merely grown into them like a second skin, as if they’d always been a part of her.
“Which one, pumpkin? Which one lied to you?” her father growled, practically foaming at the mouth for vengeance. Clearly, he was out for blood, but Sabrina? Well, she was…dying inside.
Looking at each of the guys in turn, she finally—finally—found herself locked in their matching stares, and she didn’t like what she saw there.
As if they had any compassion for her at all, they managed to look as heartbroken and lost as she was. As if they weren’t blatant liars, cheats, and scammers who’d set out with one goal in mind: to make a fool out of her.
Sabrina trembled as she pushed to her feet and glared at each of them.
“Sabrina,” Conner cautioned.
“How could you?” Her voice was nothing more than an emotion-choked whisper. “I trusted you.” She directed the comment to all three of them, then with the last vestiges of strength she could muster, she hauled ass for the door, ignoring the shouting that broke out behind her.
Her father shouting at everyone to sit down, Mr. Hargreaves defending his stance, and his sons shouting after her in unison, but she wasn’t hearing anything they were saying. She had to get out of there before she passed out.
“Miss Colloway?”
Shawna’s worried voice reached her ears as Sabrina breezed by. She was on her way to the elevators. She couldn’t stay there another moment, not when her world had just been imploded.
“Miss Colloway? Are you all right?”
“Hold my calls. Cancel my appointments,” Sabrina called over her shoulder, punching the button on the wall to call the car up. She was aware as she spoke how her voice quaked. There was no helping it though. She was seconds away from losing her shit, and her only goal was to lessen the amount of witnesses.
She’d already lost enough for one morning. She didn’t need to add her reputation to the list. Everyone here knew her as a shrewd, pull-no-punches businesswoman, and by God, that was how it would remain.
She was in the car with the doors closing when she spotted Oliver running her way. His face was red from exertion and creased with fear and worry. “‘Brina! Wait a minute. Let us explain.”
There was nothing left to explain. They’d lied to her, manipulated her. Now they wanted one more go? Over her dead body.
He came to a stuttered halt as the doors slid closed in his face. Sabrina turned her cheek, hating that that look would be forever burned into her mind. She didn’t want to believe that he had any heart in there, especially one that beat for her.
Because it was all a lie.
And she was the fool inclined to believe it.
There was a reason Sabrina had kept her heart locked away all these years, dedicating her life to the job instead of settling down. Make that three reasons. And they were all upstairs, frantically searching for a way to smooth this over so they could hurt her again.
Never again.
Sabrina had been fooled once already. Shame on them. If she allowed them to do it again, the blame would rest squarely on her shoulders, and Sabrina was no fool. She learned from her mistakes, and today had shone a spotlight on her biggest one yet. She wouldn’t be making it twice.
Once the doors opened onto the lobby, she fled the building and caught a cab as if her life depended on it. And it did. She needed to get someplace safe and quiet and away from prying eyes. A place that she would be received well and without judgment. A place where she could lick her wounds and pull herself together, piece by shattered piece.
By the time she lifted her hand to knock on the garish purple slab door, Sabrina couldn’t recall how she’d gotten there. All she knew was it involved a cab, some traffic, and too long of a drive with too high a fare, but all that mattered was the person who answered.
“‘Brina? It’s the middle of the day. What are you doing here? What’s wrong?”
Janet’s eyes flared wide as Sabrina threw herself into her friend’s arms and began sobbing.
“They—they—they lied to me!” she wailed. “It was all lies!”
Patting her back, Janet hobbled backward into her apartment, dragging Sabrina with her, and then swung the door hard enough for it to shut on its own, saying, “There, there, my crazy little friend. Take a spot on the sofa while I put on the kettle and we’ll talk about it.”
