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Exasperated and tired, he huffed. “No, Madison. I was sighing, wondering how the past could manage to threaten my present again.”
“So Chloe was another woman from your hidden past? In addition to the one who accused you wrongly? How many girlfriends are still going to pop out of the closet?”
“What are you talking about? There was just Chloe. She’s the one who accused me of raping her.”
Stunned, Madison stopped in her tracks, an icy stream creeping down her back. “Raping her? Oh my God! You were the one who assaulted her, raped her, and got her pregnant?”
He squeezed her shoulders, non too gently, and glared intoher eyes. “Is that what you think, you, Madison, my loving fiancée?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore.” Tears tickled her eyes. “Go home and let me collect my thoughts. I can’t talk to you now.”
“Regardless, you will listen to me. Now. And then you can decide what you want to do.”
She didn’t protest when he held her elbow to trudge the next few yards to the door of her building. They stepped into the elevator silently and entered her condo.
She kicked off the high-heeled sandals that were killing her. “Help yourself if you want a drink,” she spat.
“I don’t want a drink; I just want to clear the air.”
She flopped onto the sofa and crossed her arms over her chest. Lips drooping bitterly, she shook her head, disappointment and anger simmering in her heart. “You can always try. I’ll reserve my opinion for later.”
“I was twenty, graduating with a business degree, a year ahead of my friends, and had a job waiting for me in an I T company. The Powells were having a party for Chloe’s birthday and high school graduation. Our friends, Anthony, Jeff, and Ben had brought bottles of Peach Schnapps. We all had a drink and toasted our bright futures. The boys knew I was madly in love with Chloe and had promised to marry her as soon as I got my first paycheck.”
Madison’s heart pinched painfully. So Chloe hadn’t lied. She and Rick had been a couple, ready to build a future together.
Despite her frustration, she was curious to learn about his past. “Why didn’t you? What happened next?”
“They kept drinking. I didn’t. My father would’ve had my hide if I’d gotten drunk. Ben suggested a game of hide-and-seek. To make it more fun, he distributed black masks covering the whole face, except the eyes. We hid around the first floor.But somehow, the lights went off. You could hear loud laughter, squeals, and screams. Finally, the lights came back on, and the noise died down. I heard a loud scream come from upstairs, then Chloe crying and calling my name. I ran into her room. She was curled up on her bed, her clothes torn.”
“Oh my God,” Madison murmured.
Sitting in front of her, his lips twitching, Rick had closed his eyes, his face a tortured mask. He’d given her the bare facts without adding any personal comments to lessen his role in the tragedy. Her anger melted, replaced by pity and concern.
“Snatching off my mask, I ran out to get help. Her father arrived almost immediately with two police officers. They said they’d received an anonymous call that Rick Lambert had raped their friend Chloe Powell. Horrified, I denied it, swearing I’d never been to her room, but my three friends testified they’d seen me coming out of her room. Her father wanted to press charges. They called my parents. Meanwhile, I hid and drank some Peach Schnapps to calm down. Dad smelled the alcohol on my breath and lost his mind, accusing me of getting drunk. He took me home.”
Rick stood and stomped to the kitchen. “I’m getting some scotch.”
“Make that two.” Her throat was too dry, her head swirling.
Rick swallowed his scotch and refilled it, then handed her a glass.
“What happened next, Rick?” This was way more serious than she’d ever expected.
“The police told my father to expect their visit the next day. My father promised to keep me home. But Mom had a big argument with Dad that night. She said she’d never believe her son capable of anything so nasty. ‘The truth will come out,’ Dad had said.”
Lost in the past, Rick stared at his glass, and Madisonstudied his face.
“At dawn, Mom came to my room.‘You can’t wait like a trapped rabbit to be skinned.’She gave me a wallet full of money and a credit card. ‘I’ll help you pack. Don’t forget your diplomas and transcripts. I want you on the first plane to London. Enroll in a master’s degree in business administration. I don’t want you to waste your future because of these disgusting lies. I’ll take care of your father.’ She drove me to the airport, and my plane left right away.”
He swallowed the rest of his drink.
“What did you do in London?”
“From the airport, I went to Cambridge University and enrolled in an MBA program in International Business. I was accepted thanks to my grades and recommendations. I called Mom and reassured her. My father refused to talk to me. I learned that Joseph Powell had pressed charges against me two days after I’d left. When the police came to the house, my parents said I’d disappeared in the middle of the night. Three months later, we heard that Chloe had married Ben Randal, and Mr. Powell had dropped the charges.”
“What were the charges?”
“Assault and rape resulting in pregnancy.”
