Page 95 of The Matchmaker

“What? No! Of course I noticed you. We chatted all the time, remember? You showed me how to make the perfect latte. We were friends.”

“Inoticed you long before you noticed me. You, your life, it was all so…perfect.” A tear slides down her face. “I couldn’t take my eyes off of your perfectly manicured nails, your Louis Vuitton bag. Every outfit you wore was a name brand I could only dream of. It was like you had the whole world figured out, you know? Like I didn’t feel bad enough being a law school dropout with crushing debt. God, I wanted to be you.”

My chest hurts. My head hurts. Everything hurts. This can’t be happening. Darcy was my first hire. She was so warm. So helpful. So easy to talk to.

To trust.

My hands tremble. I try to steady them, but it’s no use. I can’t seem to stop them.

“Why, Darcy?” I manage to ask. “Taking on clients that we declined…working with people behind my back…”

“I had no other choice. You have to understand that,” she pleads. “I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t absolutely have to. My debts, they were like a mountain growing taller and taller every day. It was crushing me.”

“You could’ve asked me for help. If you were going through such extreme hard times, we could have figured a way out.”

At this, she laughs and shakes her head. “Do you hear yourself, Nura? As nice as you can be, at the end of the day, your clothes and shiny diamonds are like blinders for you, aren’t they? The rest of the world doesn’t grow up in a wealthy relative’s house and inherit a golden business to go with it. Regular people have to work hard for every little thing, and it’s still never enough. We owe money forever unless we take matters into our own hands. Which is what I did. All those clients you turned down, for what? A white lie about the grades they said they got in college? A minor infraction with the cops? Or because they deigned to ask you the wrong question? No one can live up to your impossible standards. You were so picky. I tried to talk to you about it for years, but once someone was out of your favor, you refused to give them a second chance. So I took on some of those people. Helped them. And they paid me enough to actually make a dent on what I owed. It was a win-win. It’s not like you wanted to work with those clients, anyway.”

“You took onBasit?”

“Yeah, so…Basit was a tough one.” She looks contrite. “He wanted nothing to do with you, but once I talked him down, he was up for working with me. So I dealt with him directly. It was kind of freeing not to have to pretend to be you for a change. Of course, then Farhan came along and ruined everything, though the paymentsdidfree me of Andrei once and for all.”

“Andrei? Y-your ex?”

“More like a loan shark with benefits. Though the benefits wore off years ago.” Her expression darkens. “He’d started amping up his threats. Found my new place. He was going to hurt me, ruin my chance of happiness with Samir. But it’s handled now.” She looks at me and shakes her head. “Seriously,Nura. I get that Basit was pushy and rude, but he offered todoubleyour fee. Did you even think about it? Nope—you were offended. You didn’t even consider how that kind of money could change a person’s life. Of course,nowI know it was a mistake. There was no fixing Farhan. He was fixated on you from the jump. I tried to get him to see reason, but then he started getting pissed atmefor talking him out of his insane ideas.” She shivers. “It was a complete nightmare. He wanted to prove to Lena that you were a fraud. You have no idea what he actually wanted to do to Avani and Dev to prove his point before I intervened. I tried to keep him from going off the deep end as best I could.”

“The mug shot,” I say slowly. “The threatening note left at the agency. That wasyou?”

“I’m so sorry about that.” She wipes away tears. “He made me do it. Somehow he figured out that I was going rogue by representing him. Threatened to expose me to you if I didn’t play ball. I couldn’t let that happen, not when I was so close to finally being free.”

I remember the shock that coursed through me at seeing the forged court documents that Avani’s mother had crumpled and tossed at me. The late night at Borzu’s trying to figure out who could have done this. A wave of nausea passes over me.

“He kept spiraling,” Darcy continues, her words coming fast. “He was convinced I could make Lena fall in love with him. I never thought he’d actually go so far as to kidnap them. I tried to talk him out of it. I went to the cabin to beg him to let them go. He wouldn’t listen. It was like talking to a rock. I realized he was actually going to kill Tanvir that night…. I had to stop him. Neutralize him. But I needed to buy some more time, so I offered up your location as a compromise.”

“Youwere the one who told him I was at my aunt’s?”

“I wasn’t going to let him do anything to you, Nura. I had it all figured out. He’d race over to your aunt’s. Then I’d do what needed to be done. Thank God, it all went according to plan.”

“Darcy…”

“I stopped him, didn’t I?” Her eyes are bright. “He didn’t kill Tanvir. He didn’t hurt you. And look at Lena, she’s got more brand endorsement sponsorships than ever. A million new followers. I bet she’ll have a book and movie deal in no time too. This whole kidnapping thing ended up being a net positive for her in the end.”

She says this all so sincerely. As though this is a normal workday and she’s leaning against my office door with a tablet in hand, updating me about the day’s business. Darcy was my friend. I was going to be the maid of honor at her wedding.

A chill goes through me. She didn’t need to tell me all this. Why is she confessing everything now? She needs this moment for some reason.

My mouth grows dry. I take in her tear-streaked expression. She’s here to finish what she started, isn’t she?

I glance around. My purse is on the counter. Where did I put my keys? I look at the curtained window. Fiona doesn’t even know someone’s in here with me. Who knows how Darcy sidestepped my security cameras and how long she’s been hiding in my home, waiting for me?

Darcy follows my gaze. “I’m sorry, Nura, but that’s not how this story ends.”

My voice comes out a choked sob. “Darcy. Please.”

“This is hard for me too,” she says earnestly. “You have no idea. If there was any other option, I would do it in a heartbeat. I’ve gone over it a million different times, but there’s only one way out for me. And, Nura, I’m going to need you to play ball,okay? If you don’t follow along…” She hesitates. “There are going to be consequences you won’t like.”

“Consequences?” Who is this woman standing across the room from me right now? How can any of this be real? “Darcy, what are you talking about?”

She closes her eyes, and then: “Look, I’m sorry, okay? But I hired someone. They’re waiting by your aunt’s house right now, and they’re armed.”

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