Page 157 of The Promise Of You

“What the fuck, Cass?”

“Is any of that true, Justin? I’m not judging. It’s your right to want to build a life with the mother of your child, instead of with the woman who truly loves you.”

I push my chair back and roar, “What the hell?”

“So it’s not true. Thank god. Sit.”

I’m not sitting. “What happened?” I pull out my phone and call Chloe, but it goes straight to voice mail.

Cassandra continues. “Gisele seems to have a warped relationship with the truth. Her problem, but you are going to have to fix things with Chloe. She was hurt, Justin, deeply hurt. Chloe… she’s not like Gisele. She’s honest and good to the core. She welcomed Gisele and tried to include her in the community immediately. And surely she did it for you, but she did it, and she was genuine about it. She’s not going to understand the depths of manipulation a woman like Gisele might go to.” She looks pensively away. “Gisele probably knew Chloe was there and could hear her. She’s trying to get rid of her. Did you do a paternity test?”

I’m pacing in my office, texting Chloe frantically, without being specific, just ‘Where are you’ and shit like that.

I just need my phone to light up with her name.

“You need to calm down, Justin.”

“You just told me the love of my life was smashed to pieces.” I throw the phone on my desk.

I think about calling Gisele to confront her.

Then I think better of it.

“Focus on how to build her back up when she comes to you, Justin.”

Jesus Christ. Is it that bad? Yes, of course it is. My Clover. “Tell me again what Gisele said.” And as Cassandra does, I feel in my bones the level of betrayal Clover must have felt. The immeasurable hurt. My whole body is thrumming with a desire for vengeance.

“Think real hard, Justin. Your focus isn’t Gisele, it’s Chloe.”

She’s right. Clover’s the only one who means anything to me.

The only one who means everything to me.

“How bad do you want her?”

A hollow sensation deepens where my Clover tattoo is etched on my skin. Where my heart beats, now frantically. The void is dizzying. “I need her, Cass. She’s truly my other half. I’m nothing without her.” My eyes sting.

Cassandra stands, her dreamy smile plays on her face, the one she has when she’s up to something, but fuck if anyone knows what it is. “Then make it happen.”

I stare at her as she leaves the room. “Make what happen?” I say to her back.

She looks over her shoulder at me. “You’ll figure it out.”

Make what the fuck happen. Tell her it’s not true?

She knows that. There’s no way. Why would she think I’d do all that shit with Gisele and not tell her?

She was tired is all.

After the weekend she had, no wonder.

Shit.

Now it hits me.

Friday night she found out her father pretty much lied to her for a big chunk of her life. Even when she came to work here in Emerald Creek, he didn’t find it necessary to be open about what had happened in the past.

Her own parents didn’t bother to tell her the whole truth.

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