Page 24 of Robert

He turned to look at her then and the softened look on her exquisite face was almost his undoing.

“He’s dead. But he had been dead to me for a very long time. He came around when I started making money and I told him to go to hell. By that time, he was suffering from cancer, stage four and was on the verge of dying.”

“When was this?”

“Five years ago. I did what I could for him out of a sense of duty and because the damn reporters had dug up the connections between us. He died in a nursing home – one of the best money could buy.”

“Did you ever forgive him?”

“No. No one gets a second chance with me.” It was said with such deadly conviction that it had Sonya starting, a frown touching her brow.

“That’s unhealthy. Surely, he had remorse and wanted to make amends?”

“He did.” Putting away the rest of the sandwich, he stretched his long legs out and shot her an amused smile. “You believe I should have forgiven him.”

“Well yes.” Putting down her cup, she turned to him earnestly. “Forgiveness heals us and it’s more for us than the person who wronged us.”

“Where did you get that? Off a fortune cookie?”

Ignoring the caustic tone, she continued. “I got that from the Bible.” At his startled look, she laughed softly. “And from a self-help book I read some time ago.”

“You’re religious.”

“I believe in a higher being, yes. You?”

“I believe in working damn hard for what I want.” He glanced at his watch. “I think we should both retire. Leave the tray. You brought it in, I will take it back out. Goodnight.”

Chapter 6

She could not sleep. She had a feeling that there was something simmering beneath the surface. And that she had touched on a forbidden subject. She was also aware of him as a man. Who wouldn’t be? He was extremely attractive in a cynical, hard kind of way, but she had seen something when he let down his guard.

Robert Faulkner had built up a kind of immunity against hurt and rejection since childhood. She turned over to her side restlessly as she recalled conversations about him.

Jason had been particularly brutal in his summation of ‘the poor scholarship kid’. They don’t belong in our school and should not be allowed to mix with us.”

“You make it sound as if they have some kind of contagious disease.” Sonya had found herself defending them.

“And I have seen that stinking Robert Faulkner staring at you.” He had retorted angrily. “He deserves to be put in his place.”

“Because he has eyes inside his head?” She had scoffed. “I am disappointed in you, Jason. I thought you had more confidence.”

His eyes had blazed. “You think I am worried about some poverty-stricken asshole?”

“It sounds that way. Can we talk about something else? I am getting bored.” She had said it with the desperate hope of diverting him. Jason was known to be vindicative and for some reason, he was fixated on Robert. Thinking about it now, she realized she could have done more, said something to stop what was happening.

She had never been sympathetic. They – all the rich kids, which included her had been protected in their bubbles. And had not paid any attention to the ones who were just trying to survive. Ironically, Robert Faulkner could buy and sell most of them.

Jason was still struggling to be accepted in his company’s firm and was just a mediocre lawyer with two divorces. Most of her friends were still living off their families’ depleted fortune. She had not kept in touch with them much. Briana was a failed actress and was divorced and very bitter about it.

Stephanie was in rehab for the third time. They had been her two best friends and the ones who had run the school.

Goes to show that coming from money, did not mean a damn thing.

Abandoning the idea of falling asleep, she sat up and arranged the quilt over her. How were they going to survive a week of being alone together? He had been angry at her for delving into his past and she could not blame him.

What gave her the right to talk to him about it? She was not his girlfriend, nor his wife and should have kept her opinions to herself.

“Forgiveness heals you…,” she muttered, recalling the platitude she had mouthed. “For goodness sakes. How trite could one be?” Taking a deep breath, she fluffed her pillows and tried again to go to sleep.

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