Page 88 of Malicious Marriage
As I beg, the low hum of thunder above grows louder and louder until suddenly, several cars screech around the bend and skid to a stop on the road a few feet away. I’m blinded by the headlights and clutch at Bobby’s body as car doors slam.
“Clover?” yells a deep, familiar voice.
Dean.
He came for me?
Nothing stops the tears from pouring now as I try to stand. “Here! I–I’m here! Something’s wrong with Bobby!”
Several hours later,I sit in the waiting room praying for news about Bobby. Other than some bruising and the cut to my forehead, I get the all clear but Bobby is a different story. I keep replaying our last moments before the crash in my mind as if there’s something I could have done differently, something I could have seen or done to prevent it. I was too in my own head sobbing about everything with Hailey that I didn’t notice something was wrong until it was too late.
And now this has happened. Am I going to have to go back home and give Frankie the dreadful news that Bobby’s passed away?
Did I finally get him killed?
“Clover.”
Dean’s voice makes me jump violently, and when he places a comforting hand on my shoulder, I immediately shrug it away and then feel guilty. I shouldn’t reject a touch from him, but everything is destroyed and it feels like being near Dean is bad enough.
“Here.” While his tone lacks the usual warmth I’m used to, there’s still kindness in his offering of a cup of hospital coffee.
I accept it because it’s hot and wrapping my hands around it makes me feel like I’m doing something. “Is there any news?”
“You were right,” Dean says as he sits across from me. “He had a heart attack but he’s mostly going to be okay. He’ll be on the next flight back to the States and I want to be on that too.”
I nod quickly, unable to look up as relief surges through me. “Thank God.” I close my raw eyes. “I was so scared.”
“I know.” Dean sighs softly. “Be straight with me, Clover. Why did you lie about how long your sister was missing?”
Oh. We’re diving right into it, are we?Makes sense. Dean’s surely got a lot of questions. What’s the point of hiding anything now? It’s tough to untangle the thousands of thoughts all screaming in my head, from fear about Bobby, anger and hurt at Hailey, at my Uncle and Duke, panic over the baby inside me. How does none of it feel real?
“I… I don’t know,” I say weakly. “I didn’t want to worry you or sound pathetic, I guess.” I want to talk about this later when Bobby isn’t suffering here. If I tell him the truth, then everything else will unravel. He’ll know Bobby and I targeted him because he was rich and single. He’ll know that I was after his money and his power, and he won’t care that I’ve grown to love him. He’ll see me the same way he sees Trisha.
“Did you not trust me?” Dean continues to press. “Did you think I wouldn’t care?”
“No.”
“And if she’s been gone four years, why did you lie and tell me you saw her this year? Why did you get excited about her coming to the gala or even the wedding? Why would you lie about that when you knew she’d been gone for years?”
“I didn’t…” Swallowing hard, I look up at him. “I didn’t want to burden you, okay?” A half-truth. “We had this arrangement and I’d been looking for Hailey for so long by myself that it just didn’t make sense to involve you since you were already planning on divorcing me when things were calmer for you.”
“But you were happy to use my money in the meantime?”
My lips part but no answer comes.
“Was that also a lie? Your debt? The money you claimed not to have? With Hailey’s help, I had my accountants dig deeper into all of those secret accounts and even Malcom’s accounts. You’re not poor. So why did you lie to me and say you were? Why not use your own money to search for Hailey?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” Restlessness trickles through me and I stand abruptly, abandoning the coffee and starting to pace. “And I didn’t lie.”
“Yes you did!” It’s not by much, but it’s the first time Dean’s ever raised his voice at me. “And you need to tell me why because you have made me look like a fool, Clover. You’re not poor. The Byrne family comes from old oil. You are far from poor.”
“No!” I snap with tears in my eyes as I spin to face him. “I am poor! I don’t have a cent to my name because after Hailey vanished and I refused to marry Malcom, do you know what he did? He doesn’t give me access to the family money, okay? He cut me out of the family like I was some kind of disease, which maybe I am since Hailey was also so desperate to get away from me!”
“Somehow, I just don’t believe you’re telling me the full truth, Clover.”
“I am!” I wail, drowning under the guilt that he can see right through me. “So I fudged some of my family details. I’m sorry about that. I saw you and your perfect family and I wanted to show you that I came from a stable place. But I was in debt. I swear I was. I swear it’s not all what you think. I’m really, really sorry I hurt you, but we can fix it.”
I don’t want to lose him. This painful revelation about Hailey and almost losing Bobby has made me realize how painfully alone I am, and Dean is the only person left I care about. The only person who ever cared about me.