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The other woman walked toward her, laying her hand lightly on Lara’s arm. She was so cold. And when had her mom started looking so frail? Worry filled Lara. Then the sound of a door slamming made her mom jump and step away from her. Chandler walked in from the kitchen. He narrowed his gaze at her.
“Finally. It took you long enough.”
She didn’t bother to reply.
“Well? Do you have the money?” she demanded.
“That’s all we are to you? A check you can cash?” Chandler asked. “Think of your poor mother. You never come visit her. You never call.”
That wasn’t true.
She pressed her nails into the palms of her hand. She called often, but her mom rarely answered or called her back. But she bit back the retort.
“Chandler, Lara is busy. She’s a successful singer.”
Shock had her turning to stare at her mom. She hadn’t expected her to defend her.
“Right. Successful. That’s why she got dumped from her band?”
She bit the side of her mouth until she tasted blood. Nothing she could say would change any of this.
Keep quiet.
“Come into the greeting room,” Chandler demanded.
She’d rather just take the money and run. But she knew that it would never be that simple. Chandler was always going to want to make her bleed a bit.
She followed him into the greeting room.
“Sit down.” He sat behind the desk in his big, leather chair. She swallowed heavily as a feeling of déjà vu hit her. How often had he called her in here when she was younger to tell her what a disappointment she was to him?
“No. Can we make this quick? I have somewhere else to be.”
“I’m sorry we’re such an inconvenience to you.”
She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. She wasn’t going to let him bait her. It was clear he wanted a fight.
“Why are you in such a rush? Is your cowboy waiting for you?”
Don’t take the bait.
“The money, please.” She had to keep calm.
“Take a seat, Lara.”
“No, thank you.”
He sighed. “You’ve always been so troublesome. Nothing like Emily.”
Thank God.
She snorted to herself at that thought. The last thing she ever wanted was to be like Emily.
“Why did you have to lure Geoffrey back to you, Lara?” he asked in a mild voice.
She stared at him in shock as a warning sounded in her head.
“Lure Geoffrey back to me?” She turned to her mother to see if she was buying into this idiocy. But her mom had her head down. So, she wasn’t about to get any support there.
“Emily is devastated.” Chandler’s jaw twitched as he glared at her. His mask was crumbling, his anger and disgust clear for a few seconds before he slammed his mask back into place.
“I’m sorry about that, but it wasn’t my fault.”
“Why would Geoffrey beg you to take him back if you didn’t do something?”
“I don’t know. You’ll need to talk to Geoffrey about that. But I haven’t spoken to him in years. I certainly haven’t done anything to lure him back to me. Why the hell would I? I don’t want him. I don’t know what last night was about. But I am not to blame.”
Chandler just studied her with those cold eyes. “He wants an annulment!”
Really? She’d been sure it must have been the booze talking last night.
He was probably waking up this morning with a lot of regrets.
Although, maybe breaking things off with Emily wouldn’t be one of them. She couldn’t imagine he’d been all that happy.
“That’s Emily’s problem. Not mine. You know what? Just send me the check. I’m done.” She spun around to walk out.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Lara.”
She froze.
That bastard.
He wasn’t going to give her the money. She clenched her hands into fists, then whirled to face him. “What do you mean you can’t do that? You promised me twenty grand. I did everything you wanted. I came back here for a whole damn week. Put up with Emily and her friends’ abuse. I went to the bachelorette party. Smiled for photos. I even wore the world’s ugliest dress to the wedding. I did it all. You promised.”
She shouldn’t be shocked.
Had she really thought he would give her the money?
Naively, she had. It was nothing to him. And everything to her.
So, of course he would go back on his word.
“Why would I give you that money when you just ruined everything for me!” he spat out.
“What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything!”
He leaned forward, his gaze almost manic looking. “Geoffrey’s parents have connections! They know studio execs. They’re good friends with the Kensingtons!”
“Who? Wait, do you mean that reality TV family?”
“Yes,” he gritted out. “And once Emily and Geoffrey were married they were going to introduce me to the right people so I could produce my own television show. The Devout Way. It had such a nice ring to it. I planned to expand my reach. Bring more people to Devout. Maybe start another community. I was going to be famous. And you ruined it.”
