Her back freezes. “Yeah. Just thought I overheard one of them trying to talk shit about us.”
This time, my fake laughter comes out more genuine. “Like Declan would dare talk bad about you. Safe to say he is obsessed.”
At least one Kane brother is loyal.
She turns around with a smile. “The same can be said about you. I don’t think I’ve seen Cal this happy in well…ever.”
I try to smile. I try so damn hard, my eye twitches and my cheeks ache.
Her head tilts. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Yup. Just fighting the early signs of a migraine.”
A small frown makes her forehead wrinkle. “Oh, no. Do you want any medicine?”
“I’ve got some in my purse. Hence the water.” I reach for the glass of water I left abandoned on the counter and lead the way out of the kitchen. I’m careful to keep my head held high despite the unbearable weight pressing down around me, threatening to drown me.
You will not let him break you.
Yet no matter how many times I repeat the phrase, bits and pieces of my heart break off and shatter against the floor, leaving an invisible trail of my despair.
As soon as I put Cami to sleep, I lock my bedroom door and pull out my phone.
SOS
Texts pop up instantly.
Delilah
Is everything okay?
Violet
What did he do?
I can always count on Violet to point fingers first and ask questions later. Tonight, I need to borrow some of her anger. At least that way I can feel something other than numbness.
Ever since I overheard the conversation outside, I’ve been on autopilot. Just going through the motions until I could crawl into a ball and process the last few months of my life.
My fingers shake as I type.
I overheard some things…
My phone vibrates in my hand from an incoming video call.
“I’m going to kill him,” Violet seethes.
“What did you overhear?” Delilah, the voice of reason, asks.
“Hold on.” I enter my bathroom and turn on the shower to drown out any noise. “I’m not entirely sure what I heard.”
Oh, you’re sure. You just don’t want to be.
I slide down the wall and cradle the phone against my chest. Panic builds, so I take a few deep breaths.
“Alana, talk to us.”
“I feel so stupid.” My voice quivers.
“You’re not stupid. He is,” Delilah says.
“You don’t even know what happened.” If Cal kept his secret about his inheritance from me, I doubt anyone else is supposed to know.
Why are you still being loyal to him?
Because I stupidly fell in love with him despite having every reason not to.
God. How did I put myself in this position again?
The skin surrounding Violet’s eyes softens. “We don’t need all the facts. If it makes you upset, then that’s all the information we need.”
I prop my head against the wall. “What am I supposed to do? I’m stuck here with him.”
“Come home.” Violet’s lips press together into a thin white line.
I sniffle, fighting the tears threatening to fall. “No. I can’t do that to Cami.”
“She would understand,” Delilah offers.
“No, she won’t. You know how much she wanted to go on this trip.” I don’t have the heart to take it away from her no matter how much I am hurting.
“How can we help?” Delilah’s soft voice soothes the throb in my chest.
“I’m not sure if you can. I’m the one who got myself into this mess.”
Not just yourself.
Fuck. Cami.
If I hadn’t been so na?ve, she would have never gotten close to Cal. I could have kept my defenses up instead of letting my heart rule over my brain.
Did you seriously learn nothing from the past?
The realization makes me lose the battle against my tears. A few fall, sliding down my cheeks before landing on my dress.
You let them form a bond together.
“Alana,” Violet calls.
I look up at the ceiling. My vision blurs from the tears, dulling the fluorescent lighting.
“Look at me.” Violet speaks firmer this time.
My eyes slide to my phone. “What?”
“Whatever happened…none of it is your fault.”
My chest pricks. “It sure feels like it.”
“We will make him pay for what he did. That much I promise.”
My laugh comes out broken and hollow. “I don’t want revenge. I just want him gone. Forever.”
“Then that’s what we will do.”
Her use of we makes me emotional for a completely different reason.
You’re not alone in this.
Violet and Delilah remain on the phone while I cry it out. Come tomorrow, I will need to pretend none of this ever happened, so I allow myself to feel everything tonight. My anger. My sadness. My betrayal.
I might not have everything figured out by the time I stop crying, but I’m sure of one thing: Callahan Kane is going to regret ever thinking he could take advantage of my kindness and get away with it.
46
CAL
Lana has been acting strange. Ever since we returned from Rowan and Zahra’s place, she has kept quiet. Before I had a chance to ask her what she thought about the night, she disappeared into Cami’s room, claiming she needed to get her ready for bed.
By the time I come out of the shower, the door to her room is locked with no answer when I knock.
She is probably still in the shower.
I take a seat on the couch and pull up Candy Crush. My highest score was quickly beaten by the same little git across the world who scored the top spot by a measly three points.
I’m not sure how long I play for. Lana doesn’t ever open her door, so I lose track of time. I only quit once my eyes start to get heavy.
I rise from my spot on the couch and knock on Lana’s door again.
“Lana.” My knuckles tap against the wood.
No answer.
I press my ear against the door but still can’t hear anything.
Rather than wait around, I go to my room and text her.
Everything okay? You didn’t answer when I knocked.
My text goes unanswered, too. Either Lana fell asleep the moment she put her head on the pillow or she is avoiding me. While the first option is highly plausible, especially after the long day we had, I can’t help considering the second.
I sift through the memories of the night. From my point of view, it seemed like she had a great night. Lana got along well with Zahra and Iris, and she held her own when going up against Declan. She even got that special glint in her eyes that I love when Rowan tried to buy out her recipe for a million dollars.
I don’t think anything went wrong. Yet I can’t seem to shake the nagging sensation in the back of my head.
I text Iris individually.
Hey.
Time goes by painfully slow as I wait for her to answer.
Iris
Hey. What’s up?
Did anything seem off about Alana after dinner?
The dots appear and disappear twice before a message pops up.
Iris
I’m not sure. Ask me tomorrow when I’m sober.