Page 27 of Spiteful Lies

I clear my throat, sounding like a car running on fumes. “I want to ask you something.”

Charlotte spins around, turning her back to a painting she was admiring. Her alert eyes watch me as if she might need to take off running. There’s a distance between us. She’s being careful to stay on one side of the room.

“I need to say something important to you, and I didn’t want to do it with a group of people watching us as I make a fool of myself.” I stride over to Charlotte, and she holds her body still. I go down on one knee, gripping the small blue box in my pants pocket.

“Charlotte, will you marry me?”

“Bryce, are you crazy?” She starts to laugh but stops frozen, eyeing me hard. “This is a joke, but why are you playing it on me?”

“Charlotte, I’ve changed my mind.” My throat feels like it’s closing. “I made a mistake, but it’s not too late. I want to marry you so you can be my wife.”

She shakes her head. “No, you don’t. You look absolutely ill. What about Astrid? You love her.”

I sigh; looking away is the only way I can lie in her face. “Not anymore. I should’ve stuck with you. I’m a fool, and I want another chance.”

Charlotte walks over to the ludicrous bed. A king-sized bed staged for lovers, reminding us that we aren’t. She leans against it, the mattress pressed against her hip. “Is this because of your father? Are you asking me to avoid being disowned?”

“No,” I say quickly. “This has nothing to do with that. I’ve got a ring.”

“Let me guess again,” she replies. “You’re asking because I’ve been disowned. It must be that, because I’m not knocked up.”

I’m quiet, and she knows that I know her secret. Our gazes meet and hold steady for the first time since we walked into the room. It’s time for me to tell the truth.

“She only told me because she’s worried about you. Astrid doesn’t scare easily, but she’s at a loss. Of course, she’ll share whatever she gets, but you know that Howland is a tightfisted asshole. And he’ll keep a tight hold on his money from the grave. Charlotte, Astrid has no idea that I’m doing this. She didn’t tell me to ask you. I want to do it because we are friends. I’m willing to protect you, and that’s the only reason why I asked.”

Charlotte sighs, climbing up onto the foot of the bed. She pats the space beside her, and I sit down. She takes the ring box out of my hand and gasps when she opens it, admiring the brilliant-cut diamond inside. She slips it onto her hand and models it on her hand.

“It was my grandmother’s,” I reply as if asked. “It’s been in the family for generations.”

“And Astrid will love it,” she says, taking it off. “She loves you, Bryce. And she’ll love you more for saving me, but a part of her will die if she loses you.”

I scoff. “She has Justin. Pierce.” My scowl deepens, “And Wyatt.”

“But she wants you,” she replies. “Bryce, you’re what girls dream of when they’re looking for love. Handsome, rich, confident, and thanks to Astrid, thoughtful. Thank you for trying to prevent my downward slide into poverty, but I’ll figure out a way out.” Charlotte places the box in my hand. “Astrid loves you deeply. She loves all of you, and she’s having a hard time figuring things out. It wouldn’t be fair to you or her if I break you up. I’ve already learned my lesson.”

I shake my head, not ready to give up. “She has the others.”

“But she needs you too,” Charlotte replies. “You might be jealous of Wyatt, but there are things about you that Wyatt can never replace. Astrid’s calmed down a lot since she’s been dating you. And the four of you have pulled your heads out of your asses.” Charlotte laughs when I try to stare her down.

Charlotte leans into me and wraps an arm around my waist as we fall back onto the bed and look up at the ceiling. “Where’s the mirror?” I ask Charlotte, and we laugh.

“The old Bryce wouldn’t have cared what happened to me before Astrid. You’d have thought about me for a split second, and the boys would’ve congratulated you on your narrow escape. I like the new Bryce better.”

“We all can’t continue to date her,” I point out.

“Why not?”

I scoff as I shake my head. “She has to make a choice. Lady’s choice?”

“Who says?” Charlotte asks. “Astrid doesn’t fit in, so why force her now? She’s been changing the rules since day one, so why can’t you? You want to go out on your own and leave your father eating your dust. I say good riddance. Maybe together, with the four of them, you can do it.”

My father’s expectations belong to another time that I no longer live in, and he’ll never get it. Stonehaven taught us how to fit into a world that our parents lived in, and now, they’re out of touch. Charlotte’s right. She wouldn’t have been my concern, but I care now, and it’s only because I love Astrid.

Charlotte sits up. “It wouldn’t be fair to anybody if you married me. Take me back to Stonehaven, fairy godfather. I’m tired of the staff giving us shade, and we have new plans to make for our lives.”

Chapter 20

Astrid

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