Embrace Me

by Rebecca Turley

  “You don’t think you’ve done anything wrong? You were seeing Charlie behind my back!”

  “I was not…not that I have to explain myself to you.”

  “You think you’re so amazing, don’t you?”

  “If all we are going to talk about is Charlie, then I’m going to leave. I thought you wanted to get closure, Megan. We both have to move on from this. Despite everything you and your family have done to me, I want that for both of us.”

  “I still love him, Shannon,” she sobbed, sinking back down into her chair and downing her glass of champagne in one go. “I know there’s no chance. I can see that you’re the one he wants, but I’ve never wanted something I can’t have before. I don’t know how to deal with it.” I couldn’t feel sorry for Megan…not any more.

  “You just have to learn.”

  “It’s not that easy,” she sighed, throwing her long blonde hair over her shoulders.

  “If I can learn to adapt to all of this, you can move on, Megan.”

  “You’re a lot stronger than me,” she replied, looking at me sadly. Did I sense longing in her eyes?

  “Was it all a lie, Megan?” I asked. She looked at me, confused. “Our friendship—was it all pretend?”

  “I wish I could say it was,” she groaned. “But, no, Shan. You probably understood me better than anyone. I valued your friendship a lot, even more so when…well, you know when.”

  “It hurts to know what your family did to me—how you could all be so deceitful.”

  “I can’t explain just how sorry we are, especially after what you did for us with Maisy.”

  “She is the only innocent member in your family. I wasn’t going to let her down!” I snapped.

  “We’re all grateful.”

  “I already know all this from talking to Will.”

  “It wasn’t pretend with him either, Shannon.” This wasn’t where I wanted the conversation to go.

  “I didn’t come here to talk about your brother. I’ve already spoken to him.”

  “What do you want to say, Shan? I’m listening. I owe you that.” An understanding Megan; well, this was different.

  “Firstly, Charlie and I never set out to hurt you or Will. We simply fell in love, and the way you and your brother reacted because of it was utterly disgusting. You have no idea how lost I felt until I found Charlie. Yes, you gave me strength and courage over the years with our friendship, but considering it was your family’s fault in the first place, that theory is void.” I knew my tone was harsh, but she, of all people, deserved it. “I was blackmailed by your brother, Megan. He threatened to kill Charlie, and you have the nerve to sit there and have a go at me because I am marrying him!? Do you know how much of a hypocrite you sound like?” She was sat there smiling into her champagne glass. “What is so funny?” I snapped.

  “You’ve grown into a strong woman like your mother.”

  “No thanks to your family!” I snarled.

  “I know I deserve that. I didn’t know Will was blackmailing you at the time. I thought you actually wanted to marry him.”

  “Truthfully?” I asked, widening my eyes.

  “Truthfully, Shan. Only my father knew.” I wasn’t expecting that.

  “It still doesn’t change anything.” Megan had still lied through our entire friendship.

  “I wasn’t expecting it to. I just thought you should know. I know Will offered to give you all the answers and you declined.”

  “I’m not living in the past anymore. I have all the answers I need.”

  “You’ve come out of this stronger than I thought you would.”

  “Charlie gives me all the strength I need.” It was a low blow, but I couldn’t stop myself. Megan glared—her ice blue eyes trying to slice through me—but I wasn’t afraid of her. I could stand up to any Field member now.

  “I was shocked to learn that Harry Mac is his brother.”

  “They’re working through their issues.”

  “He took the bullet for Charlie that night, didn’t he?”

  “Yes.” I tried to keep my voice calm.

  “We sure made a mess of everything. Who knew money could cause this much chaos?” That was understatement.

  “What was the main plan, Megan? If I had married Will, what would have been in store for me?” Did I really want to know? I knew a small part of me did.

  “Father wanted you to discover your true identity once you and Will were expecting your first child.” I wanted to throw up in my mouth. “I know how wrong that sounds.”

  “Didn’t you think it was wrong, the lengths your family went to for power? Field Organisation isn’t exactly suffering financially.”

  “You know this feud goes deeper than that, Shannon.”

  “And we are the generation where it has to stop,” I replied firmly. “We have to accept that our families will never join forces. We can’t let this war continue, Megan.”

  “Shouldn’t you be having this conversation with my brother?”

  “I already have.”

  “And what was his answer.”

  “He’s moving on and letting go.”

  “Really?” I don’t think she believed me.

  “We’ll still have the past, that won’t change, but we all need to look to the future.”

  “That’s easy for you to say when you have everything, Shannon.”

  “There was a time I would have said the same thing about you, and did I ever make you feel bad about it? I did everything you asked of me, Megan. Christ, I idolised you, and all the time you knew the truth about me!”

  “Alright! God, stop with the guilt trip, already.”

  “I won’t be looking back when I leave this bar. I need to know you understand that this is where we move past everything. I’m done worrying or even thinking about it. I’ve wasted too much time over it already. This entire feud ends right now, right here!”

  “I can’t forgive you for taking Charlie.”

  “I’m not asking for forgiveness. I couldn’t care less what you think. I’m referring to moving on and not looking back. If I happen to bump into you in the years to come, I’ll be civil, but that’s it, Megan. This. Ends. Here. The bitching, the snide comments to the press—it all stops.”

  “That’s your demand for helping to save Maisy?”

  “This isn’t because of Maisy. This is for us. I know you. You’ll never let this go if we don’t call it quits now.”

  “So what? I hold my hands up and say, ‘Go ahead, Shannon. Marry the only man I have ever loved and be happy!’? Do you want to hear that to make yourself feel better?”

  “You see?! This is the bitterness I’m talking about. You need to let it go before it suffocates you. You can be happy, too. Someone is out there for you.” Megan laughed darkly, finishing her drink before she got up. “You’re leaving?”

  “I’ve heard enough.”

  “You can’t do it can you?” I laughed as she began to walk away. “After everything you did to me, you can’t be happy for me.”

  “Not when you have the only person I want, Shannon, no!” she glared. “You can’t ask me to be happy about that. I don’t care that you helped save my sister. I never wanted you as my equal. I wanted to keep you under my thumb. I loved ordering you around, knowing who you really were. It made me feel powerful.”

  “You are such a heartless bitch, Megan Field.” I tried to fight back the tears, knowing that I was stronger than this.

  “Have a nice life, but mark my words, Shannon Downing, I won’t ever forgive you for taking Charlie.”

  “I know what you’re trying to do!” I called. “It won’t work. I have no guilt when it comes to Charlie and me.” She started to walk away but I followed her. “Charlie loved me when I was nothing. He saved me, helped me find the real me. You might think you love Charlie, but you can’t love him like I do. Would you have sacrificed everything for him? Would you have done the same thing if you’d been blackmailed? Would you stand in front of a gun fo
r him?” She turned an ice cold stare in my direction. “I know you wouldn’t have, Megan. You will only ever put yourself first. It’s in your nature.”

  “Don’t think you know me,” she snarled as she reached the hotel entrance.

  “I do know you. That’s why, deep down inside, I know you’re realising that I’m right. You’re too proud to ever admit it, and I’m fine with that.”

  “You don’t know me!” she seethed, but I knew her better than this. The truth was behind her blue gem eyes.

  “Try to be happy, Megan. Don’t live your life being bitter. It will eat away at you,” I pleaded. “I care about you enough to want you to have a life. Don’t be drowned by the darkness and hatred.”

  She was about to leave through the double doors when she stopped and turned a soft stare in my direction.

  “Okay,” she sighed. “This ends here. Don’t expect me to be happy, though, and please, God, do not invite me to the wedding.” I exhaled deeply and nodded. Had I finally gotten through to her? That seemed impossible, but it was better to end things with a little understanding, than to have Megan trying to pull my hair out. “And for what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

  “An apology from Megan Field,” I teased, gasping and clutching at my chest.

  “Don’t get used to it. It won’t ever happen again.”

  “Just be happy, Megan.”

  “I would say the same to you, but I already know you are.” There was sadness in her eyes I couldn’t read. “I’ll miss it.”

  “Miss what?” I asked, confused.

  “Our friendship.” My eyes widened; I wasn’t expecting that.

  “Megan, we can’t…”

  “I know there’s no going back—not now. I just wanted you to know, seeing as we are being truthful just this once.” She looked at her watch briefly. “I have to go, Shan. I have a flight to catch in an hour.”

  “Another photo shoot?” I grinned.

  “You know me too well,” she replied with her heart stopping smile. “I might see you around.”

  “Maybe,” I mused. “Goodbye, Megan.”

  “Bye, Shannon.”

  It felt liberating to watch Megan Field leave. The last of my past had been laid to rest, and now all I had left to do was embrace my future with Charlie.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Where do you want these boxes to go, Shan?” Bradley asked.

  “They should be labeled,” I stressed, checking the box. “Look, see? It’s labeled kitchen.”

  “You know you could have paid people to do this, right?” he teased.

  “And watch them break it all?” I commented as he walked off.

  “Stop stressing,” Charlie beamed, walking in with another box.

  “Are there many more?”

  “There are only a few left…stop worrying,” he breathed, pecking my lips softly as he

  moved. “This is meant to be fun.” He put an emphasis on the word fun.

  “I am having fun,” I beamed as Lorna called me into the front room.

  “You have more stuff than my grandmother, Shan, and she is a hoarder,” Lorna joked.

  “You are meant to be helping.”

  “Hey, you’re the one who decided to move and get married in less than two months.”

  “Mrs. Gray is handling the wedding.”

  “Which is a good job. Shannon, is that a grey hair?” she teased, pulling a strand of

  hair from my ponytail.

  “Funny,” I breathed. “Let’s just get these boxes unpacked. I’ll feel better once some of the stuff has been put away.”

  Lorna and Bradley stayed until the late evening. As Charlie and I settled on the couch, I let out a deep sigh.

  “We’re here now, Shan. You can relax,” he chuckled, pulling me against his chest.

  “Does it feel as if we’ve waited a lifetime for this, as well?”

  “In many ways, yes,” Charlie muttered, tracing his fingertips over my engagement ring. “I always knew we’d get here eventually. I just didn’t expect all these obstacles to get in our way.”

  “It’s been quite an eventful few years.”

  “Eventful?” he chuckled, moving to pour us a glass of wine. “I could use a few other words.”

  “It isn’t over yet, either,” I pointed out.

  “I think the worst is finally behind us.”

  “You’ve said that before,” I replied, stretching for my wine glass. Charlie stopped me, pulling me back as he pressed me against the couch with his body.

  “Are you teasing me?” he purred, his hand slowly inching up my leg.

  “I thought I was stating a fact,” I groaned as his lips began to travel down my neck.

  “I can’t believe that in less than two months, you’ll be my wife.”

  “Me, either,” I groaned as I succumbed to Charlie’s powers. Our first night in our new home couldn’t have been more perfect.

  “How is the house coming along?” my mother asked. She had arrived in London a few days ago for a business meeting—which I had also attended—but couldn’t leave without taking me for a high tea at the Ritz.

  “Wonderful. Charlie’s studio is really coming together.”

  “That’s the new outbuilding, am I right?” I nodded. “It really is a beautiful piece of land, Lizzie. I’m sure you and Charlie will be very happy there.”

  “We are looking forward to building our life there,” I beamed before taking a bite of one of the small, dainty cakes.

  “Are the wedding plans going well?”

  “Yes. Mrs. Gray is amazing.”

  “I have to agree. She does take the stress out of the whole experience.” My mother was thoughtful for a few moments until she spoke again. “It’s going to be hard walking you down that aisle, Lizzie. I feel as if I only just got you back.”

  “You know you’re not really losing me, right? You’ll always be a big part of my life. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to hand you over to anyone more deserving. I know Charlie will take good care of you. He’s proved that to me time and time again.”

  “It’s going to be an amazing day.”

  “Of course it will be,” she grinned, touching my hand over the table. “I’m so proud of you, Shannon. The way you have dealt with everything since we found out your identity—you have been nothing but confident and inspiring. I am in awe of you.”

  “Even if I did decide we should introduce partners into the business?”

  “Shannon, that was the best idea you could have ever come up with. I was always too afraid to give up any sort of control to anyone, but I have something other than my work to live for now. I have all this new freedom, and I love it.”

  “You see? I told you,” I giggled, dabbing my napkin over my mouth.

  “I want to take you shopping after this. We need to sort out your honeymoon luggage.”

  “Has Charlie told you where he is taking me?” I asked.

  “I only know it’s somewhere hot.”

  “That’s a big help,” I sulked while my mother smirked at me.

  “Come on, finish your tea. I want to hit the shops,” she grinned.

  I came back overloaded with bags. Charlie was talking to the builders outside as I pulled up, but he quickly rushed over to help me.

  “What have you been doing—buying most of London?” he joked.

  “My mother got a little carried away.” When he began to peer into one of the bags, I slapped his hand away. “No peeking. These are all for the honeymoon.”

  “You’re buying clothes for the honeymoon already?”

  “Like I said, my mother is a force of nature.” I giggled as we entered the house.

  “I think I’d have to agree with that. Oh, and Mrs. Gray called while you were out. I said you’d call her back.”

  “Okay,” I called, putting the bags in one of the spare rooms.

  “How did lunch go…other than the shopping?” Charlie asked when I joi
ned him back in the kitchen. He was already making a hot drink. I was mesmerized by his body as he stretched momentarily. He truly was glorious, and all mine.

  “Good, the board members came back with positive feedback.”

  “Are you still flying to New York next week?”

  “Yeah, we have a few things to sign over, but it’s all looking very promising.”

  “Has there been any more news on Maisy’s progress?”

  “No. I’m still undecided as to if I should step away from all of that now or not. I’m starting the next chapter and need the closure.”

  “Are you ever going to tell me what you and Megan spoke about last month?”

  “We came to a truce. That’s all you need to know.”

  “Megan agreed to a truce? I find that hard to believe.”

  “We just agreed to go our separate ways and not hold onto the past.”

  “Please tell me she wasn’t still hankering for me?” Charlie gasped, stroking my face. “Surely she knows where my heart is by now.”

  “She does.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “But I promised we wouldn’t shove it in her face.”

  “Well, that won’t be difficult seeing as how I don’t want you within a mile of any of the Fields.”

  “Are you worried that they might crash the wedding?” I teased, but his face dropped. I knew he worried, and after the last few years, I knew why.

  “Nothing will go wrong. I will be marrying you on our beach, and we can finally start our new life together.”

  “I know that, Sweetheart,” Charlie whispered, brushing his lips against mine. “It’s just habit, ignore me.”

  “I was thinking we could have a picnic tomorrow in the poppy field we found last week.”

  “That sounds like a lovely idea.”

  “I knew you wanted to take a few pictures, so we can decide where on the beach we want the canopy for the wedding to go, too.”

  “Something tells me you’re getting a little excited about this wedding,” he purred, pulling me into his arms and kissing the breath out of me.

  “Does it show that much?” I panted when he released my lips.

  “Just a little,” he smirked, hitting my behind lightly before walking back out to the builders.

  I could watch Charlie take pictures all day. After we’d been to the beach, he carried on his artistic talent in our poppy field. I lay in the field on a white fleece blanket, gazing at him.