by Ali Parker
His voice made my skin crawl. I was not interested in hearing anything from the man. I didn’t like him, and it was more than evident Terran wanted to beat the hell out of him. I couldn’t let him put himself in the position to get sued again. The first time, the police looked the other way. If it became a pattern, Terran stood to lose a lot more than a few hundred dollars.
I looked at Lance with a tight smile on my face. “We were just leaving. Maybe you can call Terran later.”
Lance slowly shook his head. “I don’t think that’s going to work.”
“I’m sorry?”
The man looked at Terran then back at me. “I think your fiancé forgot to tell you an important piece of our family history.”
I tried not to squirm in my seat. The man made my skin crawl. “That’s between him and me.”
Lance shook his head. “Oh no. It’s between all of us and the lawyers, isn’t it Terran?”
“Shut up Lance. Get the hell out of here,” Terran growled.
“You know that’s not going to happen,” Lance snapped.
“Leave, now.”
“I’ll leave if you promise to do as I asked earlier,” Lance said, looking back at Terran.
“What is going on?” I asked, feeling like I was caught in the middle of a family feud I had no clue existed.
“Lance, we’ll talk about this later,” Terran hissed.
Lance shrugged a shoulder and turned to face me. “Has Terran told you about his father’s will?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s none of my business.”
He grinned. “Oh, but it is your business. Terran’s daddy was old-school. He believed a man should marry young and stay with that woman for the rest of his life. He didn’t believe in divorce. Even after his wife died at a young age, he stayed committed to her. He always hated that Terran was such a party boy, hopping from one bed to the next. It made him furious.”
“That’s unfortunate, but that is not the Terran I know, and that’s all that matters to me.”
“Well, it gets better. Terran’s daddy was filthy rich and with Terran being the only heir, besides myself that is, you would assume he would get the inheritance without any trouble. Unfortunately, that’s not the case at all. Terran here didn’t get his daddy’s money. It’s still locked down tight in the bank with some very strict strings attached to it.”
I took a deep breath and looked at Terran. His face had gone pale. I had expected to see anger.
“And? Obviously, you have some big secret you are just dying to tell me, so get on with it. I don’t have all night,” I snapped, irritated by the games the man was playing.
Lance grinned. “Damn, you are a feisty one.”
“I’m leaving,” I said and grabbed my purse.
“Wait a second now. I’m getting to the best part.”
“It’s taken you long enough!”
“The only way Terran gets his money and gets to keep his company is by marring some innocent, clueless woman by his thirty-fifth birthday.”
The background noise in the restaurant faded to black. I felt as if I were in a tunnel, the sounds muffled and echoing around me.
“What?” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
Lance was smiling like the cat that ate the canary. “If Terran doesn’t get married or at the very least engaged, he loses everything. And wouldn’t you know it, his birthday is just around the corner. Now, I know my nephew, but I don’t know you. I can tell you Terran is not the marrying kind, but he is the kind to use people. He was born rich and knows nothing else. I have a feeling he would be willing to do just about anything to keep his millions. He wouldn’t think twice about using a woman, tricking her into marrying him just so he could inherit and then dumping her the next day.”
I was shaking my head. “You’re wrong.”
“I don’t think I am, but in case you need proof, you could always ask the lawyers fighting over the will. Terran has his own lawyer working on finding him a loophole. Too bad he couldn’t find one. Terran’s father was a smart man and made sure the only way Terran would ever see a penny of that money was by marrying. If he doesn’t get married, all the money goes to charity. His company, which his father gave him the money to start and still owned a majority of upon his death, will be dissolved. Terran will be flat broke. All his little toys, his fancy condo, everything will be gone. I doubt you have any interest in being with a basic guy with no money.”
It felt as if there were fifty mosquitoes in my head making a horrible buzzing sound. It was so loud I couldn’t think straight. Nothing was making sense. “Is that it? Did you have more to say?” I asked, my best bitch attitude on display.
Lance shrugged. “I don’t know, Terran, is there more? I think I’ve covered the basics, but you’ll have to ask your fiancé. I’m so sorry he used you. Such a shame to see one of my own treat a woman like you with such disregard.”
I gulped down the lump lodged in my throat. My mouth had gone paper dry. I dug deep and found those acting skills I hoped I had and smiled at Lance.
“That is a cute story, and I do appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to tell it, but I already know all there is to know about Terran. I love him, and we will be married. You can go now, Lance. You’re attempt to destroy my relationship has failed,” I said in a tight voice.
Lance looked pissed, giving me a slight bit of satisfaction when inside I was dying. “You’re lying. If you knew, you wouldn’t be so pale right now.”
“Am I lying? You don’t know me, and I don’t want to know you. I can tell you I am not some naïve little bumpkin. I suggest you get out of my sight before I accuse you of touching me in places you shouldn’t. I’ll have your ass thrown in jail so fast you won’t know what hit you,” I hissed, my eyes shooting fire.
Lance looked uncertain, his eyes darting between Terran and I before he finally got up and left. “I warned you, Terran, all you had to do was give me half. See what greed will get you. See you in court,” Lance shot back as he laughed his way out of the restaurant.
I looked down at the purse clasped in my lap. I didn’t remember grabbing it. I stared at it, studying the stitching, anything to keep from looking up at the man that had just shattered my heart into a million pieces.
“Hailey, let me explain,” Terran said from what felt like a million miles away.
I turned to face him, staring into his eyes and hoping I would see something that told me everything Lance said wasn’t true. I didn’t see that. Instead, I saw guilt and shame. Everything Lance had said had been the truth. I felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest and hundred-pound weights on my feet. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t draw in a breath. All I could do was sit there in that chair and stare at the man I had thought I knew.
He didn’t say anything more. He simply looked back at me. I realized at that moment, he had nothing to say, no excuse or explanation.
“Goodbye, Terran,” I whispered and pushed myself up from the table.
On legs that felt like limp noodles, I made my way outside. I felt as if everyone were staring at me, pointing their fingers and laughing at the stupid woman who had gotten duped by one of the most notorious womanizers in LA.
The fresh air washed over me, doing little to make the process of breathing any easier. I couldn’t breathe. It hurt to breathe too much. I stared at the headlights moving up the street, my eyes losing focus as I stared at the bright lights. My brain was mush. My heart was shredded. I had to get away from him.
“Hailey, wait!” I heard him say.
I stepped forward and put up my arm, pleading for a cab to stop. I couldn’t look at him. I wanted to run away and forget I had ever met him. I was such an idiot. How could I have been so stupid to fall for a man that fast and that hard? I had been duped in the worst way. My vision blurred again as tears began to stream down my face.
I shook my head. No way was I going to cry over him. He wasn’t worthy of my tears. I had already given him far too mu
ch. That had been my mistake. I would never be so stupid again. He had taught me a hard lesson. I wouldn’t repeat it.
Chapter 46
Terran
I rushed out of the restaurant, chasing Hailey. Her blond hair bouncing as she moved through the crowd, pushing her way outside. I had seen the look in her eyes when Lance told her his story. I was eternally grateful she hadn’t given him the satisfaction of dropping the bombshell on her. He expected an explosive reaction. She didn’t give it to him.
When she had stiffened, I saw that same suit of armor she had been wearing that first day we met in my office. She kept people at arm’s length. I knew it because I did the same thing. She had let me in, and I had hurt her terribly. It physically hurt me to see the pain I had caused her. I had to make it right. I caught up with her outside where she was standing on the sidewalk, unmoving.
“Hailey, wait, please,” I begged.
She moved to the edge of the sidewalk and put her hand up to hail a cab without looking back at me.
I moved toward her. “No, don’t go, yet. Wait a minute. Let me explain,” I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the area.
She snatched her hand out of mine. “What do you want?” she said, looking at me as tears streamed down her face.
“I want to explain what he said,” I begged.
“Is it true? Is what your uncle said true?” she asked.
I took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to lie to her. “Not entirely,” I hedged.
She raised an eyebrow, using the heel of her hand to wipe away the tears staining her cheeks. “What part isn’t true, Terran? The part about the will or the part where you used me to get richer? There is no part of that story that doesn’t end with me walking away from you.”
I hung my head in shame. “The will part is true. I did need to be engaged or married before my thirty-fifth birthday. Lance is making shit up. He is trying to get his hands on the money and offered to keep his mouth shut if I gave him half. I refused. He’s threatened to tell you about the will. I didn’t think he’d follow through.”
She laughed. “I guess he showed you, didn’t he? So, the part about finding a fiancée to fool the court was true?”
I grimaced. “Yes and no. I knew I had to find someone to agree to be engaged to me long enough for me to get the inheritance.”
She nodded her head, fresh tears rolling down her face. “And I was the lucky girl you chose. I’m flattered,” she said sarcastically.
I shook my head. “It isn’t like that. I mean, when I first saw you, I was immediately attracted to you. I knew the lawyer would believe you’d be the woman who caught my eye, but it wasn’t just for the money. I wanted to get to know you better. Then we went out that first time, and I realized I really liked you. I wanted to be with you, to learn more about you, but I was up against a timeline.”
She scoffed. “So you rushed into things. Decided I was an easy target?”
I shook my head again. “No. It wasn’t like that. I didn’t want to end things with you to try and find a woman to get engaged to just to get my inheritance. I wanted to be with you and knew that if I ended things and took up with someone else, even if it was only to get the money, you would never take me back.”
She had an incredulous look on her face. “I can’t believe you! I can’t believe you actually thought using a woman to get your father’s money was even an option. I don’t know you at all.”
“I didn’t do it, Hailey. I couldn’t. The more we started seeing each other, the more I realized I couldn’t do it!”
“You’re a horrible man, Terran Maddox. I can’t believe you actually think it was okay. You’re no better than Reggie. You were using me to get your dad’s money.”
I sighed, reaching out to put my hand on her shoulder. She jerked away. “Hailey, I wasn’t. Somewhere in the middle of things, I realized I had feelings for you.”
“Oh, gee, I bet that really muddied up the waters for you.”
“It’s true. You have to believe me. I fell in love with you.”
I saw her soften for a brief second before she regained that steely armor she always wore. “I can’t believe you. I mean, I wish I could believe you, but you’re not who you said you were. You’ve been lying to me from the very first moment we met. I can’t trust anything that comes out of your mouth.”
“Hailey, you do know me. You know me better than anyone else has ever known me. I’m telling you the truth. I do care for you. I never lied about that. I’m being completely honest with you,” I stressed, doing my best to get my point across.
She looked into my eyes. The pain I saw in hers was killing me. “I can’t trust a single word that comes out of your mouth. I was so stupid to believe you were different. You’re just like all the other men I’ve dated. You wanted one thing from me, and like a fool, I gave it to you. That meant something to me, and you used me.”
“It was special. I’m honored that you let me be your first, and I hope your last. You can trust me. I am different. I wasn’t using you,” I stressed.
She smiled. “You were going to, but your uncle just stepped in and ruined your plans you mean. What were you going to do, Terran? Were you going to get the will settled and then break up with me? Or maybe you were just planning to have a really long engagement until I gave up on the idea of ever marrying you?”
“Nothing like that.”
“Bullshit. You never once mentioned the wedding. You were pulling away after you gave me the stupid ring, and I should have realized then something was up. You’re good Terran, I’ll give you that. You’re a smooth-talker. You knew just what to say to get me to leave you alone and give you space. Were you seeing someone else?”
“No.”
“I know you like you said, and I’m guessing you had a backup plan in case I said no.”
I took in a deep breath and shrugged. “I knew you wouldn’t say no.”
Her mouth fell open. “What! Are you kidding me? Are you really that arrogant?”
I had told her I loved her. I had done everything I could to explain. She wasn’t hearing it. I wasn’t going to stand there and let her make me out to be the bad guy. She wasn’t exactly innocent.
“I’m not arrogant, Hailey, but I know you only agreed to go out with me because of who I am and what I have,” I said in a low voice.
She looked as if I had slapped her. “I can’t believe you just said that,” she whispered.
“I did say it, and you know it’s true. You would have never given me a second look if I didn’t have money and power. Your modeling career was ending, and you wanted financial security. I knew it, and I overlooked it. You say I’m just like the rest of the men you’ve dated, well, you’re just like the women I’ve dated. You weren’t in the relationship because you loved my personality. You loved my money and what it could buy you and accepted my personality,” I told her, looking her dead in the eyes.
She was shaking her head. “You are out of your mind. You have no idea what you’re talking about. I thought you knew me better than that.”
“I thought I did too until I realized you liked the finer things in life and would never settle down with a broke guy. I mean, you were a virgin. I know damn well there have been other men that have tried. That was your bargaining chip,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
“You asshole. You complete and total asshole. I don’t care about your money. That had nothing to do with what happened between us. That happened because I was gullible enough to believe you were someone you weren’t.”
I shrugged again. “That’s what you say, but what would you have done when I had to move out of my condo and I didn’t own the company? Are you going to tell me you would have wanted to marry me when I had no prospects, no money, and no real future?”
She nodded her head, a wane smile on her lips. “Actually, yes I would have. I loved you for you. Not for your money or your company. I fell in love with the man you led me to believe you were. I don’t know who
that man was, but that’s the man I would have married.”
“I don’t know if I believe that,” I shot back.
She cleared her throat. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but I’m not exactly poverty-stricken. I don’t need your money. I have plenty of my own. I don’t flaunt it like you do, but I’m not going to be broke anytime soon. Not to mention, I will likely be making more money in the near future.”
I smirked. “Oh, yes, because of my connections. Again, would you have been so willing to be my wife if I was just the average guy off the street?”
She was shaking her head. “You really have an inflated ego. I would have made it in the acting world with or without you. You don’t really know me at all. When I’m determined to do something, I do it. You did open the door, but that doesn’t mean you’re responsible for my success or my failure. I’m a big girl. I’ve been doing this all on my own for a long time.”
“Can we go back to my place and talk about this? I think there are some serious misunderstandings between us. I want to work this out. You said you loved me, and I know I love you. We can work through this,” I said, praying she would take me up on the offer.
She looked into my eyes, and I could see her softening. I stepped closer to her, wanting to touch her in some way. Just when I thought she would agree to go back home with me, she stepped away, pulling the ring off her finger and handing it to me.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Hailey don’t do this,” I begged.
“Goodbye, Terran,” she said and walked away, her arm up and a cab stopping almost immediately.
I watched her climb into the back of the cab and drive away without turning back even once. I stood there like a complete dipshit, holding the ring between my fingers as I stared at the taillights of the cab.
She had left me. Lance had done what he’d set out to do. My relationship was over. The woman I had fallen in love with had just left me standing on the street corner with nothing but a ring and a broken heart. I looked down at the ring, staring at the stones and feeling an overwhelming sense of loss. I had never loved anyone like I loved Hailey. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how I would get up tomorrow and go on with my life as if she’d never been a part of it.