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My voice breaks on the final word. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe I’m standing here arguing with Ben, who I couldn’t care less about. I can’t believe I let him get into my head and make me doubt everything I knew. Most of all, I can’t believe I actually fell for his lies.
Again.
“I think you’re the one who’s ruined everything,” says Ben, shrugging. “I acted in good faith, Emerald. All I did was pass on the information I had at the time. You’re the one who chose to believe it.”
My shoulders sag as his words make impact.
He’s right.
I don’t want to admit it, but Ben’s right.
He might have sent me those messages, but I didn’t have to believe them. And now that I see the truth of the whole thing, I don’t know why I did.
“Jack,” I begin, turning back to him, then stopping short in confusion when I realize he isn’t there.
There’s a soft clunk as the car door closes behind my fiancé, and Elaine gives me an apologetic shrug from behind the windscreen as she puts it into gear and starts to pull away.
Jack’s leaving.
And he didn’t even bother to say goodbye.
Chapter 22
Icatch up with the car just as it reaches the end of the narrow lane that leads to the farm, and wrench the back door open before I can think twice about it.
“Emerald? What are you—?”
As the car prepares to pull out onto the main road, I throw myself inside, landing beside a surprised-looking Jack.
“Er, hi, Emerald,” says Rose, turning around to look at me. “You look… lovely.”
A quick glance in the rear view mirror tells me this is not, in fact, the case. My hair is tangled into knots, my face is coated in dirt thrown up by the helicopter, and I look a lot like a Victorian urchin child who’s been sent to sweep the chimneys. But there’s no time to think about that now.
“Jack, you can’t just leave like this,” I sob, tears running down my cheeks in a way I have every reason to believe willnotbe making me look endearing or vulnerable, but whichisalmost certainly leaving tracks in all the dirt. “Wehaveto talk about this. Wehaveto. And I’m not getting out of the car until we do.”
I cross my arms firmly over my chest in a bid to look like a woman who will not be messed with, even though I’m pretty sure the whole “Victorian urchin” thing is ruining the effect slightly.
Jack’s mouth settles into a thin line. It’s impossible to read the expression in his eyes.
“Fine,” he says at last. “We can talk. Not here, though.”
He nods towards the front of the car, where Rose and Elaine are trying to pretend they’re not listening to every word we say.
“Okay,” I say, swallowing. “Let’s go home, then. We can talk there.”
Assuming I’m still allowed to call the place ‘home’, that is.
For a second, I think he’s going to refuse, and kick me out of the car, and I brace myself to refuse to go. Then he gives an almost imperceptible nod and the car moves smoothly forward, making me fall back against the cream leather seats, which will surely need a good clean now that my dust-covered self has been in contact with them.
“I’m really pleased to see you, Emerald,” says Rose nervously, turning around again when it becomes apparent Jack isn’t going to be the one to break the uncomfortable silence that immediately descends. “We didn’t know where you’d gone after… well, after the thing with the boat. We were worried.”
I’m not sure “the thing with the boat” is an appropriate way to describe her attempt to sabotage my entire life using my ex-boyfriend as a weapon, but I wisely decide to let this drop. For now.
“I went to my parents’ house,” I say stiffly. “I thought it was for the best.”
Jack raises his eyebrows at this, and my shoulders clench with tension.
Did he think I’d gone off somewhere with Ben?
