Cruel Legacy (Cruel 3)

I rushed from the room, ignoring the tittering from the crowd and chorus of, “She had it coming,” and found a private place to cry for the first time since my dad had been sent to prison. Before the walls had been closing in. And I’d learned that no one was ever going to save me but myself. There just…was no way out of this one. I’d dug my grave. I might as well lie in it.

Chapter 34

Penn

We’d all heard. We’d heard everything.

Natalie frowned down at her phone.

“Delete those,” I told her. “I can’t believe Fiona sent them.”

I found Lark across the room, following after Katherine.

“Fuck,” I grumbled. I couldn’t just let her go. I couldn’t let Katherine break down in front of everyone and not care. It was like when I’d called Lewis the day I found out about the investigation. Katherine was fucked up, but she was still my friend. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Natalie asked.

“I’m going to go check on Katherine.”

“Shouldn’t her husband do that?”

Yes, the bastard should. But he was still dealing with Fiona. And I wasn’t going to just let her walk off.

“I won’t be long.” I kissed the top of her head. “Enjoy the party. I’ll be back.”

“Penn, really?” she asked.

“It’s the crew,” I said with a shrug, as if it was an explanation.

She sighed. “All right.”

I knew this event was important to her. I wanted to be there for her, but Katherine was a mess. I’d never seen her like that before. I couldn’t imagine why she would be freaking out about this thing with Fiona. She’d known that Camden was sleeping around. She had been sleeping around, too, after all. Not that anyone had known it was arranged until now. Embarrassing, sure, but not enough to break Katherine. It had to be something much deeper.

I walked down the hallway that I’d seen Lark hurry into a minute earlier and found her standing in front of an emergency exit. “Did she leave?”

Lark shook her head. “She stepped outside and told me to fuck off.”

“You?” I asked in surprise.

She shrugged. “She’s a total wreck. I wish that I were around more to see what the hell was going on with her. But I’ve been so busy with the campaign and Sam…”

“Sam?” I raised an eyebrow. “The Sam? The guy from campaign?”

“Oh, shut up, Penn.”

“I didn’t know he was back in New York.”

“He is. But we’re not…” She bit her lip. “We’re not getting back together or anything.”

“Sure, you’re not.”

“That is not why you’re here!”

“You’re right. But we should talk about the Sam later.”

Lark snorted.

“Think she’ll let me talk to her?”

She nodded. “You above anyone else.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. That was how it had always been.

I pushed open the emergency exit and was surprised that it didn’t ding or anything. Must have been turned off. The exit was nothing more than a metal fire escape. Katherine leaned forward against the balcony, barefoot. Her heels dangled in one hand as she stared off into the alleyway. It wasn’t the beautiful view from the windows of Trinity. This was New York City as it really was without all the glitz and glamour. Just like Katherine right now. Stripped down and bare to her core.

“Hey,” I muttered.

She didn’t turn around, just sniffled. “What are you doing here?”

“Checking on you.”

“Shouldn’t you be with your girlfriend?”

“Not when I saw you crying in there. When was the last time you cried, Ren?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Goose bumps rose on her arms as a breeze blew through the street. I removed my jacket and slung it around her shoulders.

“Why are you being nice to me?” she asked half-desperately. She tilted her face and stared up at me as I leaned my hip into the railing next to her.

“Because you’re my friend, and you’d do it for me.”

She snorted. “I would do anything for you. It’s hardly a comparison.”

“Seems fitting to me.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Talk to me, Ren. What’s going on?”

“I can’t.” She trembled, and there was something manic in her eyes. As if, if she expressed whatever she was holding in, then it might explode out of her. Never to return again.

“You knew Camden was cheating with Fiona.”

She huffed. “Obviously.”

“You don’t normally care what anyone thinks about you. The pictures were embarrassing, but they shouldn’t have hurt you.”

“They shouldn’t have,” she agreed easily.

“And yet, you’re out here, crying.”

“Yes,” she whispered. She glanced down and then back up into my baby blues. “I’m going to sound insane.”

“It’s eating you up, whatever it is?”

“Camden,” she breathed. “It’s Camden.”

My eyes darkened. “What did he do? Does this have to do with the welts? Is he hurting you?”

“No,” she said once despairingly. She reached out and touched my hand. “I…I’m in love with him.”

My eyes widened to the size of saucers. “You…what?” I shook my head. “With Camden Percy? The same Percy douche bag we’ve known our whole lives?”