“So you’re saying I need to keep my mouth shut and not expect Ash to trust me. Great,” Kallie said.
She fell back against her seat as tears streamed down her cheeks. She had no way to prove her side of the story. At least, no way that wouldn’t be misconstrued by the media. They’d already branded her as guilty. They’d already accepted the invitation to James’s slanderous pity party. They’d already turned Ash against her. But she shouldn’t have to prove her side of the story. The man she was set to spend the rest of her fucking life with banged her bridesmaid the day of their wedding. In the chapel closet! All she wanted was to escape and find a way out of her emotional turmoil, but James somehow gets to win?
How the hell was that fair?
“I hate this,” Kallie said.
“It’s not fair,” Eris said. “It’s really not. But you’re better than all of this. You’re strong, Kallie. Stronger than any person I’ve ever known. And I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering how in the world you’re going to prove your innocence. But you shouldn't have to. James is the shithead here, and Ash is a close second. I can see where Ash is coming from, but that doesn’t make him any less wrong in his reaction.”
“He called me a gold digger. He believes this nonsense,” Kallie said breathlessly.
“And it’s his loss,” Eris said as she walked around Kallie’s desk and pulled her friend in for a hug. “It’s his loss.”
Kallie leaned into her friend’s stomach and sobbed. She cried for all the nights she spent with Ash and all of the beauty she wouldn’t experience with him again. She cried for all of the heartache James had caused her and all of the retribution that was going to come from this. She cried for her aching heart and her empty soul. She cried for the future she saw herself leading with James until Eris came bursting into her bridal suite. She cried for her future. For her past. For the present. For the upheaval she couldn't control and the chaos ensuing around her. She cried until she couldn’t any longer, then she heaved and coughed and sputtered.
“Let it out,” Eris said. “Because once you’re done, it’s time to buckle up and keep going.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Kallie said in a whisper.
“Then I’ll help you. Whatever you need, I’ll make sure you get it, okay? This will blow over. It’s a fad right now, but something else will happen eventually. James will fall on his face or some celebrit
y somewhere will be caught naked on a shoreline and the headlines will change. All of this will fade away, and this story will be a distant memory in a month or so. That’s how pop culture works. That’s how sensationalism works. It sucks now, but it won’t suck for long. Because something is always happening. That’s the true power and influence of the media.”
“So James just ... wins?”
“Oh, no. That asshole doesn’t win. I’ve already hired the hitman to take him out. James is as good as dead.”
“Well, tell him to stop by Ash’s house next,” Kallie said as she pulled away.
“That’s the spirit,” Eris said with a smile. “Now, you want this sandwich I brought you or no?”
Kallie made herself eat, but she still felt hollow inside. Nothing made her feel better. Not the empty threats. Not the sandwich. Not the soda sitting on her desk. Nothing. She didn’t know what she needed, but it wasn’t any of what she had in front of her. She felt cooped up in her office, yet somehow safe from the world around her. She briefly considered bringing a sleeping bag and camping out in her office. Removing herself from the world for a little while. She felt like she needed an escape, but wanting an escape is what got her into this mess in the first place.
So if she couldn't escape, then what could she do?
Because Kallie was fresh out of ideas.
Chapter 27
Ash
Ash’s new normal was feeling like utter shit. He’d been drinking his evenings away, waking up with hangovers that could’ve made the devil quake in his boots. He was pissed off. Exhausted. Felt adrift in the sea. Like a fucking storm had ravaged and tossed him around and left him without an oar. Or a wheel. Or a fucking ship in general.
Like the storm him and Kallie had been caught in.
He dragged himself into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of wine. Every time he fucking thought about her, he drank. He wanted to wash every memory of her away, but it only served to make things worse. He slept deeper. Longer. Which meant his dreams were more vivid.
He was showering in the damn guest bathroom, so he wouldn’t be assaulted by memories of her body pressed against the tiles. He couldn’t walk from his bedroom to his kitchen without looking at the windows of his penthouse. Out at the lights and the skyline of the city.
The windows Kallie had once been pressed against.
Ash had no idea why the fuck he was still in town. What was the point? New York City had always been a shithole, and he might as well leave. There was nothing here for him any longer. Not after the betrayal of Kallie. Not after she was exposed by her ex, God fucking bless his bullshit soul. But the island was full of memories of her. Full of naps in the hammocks and surfing in the ocean waves and passionate lovemaking against the walls of bungalows and villas and balconies.
Fuck.
Even his island was tainted with her.
He threw the rest of his wine back before tossing the glass in the sink. It shattered upon impact, but he didn’t care. He picked up the rest of the wine bottle and tipped it up to his lips. Guzzled it down as the burn ripped through his skin. Maybe he’d go to Europe for a while. Do some backpacking and fuck some natives. Or maybe South America. He could visit at the discreet wonders of the world and wrap his fist up in the tendrils of black hair that area of the world had to offer.