Page 92 of Beautiful Lies

“Well. Maybe it happened for me.” My stomach squeezes.

He gives me a narrowed stare. “Is that what you came here to tell me?”

“All of it. I came here to talk about all of it.” It’s almost soothing to get those words off my chest. “Chad…how in the hell could I ever trust you again after you left me on a whim to fly off to Australia to fuck around?”

“Isla, please.”

“I deserve so much better than that.”

“And you think Knox Vale is that?”

“Yes.” No way do I believe Knox is the guy for me. And I’m not lying for the sake of the contract, either.

My answer is yes because Knox—as bad as he is—would never do what Chad did to me. He may be the devil, but he’s not that kind of coward. His dominance forbids it.

Chad practically left me out in the cold like an unwanted dog and sent me a message after to let me know he was gone and never coming back. He didn’t even have the balls to call. Nearly twenty years of friendship and eight years of being a couple, and that’s what he did.

He hangs his head and plants his hands on the back of his neck. For a moment, he says nothing. He just sits there in defeat. I take that as my cue to leave, so I stand.

He looks at me then.

“You’re still my friend,” I tell him. “We’ll always be friends. That’s why I thought I owed it to you to see you.”

He stands, too, determination filling his eyes. “Yes, we’ll always be friends. But I’m not giving up so easily.”

My eyes snap wide. “What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. I’m not giving up on you.”

“I’m getting married next week.”

“I know, and I respect that. But that doesn’t stop me from telling you how I feel. I’m back now, Isla. I came back for a reason, and that reason is you. It’s important you know that.”

Oh my God. How did things get worse? This wasn’t supposed to happen. “Chad, please don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t, but I mean every word I say, Isla. I still love you, and I won’t believe I can’t win you back until my heart tells me so.”

“I... should go.” It’s best I leave before I dig this hole any deeper.

“I’ll see you soon.” The words sound like a promise.

I don’t answer. I just walk away and head to the door.

He’s the second man I’ve fled from in the last twenty-four hours.

Different reasons, same end result.

But something about the look in Chad’s eyes follows me out the door. The kind that doesn’t fade with distance.

Coming here was supposed to smooth things over and give me some closure.

Now, I’ve opened another can of worms.

Chapter Twenty-One

Isla

Today is the day.