Love, Lies and Louboutins (Heartbreak Book 2)

by S. M Phillips

  As much as I don’t want to admit it, I guess it would all make sense. Why else would she just casually turn up in our area completely out of the blue? I look between the two of them again and still neither of them seem to notice me, or more importantly the weird rage that’s bubbling up inside of me.

  Could this be why I’ve been so anxious all day?

  Did my subconscious know something like this was going to happen?

  “Lyndsey,” I say, hoping beyond hope to get something from her, but again it’s like none of them can hear me, like I’m suddenly invisible to them. “Look,” I snap, “I hate to break whatever this is up, but will one of you tell me what’s going on here.” I demand.

  Finally, after what feels like an age, Matt seems to snap out of whatever trance he’s been in and stands up much too quickly almost knocking the chair over as he goes. “Emily, we’re leaving.” He says and his tone is laced with venom, something which I have never heard from him before. Actually, as I look at him now, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. He’s like a stranger, like I’ve never really known him.

  “Excuse me?” I don’t know who he thinks he’s talking to, but I want some answers. Surely, I deserve some fucking answers? Plus, he’s not really in a position to start making demands, is he?

  “You heard me. We’re leaving.”

  “Oh no we’re not. Not until someone at least tells me what’s going on.”

  “Sorry to keep you…”

  A deep, familiar voice rings in my ears from the doorway and my eyes dart towards it, praying that this has to be some sick and twisted joke that someone’s playing. It’s not. “Noah?” I exclaim, “What are you doing here?”

  “Emily?” He replies, and he looks just as shocked as me. All evidence of his warm welcome has vanished, instead he now looks pale and sheepish.

  “Oh shit… this is bad. Really, really bad.” Rachel hisses from where she’s giving Doug a blow by blow account. I sure hope she’s enjoying her front row seat to all the drama that’s about to unfold. I look over to her and her face confirms that I’m not imagining this. This is actually happening, and it’s happening to me. Screw you, universe. I knew you were out to get me right from the start, but this is taking the royal piss.

  Noah stands before me. The very same Noah who I happened to go on a couple of dates with last year. The very same Noah whose date I had to vacate early due to an overly embarrassing reaction to an impromptu fanny wax. The very same Noah who I cut all ties with because deep in my heart I wanted Matt, even before my head even knew it.

  “Who the fuck is Noah?” both Matt and Lyndsey say in unison. Sweet mother of Jesus, this is turning out to be worse than your typical Jeremy Kyle show and trust me when I say that’s saying something.

  “Neil, why’s she calling you Noah?” Lyndsey asks, her eyes wide and flitting between us. Exactly the same way I was looking between her and Matt a couple of seconds ago. When I see Noah’s betrayal register on her face, watch the tears begin to fill her eyes, threatening to spill over the small, delicate barriers that are holding my rage inside burst, and my anger breaks free. How fucking dare she stand there and start playing the victim? She’s got some nerve, I’ll give her that. How can she be upset when she’s clearly been doing the dirty with my boyfriend?

  Sod being professional. That shit left the room when she walked through that door. When Tyler screwed me over, I swore I would never let it happen again and I meant it. I’m not about to change that now. Not for Matt, not for anyone.

  “Neil,” I say after a few moments of deadly silence. “Is that what you call yourself these days, or is that just for home and business use?”

  “I don’t…” he begins, but I don’t allow his excuses to fill the room. My head is ready to explode and I think it’s time I had my say. I also think it’s time that Lyndsey knows what type of man she’s going to marry. Not that I think it will make a difference, because well, hello… double standards spring to mind. I’m so glad I got out of it when I did as he clearly would have had me going around on a merry-go-round.

  “Do you mind telling me how you think you know my fiancé?” Lyndsey pipes up and I can’t stop the laugh that escapes me.

  “This is beyond messed up. It’s fucking crazy.” I shout out, not really giving a flying toss about how I look or sound anymore. “Maybe it’s best if you start telling me how you know my boyfriend.” I snarl, pointing my finger aggressively in Matt’s face.

  “Emily, stop.” Matt says again, his hand reaching out for mine, pleading for me to stop. Well no, no I won’t stop, not until I know what’s happened. I quickly pull my hand back out of his grasp and say, “don’t touch me and don’t Emily, me,” before turning my attention back to Lyndsey. “I bet this was all planned right from the off, wasn’t it? Is that why you hired me, so you could get closer to him while laughing about it the whole time?”

  “That’s not…”

  “I don’t give a shit, you can have him if you want him that badly. But let me tell you something, here’s the deal so listen carefully. While you two have been secretly screwing around for God knows how long, good old Noah, or Neil, here was keeping himself busy by trying to get into my knickers. He even bought me a new phone and everything, didn’t you?” I look directly at him and the little pussy bag hangs his head in shame. Where the hell are his balls? Surely if you’re going to screw around like a man, you need to have the tools to at least act like one too? “I won’t lie, he probably would have stood a good chance too if my vajayjay hadn’t blistered up from a bloody vag-wax.”

  “When the hell was this?” Matt hisses, but I choose to ignore him. No, I’m waiting for Noah or bloody Neil to deny it. So far, he seems to have lost all ability to speak.

  “Is this true?” Lyndsey demands, but her voice breaks with it. She’s utterly destroyed and if I wasn’t so angry I’d probably feel bad for her too. After all, through no fault of my own I’ve just shattered her world and everything she believed in. But isn’t that what her and Matt have just done to me?

  “Emily, I think we should leave now, you know, before this gets ugly.”

  “Are you blind?” I snap back at Matt. Is he totally oblivious to what’s just happened? “It’s already passed ugly, you dick. Rach, Doug, come on, we’re leaving.”

  The pair of them stand up straight away and Doug looks like he needs to pick his jaw up from the floor. “Not you,” Rachel turns on Matt, “You’ve made your bed so now it’s time you lie in it.” She snarls back at him and her love and protection for me is so strong and I love her for it. I want to hug her so hard, but I restrain myself because if I do then I’ll cry and there’s no way I’ll be turning into a blubbering mess in front of these people. “Clearly you three have got more in common with each other — cheating and sneaking around behind each other’s backs. Emily hasn’t got time for that and if you really knew her, then you’d know why.”

  “Emily, wait, please. It’s not what you think, I promise.” Matt pleads at me as I step away from him and towards the door where Noah still stands, acting all sheepish.

  “You know, before all of this I actually thought you were a pretty decent guy, and I liked Lyndsey too. But, once again I guess that was a huge error of judgement on my part. In reality, you’re all as bad as each other.”

  “Wait,” Lyndsey calls after me and the calmness in her voice surprises me. “Matt’s right, you’ve got this all wrong. It’s all been blown way out of proportion. Please stay and hear him out, don’t just walk away from him.”

  “I don’t think you’re the best person to be telling me what to do, do you?” I reply, bitterness oozing out of every part of me. And there was me worrying about bloody Cruella for all this time and all along the real culprit was right under my nose. “I’m actually really sorry to see our working relationship end like this, and also what I thought was the beginnings of what could have been a great friendship too,” and deep down, underneath all the hate and my rage fuelled inner de
vil bitch that’s come out to play, I mean every word.

  “No matter what you do Lynds, you always manage to fuck shit up, don’t you? You just can’t seem to stop yourself.” I hear Matt shout at her just as I near the end of the long hallway with Rach and Doug by my side, and then I can’t hear him anymore.

  It’s not what he’s stupidly done that’s hurting me the most right now, no, it’s the way he shortened down her name to Lynds. It just slid off his tongue so naturally as if he’s used to calling her by it.

  “Are you okay?” Rachel asks, her voice breaking for me as she holds me close. “Emily, I’m so sorry.”

  “What do you have to apologise for?” My eyes find hers, searching for an answer. My head’s so puddled and I’m not following where she’s going with this.

  “Well, if I hadn’t been responsible for introducing you to not one, but bloody both, then none of this would have happened.”

  “Of course it would you crazy mare. Don’t you dare go blaming yourself.” I reach out and hold my best friend’s hand and I tighten my grip on her, more for support than anything else, “if anything I should be thanking you. If it hadn’t been for you, then I would have never found out.”

  “I’m really sorry, Emily,” Doug says, “but bloody hell there’s never a dull moment with you two, is there?”

  “Not now, Doug.” Rachel scolds him and I feel bad. It’s not his fault for pointing out the truth. Actually, I think I would benefit from having him around more often. “There’s a time and a place for comments like that.”

  “It’s okay Rach. If I wasn’t so pissed off I’d actually find it pretty comical myself. I mean come on, what are the bloody chances?”

  “Taxi’s here,” Rachel sounds relieved as she says it too, and she holds out her arm and I waste no time in grabbing hold of it.

  “Bloody hell, hurry up and get me home so I can put this nightmare to bed.”

  “That’s all part of the plan.”

  “Emily…” I hear Matt’s voice over the running engine and I turn around just in time to catch a glimpse of his torn expression, desperate even. I’m quite surprised actually as he looks truly pained. A small part of me wants to break free of Rachel’s hold on me and run to him, desperate for him to tell me that this was all one big misunderstanding.

  “Ignore him, love, he’s a bloody waster and you’re better off without a prick like that.” She mutters in my ear and slowly coaxes me into the back of the cab. “He’ll only try to worm his way back in while you’re vulnerable.”

  Just as she tells the driver where we’re headed, I hear Matt shouting through the open window, and as we set off his words register in my head. “Emily, please, you’ve got it all wrong. Lyndsey’s my sister.”

  I spin around only to see him waving and shouting frantically, but it’s too late, the cabs already picking up speed and even though Rachel has a vice-like grip on me, I see the shock and realisation in her eyes.

  Lyndsey is Matt’s sister? But how, what, and why?

  That’s when it clicks. “Did you hear that?” I ask her and she nods frantically back at me, no doubt having the same thoughts as I am. What the hell have I gone and done?

  Matt is Lyndsey’s brother. The one she was so desperately trying to find and build bridges with, and in true Emily Parker fashion I’ve bloody gone in all guns blazing without finding out the facts first and royally fucked everything up for everyone.

  I’ve just opened a whole can of worms that didn’t even need to be touched, let alone opened. So, not only have I just lost my first client, but I’ve no doubt just lost a friend, my boyfriend and ruined a relationship all in the space of an hour.

  I guess Lyndsey would have found out about Noah’s double life eventually, but to find out in front of your long-lost brother that he was trying to get it on with his bird is horrendous. On the plus side, if ever there can be a plus side in this kind of situation, at least she found out now instead of after the wedding.

  “What am I supposed to do now?” I say out loud — more to myself as I try to contemplate how I’m even going to attempt to explain this stupid Noah/Neil situation to Matt. “I’ve well and truly done it now, haven’t I?”

  “None of this is your fault, Emily.”

  I really wished I could believe her. But this all totally my fault, one hundred percent and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve fucked up my life good and proper once again and I’ve only got my big fat trap to blame.

  “We’ll find a way to get this sorted, I promise.” Rachel soothes, “but first, we need to get you home. You’ll see things much clearer after a full night’s sleep.”

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, I would like to thank my big sister for my amazing Nescafe dolce gusto machine. Never has a present like that little beauty been more needed, or more used. Caffeine you are my life —don’t ever go changing. Sweet darling boy of mine, Mummy needs some sleep, so if ever you’re feeling a little generous, maybe you could sleep for more than three hours each night. Trust me, once you have mastered the art, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t sleep sooner.

  I’d also like to thank my amazing PA, Louise. You really have no idea how much you keep my life in check. I never thought I would ever type these words, but, I bloody love that you always give me a mighty good kick up the arse when needed — which to be fair is quite often.

  To my beta’s — thank you for always freeing up your time to read my latest creations and offering your feedback. You guys are legends.

  To my amazing editor, Andie. You make my editing process so exciting, because I can’t wait to open up my manuscript and see what hilarious comments you have left for me. On a more serious note, there’s no denying you’re the bomb(dot)com and I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the next one.

  Lastly, and the most important one of all is to you guys. Thank you for continuing on Emily Parker’s journey and thank you for reading the words that I put out there for all to see. It really does mean the world to me.

  I hope you enjoyed Emily’s escapades. I would be really grateful if you could be kind enough to leave a review on Amazon myBook.to/llal

  This helps us Indie’s out immensely and it also helps spread the word about our books far and wide.

  You guys rock!!!

  Until next time,

  Steph xx