Cruel Fortune (Cruel 2)

I sighed heavily at the text message. Great. There went my escape plan.

“You’re right,” Lewis said. “Sorry doesn’t cut it. But I still would like to apologize. I know I was acting arrogant and condescending in there, but I didn’t know how you’d react to me being there, and it was a defense mechanism.”

“Why would you need a defense mechanism? You’re the one who did this to me.”

“I know. It was stupid and childish and wrong on so many levels. I begged Penn to tell you. I threatened him beyond words to do it, or I would. And I should have. I see now that I should have done it. Should have stopped it all.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, Lewis. Why don’t you save your breath for someone who might believe this?”

He straightened. “You think I enjoy throwing myself at your mercy? Knowing that you can hold a grudge for six years that runs as hot as a California forest fire? I don’t enjoy your enmity, Natalie. I deserve it. We all do. But it does nothing to diminish how much I wish I could change it.”

I stared at him in surprise. He was…serious.

He was actually…groveling before me outside of a building he owned. A year later, and he still wanted to make things right. A small part of me got satisfaction in his suffering. It was nothing compared to what I’d gone through. But the Upper East Side never had repercussions to their actions, and his pain was at least one consequence.

“What do you want from me?” I asked cautiously.

“Nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I thought, if I bought you lunch, it would be a good start.”

“Start for what?”

“Apologizing for what you went through.”

I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust any of them. But one lunch might not kill me.

“Fine. But we’re getting pizza. It’s the only thing I miss from this godforsaken city.”

He smiled at me as if he knew how much of that was a lie.

Natalie

3

Lewis insisted on paying. So, I found the cheapest pizza place and strolled inside. He looked dismayed.

“Are you sure you want to eat here?” he asked.

“What do you have against pizza?”

“Nothing. But I know a better place.”

“I’m sure you do, but we’re not going to the Upper East Side. We’re not going anywhere near where your friends could see you. And I’m not letting you buy me a ridiculously priced pizza when this place is right here.”

He sighed heavily. “Fine. But don’t act like you don’t like expensive pizza. That place in East Hampton wasn’t cheap.”

I winced at the memory. All the times Penn and I had ordered in pizza from that little place in East Hampton. How we’d eaten it cold for breakfast, clustered around the refrigerator in his parents’ Hamptons mansion, and taken notes on our respective writing projects. I still couldn’t distinguish if that was the best pizza I’d ever had because of where it was from or who I ate it with.

“Whatever,” I muttered.

Lewis ordered us a pepperoni and sausage pizza and handed me the Styrofoam fountain drink. I giggled at his discomfort and poured myself a Coke. I sat at one of the rickety chairs. Then, my eyes slid to Lewis at the soda machine.

We both looked incredibly out of place. He was in a thousand-dollar business suit, and I was dressed to impress in an outfit Amy had insisted on. A pair of Amy’s Louboutins and a sleek dress and jacket combo that I never would have purchased for myself. Sleek wasn’t typically how I described myself. More like bohemian with oversize, flowy dresses and sandals. My silvery hair long and unmanageable or in a high, messy bun on top of my head. Not stick straight to my waist like Amy had insisted on this morning. Or the makeup she’d carefully applied to my face like I was a doll.

Lewis sank into a chair across from me without complaint. Though I knew he would have preferred somewhere fancier. Lewis, unlike Penn, was a hundred percent Upper East Side. He had none of Penn’s qualms about living this life. He’d been born and raised into more money than God. I knew he enjoyed it.

“So,” he began.

“Yep.” I took a long sip of my drink.

“I’m amazed you gave in.”

“I didn’t give in. I’m merely humoring you until Amy finishes screwing her latest artist.”

He chuckled. “She found someone already?”

“You’d be amazed at how easy it is for Amy to find someone to fuck.” I shrugged. “Or maybe you wouldn’t.”

“I’m hardly Amy’s type.”

“No, I do remember you being shocked because she was the only woman who had ever rebuffed you for your money.” I waved my hand around. “Oh, look, happened again.”

He pointed his finger at me. “You’re a different case. The money makes you uncomfortable. It doesn’t make Amy uncomfortable. She just doesn’t want to date someone like her parents.”