Page 65 of Undone, Love Times Three

“Thanks.”

I end the call and a sound at the bottom of the stairs makes me straighten. Blue is standing there, fully dressed and looking disappointed.

I can tell her I fixed things. I got rid of the reporter, dad is ending the deal and Faulkner is going to drop the lawsuit, she holds up her hand.

“Is this how all rich people deal with things when they go to shit?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sue the newspaper?”

Shit. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“But you made the threat. It’s the same thing they did to me. Don’t you get that?”

“This isn’t about the newspaper or Erin. Blue, I can’t let anyone else hurt you.”

“Like you have?”

“That isn’t fair,” I take a few steps closer.

“You lied.”

“It wasn’t a lie, I had nothing to do with the deal, and I forgot about it.”

“Forgot about it? Something that important, something that is threatening my livelihood, my family business. And you forgot about it?”

Jesus, nothing I’m saying is coming out right.

“How long have you been standing here?”

Blue looks away. Did she hear me? The way she can’t meet my eye tells me she did. My phone rings. It’s Lauren. I turn it over, not wanting to speak to her now. It has gone quiet out front. Erin must have done what Lauren asked, and left.

“I need to go.”

“No,” I walk over to Blue. “Don’t leave.”

“I have to,” she shrugs away from my outstretched hand. “I need to think. I’m angry. And I’m confused, and this isn’t me, Daniel. I don’t like feeling like this. And I don’t like being lied to. It’s even worse that you didn’t think it was important enough to tell me.”

“I made a mistake. It wasn’t intentional.”

“You’ve said that already. It doesn’t change anything. Please just let me go.”

“I can’t. Blue, you mean too much to me.”

“My name isn’t Blue.”

She turns and walks away. The sound of the door closing echoes through the house, even though she didn’t slam it. It sounds so final.

If someone shot me through the heart, it wouldn’t hurt as much as those words did.

Purple Bows

Adele

Three days after the incident, as I’m referring to it, our lawyers call to say the lawsuit has been dropped. No article appears in the news about me and Daniel. There isn’t any news around the collapse of the deal between Faulkner and Daniel’s company.

Nice and neat. All gone away.

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