“Could you give me something here to work with? I’m about to throw myself out the window.”
“Kallie, the point to all this is that you deserve to be trusted. Through anything. And Ash couldn't give that to you. He struck me as wishy-washy from the beginning. Ever since I met him in that club and gave him the rundown. And I’m sorry, but any man who can question your motives after I come for him is looking for a way out.”
“You think?” Kallie asked.
“I do,” Eris said.
“You did go at him kind of hard.”
“And yet he still wants to believe your bullshit ex and his fun little talk-show interview over you. But, in his defense...”
“Are you kidding me right now?” Kallie asked.
“Look, even I can admit when someone’s built up a decent story. The way James is spinning this? Those text messages he created for that damn show? It’s pretty convincing. And with no pictures from the wedding, there’s nothing else you’ve got to come at him with. I mean, I could talk to the girls and we could go to the press, but then all that looks like is your friends sticking up for you.”
“He fucked his best man’s wife. Where the hell is that guy?” Kallie asked.
“Look, we can figure that out later. The point is that I’m not justifying Ash’s actions, but it’s a tall order. Yes, he should have sided with you. But he’s also only known you ... what? Two weeks? Three weeks? And then all this shit happens and there’s a picture of you kissing James—”
“He kissed me.”
“I know that. Kallie, I know that. I’m your best friend. I’m the one that caught him with that skanky bitch. But James is playing this smart and he’s playing this ruthlessly. If he can’t have you, no one can. That’s what’s happening right now. And the more names you pour into the mixture, the harder he’s going to come. At me. At the girls. Hell, even at the woman you’re going to say he fucked. Which he did, but there’s no proof of that. It’s his rich word against yours, and you know he’ll win. Right now, in this climate, he’ll win.”
“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.