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“Hi.”
Her smile faltered and she wrapped her towel tighter. “Is everything okay?”
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
It sounded so ridiculous. “Are you Violet?”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Violet Delights.”
“Look. Gabe.” She pulled the towel tighter with trembling fingers. “I can explain. You need to give me the chance to explain. It went too far. I wanted to tell you.”
My throat ached with defeat. No. What? No. She’d been grinding in my lap pretending not to know me. I’d opened up to her. She had a piece of me I hadn’t knowingly given. A knot ground in my chest. It wasn’t an outright lie, but it was deception. A secret she’d kept from me. How could it not make me feel like a fool?
The torment gnawed at my gut, but I kept my voice level. “Why?”
Her eyes brimmed with tears. She moved toward me and I stepped back into the corridor.
“It was stupid, Gabe. I’m sorry. That first time in the club … I didn’t know you then … I was scared. I wanted to tell you. I’m so sorry.”
She reached for me and I snapped my hand away.
“Please, Gabe. Let’s talk about this. I want to explain myself properly. I never meant to hurt you. Everything got out of hand.”
Everyone I cared about betrayed me. My father. Emma. I couldn’t trust anyone, but I’d been stupid enough to believe that Miri was different. She was as bad as everyone else. How had I let myself get close to this woman?
My blood turned to ice. “Did you do this to me on purpose? Was this a set-up from the start?”
She paled and ran trembling fingers over her face. “Of course not. How can you say that? Do you think I want this tape out there? I can’t believe you would even suggest—”
“I have no idea who you are anymore.”
“No. You know me. I wouldn’t hurt you on purpose.”
“You kept a secret from me. I can’t trust you. We’re done.”
I turned on my heel. Last time, Emma had run away from me. This time it would be me leaving first.
“Wait, Gabe. Wait. Let me get dressed. I want to talk.”
I kept my voice casual but I didn’t turn around. “This was all a mistake. Mother’s right. I need a woman in my own tax bracket. I should have known I couldn’t trust someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” She followed me out into the corridor, barefoot and wrapped in her towel. She gazed at me in despair. “What’s that supposed to mean? Someone poor, Gabe? Is that what you mean? Someone normal. Not an actress or a model. Someone who lives in the real world. Yes. I had to strip to get money. You have no idea what I’ve been through. It was demeaning, but I was desperate. I hated it, every second of it … apart from when you were there. Because you were kind to me.”
My resolve hardened. She was turning this round on me? “Have you been laughing at me this whole time?”
“Of course not. I’m devastated because I’ve hurt you and I didn’t want that.”
Her expression was tight with strain. Her wet hair dripped on to the floor in sharp splats. “I’m sorry. I was desperate and embarrassed. You can’t even imagine what it’s like to be that desperate. Your whole life has been money and privilege. You have no idea what it’s like to live in the real world. It’s different for people like you. You start on the board a hundred places ahead of everyone else.”
“Right. I’m spoilt and pampered. So, I don’t have any feelings? I don’t have any problems. You can betray my trust and what does it matter because I’m so rich it won’t affect me?”
She shook her head. “No. of course not. I didn’t mean that. I don’t think that … I’m asking for some understanding, Gabe. Please. I care about you.”
“People that care about each other don’t keep secrets from each other. We’re done, Miri.”
