Page 96 of Between Now and Always

“Fiona, talk to me. Is it Cameron?” I ask and hold my breath, my heart already starting to ache from the film reel of disastrous possibilities that rush through my mind.

“Yes, ” she croaks and I sag against the wall of the buildings I stopped next to.

“What happened?” I demand in a voice that’s just above a whisper.

“I’m so sorry, Liz. I am so sorry. I know you hate me, I know what I did was wrong and I just I’m so sorry.”

“Fiona, take a deep breath. Tell me what’s wrong with Cameron. Are you somewhere safe?” I ask, trying to sound calm.

Her sudden, hard exhale is followed by the loud sound of her blowing her nose.

“Yes, I’m home.” She’s not crying but her voice is broken and nasal.

“What happened?”

“It wasn’t my plan. Your father, he told Duke that if he’d marry you he could have the money and I thought…Duke promised me…. He said he loved me. He said would help me get away from your father once he had the money from your wedding. And I believed him.”

“Oh my God,” I clutch at the wall behind me, shock hitting me like a high speed Mack truck.

“I know. I’m so sorry. I knew it was wrong to lie to you like that. But, you didn’t love him, and I thought you’d be happy to get the money and get out of there. I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared of him,” she wails.

I stumble into a coffee shop around the corner and sit down in the first open booth. I’m momentarily numb with shock at her confession. I listen to her sob for a full minute before I snap out of it.

“Why are you calling me?” I ask, my voice is hostile but she stops crying mid sob.

“Duke and your friend, Dina - they’relivingtogether. I feel like such a fool, Liz. I don’t know what to do. I don’t have anything. No money, no real friends, and now even Duke has abandoned me,” she moans piteously.

Her evasion of my question is forgotten when she says Dina’s name. “They’relivingtogether?” I ask, stunned.

“They’ve been having an affair all this time. Your father fired Duke after the wedding. Duke moved up to Dallas, but he promised me he’d find a way. And that bitch friend of yours, swooped in and stole him. I knew she was working for your grandmother…” she says her voice turning icy with contempt.

“How didthathappen?” I ask.

“After the wedding, she swooped in pretending to be so sorry on his behalf. Turns out she’s had a thing for him all along. And stupid me, I didn’t know. At first they pretended she was just helping him for the money. Duke said he’d offered her a cut once he got the inheritance from you.” She blows her nose noisily.

I reel in the face of these new revelations about Dina.

How can she have loved James and be with Duke, now?

“If all else failed, we were going to blackmail Drew.Shesaid she gave Carter something that your dad would pay a lot of money for. We could use it as leverage to get more out of him … We sent Serene to get them.”

This just get crazier.

“Serene?”

“Yeah. She got a wig that looked like your hair and went to LA and found a way to cross paths with him. He didn’t have what she was looking for. She had to try two more times and track him to New York before she got the file. It wasn’t what we needed to squeeze Drew. Just the DNA results that showed he was Phil’s brother and she had some pictures, of her and him doing stuff. So we blackmailedhiminstead. It wasn’t as much money as we could have gotten from your dad, but it was better than nothing and I just wanted to get away from Drew.”

“Wow,” I shake my head incredulously.

“They betrayed me. Since he got the money from Carter, he won’t even take my calls. He’s living with that bitch. And, hetoldyour father about us. Everything is ruined.”

“I’m sorry all your shitty plans have fallen through, but I don’t know what any of this has to do with me.”

“I need help. I don’t have anyone else but you.”

“Me?” I ask, flabbergasted and horrified all at once A few of the diners glance my way. I slide out of my seat, throw down a couple of dollars for occupying the space and leave.

“Why would I help you?” I ask when I step out onto the street again.

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