Page 107 of From the Moment We Met

“That fucking bitch. That alone should have been enough for you to send Victoria crawling back to whatever hole she crawled out of. But instead, you allowed it. I don’t understand you or the moral code you live by. Lilly is one of the greatest women I’ve ever met. Any man would be lucky to have her love, but you threw it away. Tell me again why I’m supposed to feel sorry for you?”

He sniffed loudly into the phone, his head pounding as the severity of what he’d done came into sharp focus. “You’re right, I don’t deserve Lilly.”

“I think you do deserve Lilly. I think you two are wonderful together. I can see your future with her—complete with babies and animals and laughter—but only if you find the courage to love her completely.”

“I don’t know how to do that. I’ve never loved anyone like this. The truth is, I’m a fucking coward, Janie. I’m terrified if I give Lilly my heart—my whole heart—she won’t want it.” God, the truth hurt. It felt like a dagger in his soul.

“She wanted it, Jacob.” Janie remained silent a few moments. “I’ll do my best to get Lilly here tomorrow, but I can’t guarantee anything. But remember, big brother, on the off chance she does forgive you, don’t make it a habit of shattering her heart.”

“Thank you. Should I bring her flowers?”

“Definitely not, Lilly is not going to be buttered up by roses. In fact, I have the necklace here. She gave it to me the other night after Victoria left in laying on the ground.”

Jacob sighed, hurt yet unsurprised. “I bought her the necklace to protect her.”

“Forgive me for saying this, but I don’t think she feels safe in any way around you.”

Jacob mumbled his agreement and hung up, unsure what he could say to salvage his relationship with Lilly. The only thing he knew for certain was that he had to try.

∞∞∞

Lilly

Lilly knew something was amiss the minute Janie opened the door. Her friend was flighty and nervous, and Lilly wondered if it was due to the events the other night. But when she walked into Janie's kitchen, the ruse was revealed.

“No way, I’m out of here.” Lilly walked back toward the door, but Janie blocked her path.

“Please Lilly, he begged me to set this up. Give him five minutes. It’s your opportunity to nail him square in the balls.”

Lilly’s jaw twitched. “I don’t want to touch any part of him, even to inflict pain. Why would you do this to me?”

“I begged her to do it,” Jacob’s voice stated behind her, but Lilly kept her back to him.

Her body reacted on a visceral level to his voice, but Lilly inhaled deeply, willing herself to remain calm. It worked, for about three seconds, before the intense anger bubbled to the surface again.

“Haven’t you done enough damage, Jacob? Do you hate me so much you want to keep twisting the knife?” Lilly whirled around, her brown eyes blazing. “What kind of sick joy are you getting from this situation?”

Jacob reached out to touch her, but Lilly leapt backward, and his hands fell by his sides. “I hate myself for what I allowed to happen to you. I didn’t stand up for you, I didn’t fight for you—”

“I don’t need you to fight for me, I can take care of myself. I’ve practically mastered the art form so you can save your apologies, I’m good.” Despite her harsh words, Lilly felt tears springing to her eyes. “Shit!”

Jacob’s voice was low and shaky. “Can you look at me please?”

Lilly kept her head down for a few moments before meeting his gaze. There were tears in his eyes. Lilly felt something kick in her heart but pushed it aside. He was an award-winning actor and could cry at the drop of a hat. She could not fall for his lines again. “I’m looking, what?” she snapped.

Jacob raked his hand through his curls. “I’m leaving tonight for Greece. I’ll be gone for three months.”

“Have fun in Greece. Can I go now?” Lilly turned toward the door, praying there was a pub next door to Janie’s flat. She needed a drink. No, she needed a bottle.

Jacob blocked her path. “I want to make this right. I’ll do whatever I have to do to make it right.”

“How do you expect to do that? I saw photos of you with your precious Victoria at the airport. You two belong together.”

She needed to escape, her heart couldn’t handle any more of this torture. She loved him, and he didn’t love her back. She chose him, and he chose someone else. Now he stood there asking her to forgive him? Fuck that.

“I’ll call and issue a retraction. I’ll say the photos were staged.”

Lilly rolled her eyes. “I don’t give a shit! Let people believe you two are the happy couple, just leave me out of it.”

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