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"Tell me, Daphne, did you think there was any real hope that your Mother would ever accept me? Or were you just hoping I'd provide enough distraction before she destroyed me?"
Daphne's silence was answer enough.
"That takes the cake." I felt something break inside me, some last fragile hope that this had all been a misunderstanding. "After everything your Mother said to me, after the way she systematically tore apart every moment Edward and I hadshared, there was still a tiny part of me that hoped maybe it could work out. Maybe if I proved myself worthy enough, if I was charming enough at the right events, if I showed enough grace under pressure..." I laughed bitterly. "But it was all orchestrated, wasn't it? Even my 'triumphs' were just part of someone else's strategy.
"Do you have any idea what it feels like to discover that your entire relationship might be built on manipulation? To wonder if his feelings are real or if Edward’s just really good at playing a part? Your Mother made sure I'd never be able to trust anything that happened between us."
Each word was carefully chosen to wound, and they found their mark with devastating precision. "You actually believe I'm using Edward for professional gain?" I pressed on, my emotions boiling over like a stormy sea, each word carrying the weight of my frustration. "And let's not forget the visa situation. When this acquisition completes, I don't just lose my job—I lose my legal right to stay in England. Your Mother didn't just plan to destroy my relationship with Edward, she planned to erase me from the country entirely."
After a long pause, Daphne finally broke the silence with her voice once more.
"I think you're both using each other for different reasons, and I think you're both too blinded by infatuation to see how it's going to destroy everything."
"Like you and James aren't doing the exact same thing?"
"James and I love each other!"
"And Edward and I don't?" I shot back. "What makes your secret relationship noble while ours is just opportunistic infatuation?"
"Because James isn't married to his work the way Edward is! Because James doesn't have Mother issues that make him incapable of real emotional intimacy! Because James actuallyknows how to put someone else's needs before his own ambitions!"
The attack on Edward triggered something primal and protective in me. "Don't you dare. You don't know anything about what Edward and I have together."
"I know my brother better than you ever will," Daphne said coldly. "I know that he's incapable of choosing love over duty when it really matters. I know that, when forced to pick between you and his career, he'll pick his career every time. And I know that believing otherwise is just setting yourself up for heartbreak."
"Better to risk heartbreak than to manipulate other people into providing cover for my cowardice," I snapped back.
"Cowardice?" Daphne's voice rose to match mine. "I'm the coward? I'm not the one who's been lying to her best friend while seducing her brother! I'm not the one who's been accepting family hospitality while conducting a secret affair under their roof!"
"No, you're just the one who brought that friend here specifically to be your unknowing accomplice! You're just the one who's been playing puppet master with other people's emotions to serve your own agenda!"
We were both breathing hard now, years of friendship disintegrating under the weight of shared mistrust. The conservatory felt like a battlefield, littered with the wreckage of trust and affection.
"I never meant for you to get hurt this badly," Daphne said desperately. "I thought... I hoped that maybe if Edward really fell for you, he'd be strong enough to stand up to Mother. That love would be enough to overcome everything else."
"I thought you were my friend," I said finally, my voice breaking despite my efforts to remain strong.
"I thought you were mine," Daphne replied, tears beginning to track down her cheeks. "I thought friendship meant honesty and trust, not secrets and seduction."
"It also means not using people as pawns in your romantic games."
"And it means not betraying the people who've welcomed you into their family."
The silence that followed was deafening. We stared at each other across the ruins of what had once been genuine affection, both of us recognizing that some things, once said, couldn't be taken back.
"I think," I said quietly, "we've both said enough."
"I think you're right."
Daphne turned toward the conservatory door, her movements sharp and brittle. But before she could leave, she paused, looking back at me with something that might have been regret.
"For what it's worth," she said, "I really did want you to be happy. I just wanted to be happy too."
"I know," I replied. "But wanting to be happy doesn't justify destroying other people to get there."
She nodded, a slight inclination of her head that somehow conveyed both agreement and finality. "I suppose this means you'll be leaving."
"I suppose it does."