Page 28 of It’s Me, but Different

“I said almost,” I admit. “But I backed out.”

“Why? I mean, I just want to know the reason, if you don't mind me asking.”

“Because of the kids. Because of my job. Because I don't know what your sister wants. Because of the fear of trying again and everything going wrong again.”

River nods slowly.

“Esme, there's something else you should know,” Anika interrupts. “Something we're not proud of.”

“What?”

“We set a trap to get you to come here,” River confesses, swallowing before continuing. “All of this, the special offer, the ridiculously good price... we planned it so you'd meet my sister again.”

“What?” I sit up abruptly, suddenly feeling like the world is swaying around me. “Are you telling me that…?”

“That we couldn't watch Sloane suffer anymore,” Anika interrupts. “She's been carrying that guilt for eleven years. And when she told me she was still in love with you…”

“We thought maybe, if you saw each other again…” River adds.

“I can't fucking believe this,” I murmur, punching the water. “I can't believe you played with me like this.”

“Esme, wait…”

“Wait for what? For you to explain how you've manipulated my life? How you've used my financial needs to bring me here with a lie? You Merriweathers are a family of assholes. And that includes you too, Anika. You have life too easy,” I add before getting out of the pool, cursing under my breath.

Chapter 13

Esme

Without the kids, the silence of my suite suffocates me.

I've been lying on the bed for two hours, just staring at the ceiling. The television stays on, but it's just background noise. The twins stayed overnight with Lumi after spending the afternoon with the horses and inventing adventures in the snow.

I know I should be happy. I came here for them, and Ana Sofia and Theo have been happier in these two weeks than in the previous two years. And yet, every time I close my eyes, I can't get River's face out of my mind confessing that it had all been a trap. That my trip to Silver Peaks, this rest opportunity I needed so much, was just another manipulation by the Merriweather sisters.

And the worst part is it worked.

Because, as much as it pains me to admit it, these days with Sloane have awakened something inside me that I thought was buried forever.

“Fuck,” I mutter, jumping up from the bed.

I can't stay here all night, remembering on loop what happened and what could have been. I only have two nights left at Silver Peaks. I'm not going to waste one of them watching romantic movies on TV that will make me cry even more.

I put on comfortable jeans and a white t-shirt and decide to go down for a drink at the hotel bar.

And of course, I have to run into exactly the person I would rather not see.

She sits alone at a table, her back to me. Three empty beer bottles form a perfect line in front of her. She's wearing an oversized gray sweatshirt, and her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail. When the bartender serves her a new beer, she raises the bottle in a toast directed at no one in particular.

For a few moments, I'm about to turn on my heels and take refuge in my room again. But there's something in her posture, in the way her fingers drum nervously against the wood, that makes me walk toward her.

“Can I sit?” I ask, pointing to the empty chair next to her.

Sloane turns abruptly, as if my voice had scared her. Her eyes are slightly glassy from the alcohol, but the surprise in her gaze is genuine.

“Esme…” she sighs. “I thought you'd be having dinner with the kids.”

“They stayed overnight with Lumi. Ivy promised they could watch all the movies they wanted."