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CHAPTER18
coffee confession
YAYA
I expected to feel anger when I locked eyes with my backstabbing best friend. Heart on fire. Smoke coming out of my ears. I expected to grab the nearest sharp object and whack him with it. I thought it would be there. That urge for revenge. For vengeance.
But it’s not.
Instead, I see the dark circles under Henry’s eyes, deep shadows of depression and despair. I see the once vibrant gaze reduced to a nervous, twitching mess. I see the thin set of his lips and his Adam’s apple that protrudes a little more because his face is so gaunt and worn.
I should be happy that he’s so torn up.
He lied to me.
Usedme.
And the thing is… he didn’t have to.
I would have done it, anything he wanted—accept dirty money, align myself with a crappy company, ignore my beliefs about fairness and justice.
For him, I would.
Because we were best friends.
And even if he’d come to me with a body to hide, I probably would have dug first and asked questions later.
So why betray?
Why take a crap on the trust, the love, the bond we had?
That’s the part that hurts.
I stiffen and Dare’s at my back, tensing up right alongside me. Henry moves forward. His steps are strong, determined. A little unhinged. He has no intentions of stopping before he gets to me.
In the corner of my eye, I notice Dare gesturing to his security team. The stern ex-military woman who’s been watching over me and Talia while Dare’s been gone is far ahead of them. I meet her eyes. She nods and lifts a hand, stopping Dare’s beefy suits from accosting Henry.
One of the first discussions my bodyguard and I had was about who was and wasn’t allowed to approach me. I showed her Henry’s picture, anticipating that this day would come.
But I didn’t think Dare would be here to view it also.
Shifting towards Dare until I’m crowding his personal bubble, I lift my eyes to his. No words pass between us, but my expression is pleading.
He refuses to look at me, probably sensing that I’ll ask him to show mercy. The severely beautiful lines of his face shift as his expression hardens. I wait, watching the way he winces. And then he closes his eyes. And then he exhales.
Finally, he nods at me and lifts a hand to his guards.
They stand down.
Henry’s in front of us now. His gaze darts to Dare before he dismisses him and focuses on me. My heart is pounding and for some reason, I just want to give Henry a hug. Is his grandmother okay? Did he use the Ru-Carpsel money to pay for her surgery? What did the hospital say about her illness?
The truth is that I still care. It was so much easier to pretend I didn’t from afar. To curse at him from a virtual screen. Dip into the lake of bitterness that seemed to flood me overnight and destroy every scrap of affection I had for him.
But now, seeing him in person, it’s different.
He’s a human being. Flawed. Frail. Forgiven.
Whoa. Do I forgive him?
