Page 136 of Love to Loathe Him

And there, walking into the unmarked, posh-looking townhouse, is none other than Liam.

“That’s the Athenæum,” Alastair murmurs in my ear, his voice soft.

My breath catches in my throat. This can’t be happening. It can’t be real. This Liam must be an apparition.

But the proof is right there in front of me, shattering every ounce of trust I had in him.

I whirl on Alastair, my eyes blazing, but I’m not really seeing him. I’m still seeing Liam, walking into that building, destroying everything I thought we had.

I don’t know who I despise more in this moment—Liam or Alastair for his scheming.

“I’m impressed,” I hear myself say. “This was quite the elaborate setup. Did you have someone waiting across the street? Keeping watch, just so you could orchestrate this revelation?”

Alastair has the decency to look mildly chagrined. “My intention was never to cause you pain, Gemma. Truly.”

I barely hear him. I can barely get through this. I’m going to cry.

“No, of course not,” I say, my voice shaking with the effort of holding myself together. “I’m just a pawn in your ridiculous pissing contest with Liam. You two could do so much good, could make such a difference in the world, and instead you waste your time and resources trying to one-up each other like a pair of overgrown schoolboys.”

Alastair’s jaw clenches. “You’ll have to forgive me for not being the man’s biggest fan.”

My eyes narrow. “That’s what he says about you, and you are just as bad as him.”

“Bullshit!” he roars. “He’s been meeting my fucking wife in that club. Mywife. And I’m not going to let him have his cake and eat it.”

It seems to explode out of him like a volcano of pain and rage, words he can no longer contain.

I stare at him, horrified, the breath stolen from my lungs.

For the first time tonight, I know Alastair is telling the truth. The look on his face, the raw pain in his eyes . . . It’s too real to be faked.

Alastair straightens his tie with shaking hands, visibly struggling to regain his composure. “The difference with these lovely young ladies,” he says, his voice cold and cutting, “is that they know the transaction they’re making. I wonder if you can say the same.”

CHAPTER 40

Gemma

“Oh, Gem,” Lizzie sighs,her fingers gently brushing through my hair as I rest my head on her stomach. “I’m so sorry that bastard has done this to you. I wish I could do something to take away your pain. Or cause him pain. Like stab him in the nuts.”

Winnie curls up on my stomach, her gaze never leaving my tear-stained face. Her little paw reaches out to pat my arm, either to comfort me or to remind me it’s dinnertime.

My legs have been dangling over the armrests for so long that I’m starting to feel pins and needles, but I can’t bring myself to move.

“I feel so stupid for crying.” I sniffle, my voice thick with snot and self-loathing. “I mean, why am I even surprised? Out of everyone I know, if someone asked, ‘Hey Gemma, who do you think is most likely to have an affair with his rival’s wife at a sex club?’ I’d say Liam in a heartbeat. I’ve always known who he is.”

And here I am, crying over him like a fool. Pathetic doesn’t even scratch the surface. My biggest mistake was thinking that even though he’s ruthless enough to do those things, he wouldn’t hurtme.

“You’re not stupid for crying,” Lizzie soothes, rubbing my hair more vigorously, as if to try to comb away my heartbreak. “You’rehuman. It’s not pathetic to care about someone. Even if that someone turns out to be a lying scumbag who doesn’t deserve a single one of your tears.”

She’s been an absolute saint, listening to me rant and rave for the past two hours, letting me use her as a human pillow. It’s late, and we both should be in bed, but the thought of facing tomorrow, of walking into that office and seeing his face, makes me want to burrow deep into the couch and never come out. I don’t know how I’m going to do it.

I close my eyes, my chest tight and aching, and try not to think about what Liam is doing right now. In his kinky sex club. With Alastair’s wife. The mental image makes me want to vomit and cry simultaneously.

“Gemma,” Lizzie says in a small voice, her hand stilling in my hair. “Just be careful at work, okay? Because . . . do you think this whole TLS deal thing is really . . . about Vicky?”

My heart skips a beat. “What do you mean?”

“Isn’t Alastair the one that he’s got this crazy rivalry with? And they’ve all been to school together, known each other forever, right?”