Page 16 of Heart on Ice

“Pierre wanted to talk. You know, give the whole don’t mess with my little brother speech to me,” Harper explains with a rollof her eyes. “And then suddenly he started freaking out about getting married, he asked me if he should do it. Me!” I gasp. “It was weird. Maybe things between him and Kitty were not at all what they seemed. The loving façade may have just been that, a façade,” Harper explains.

“You think it was a fake relationship?”

She shakes her head. “No. I don’t think so or maybe it started off real and gradually turned fake. I’ve seen it so many times in the influencer space, once their platform grows, reality turns into fiction. They want to show that everything is perfect because perfection gets likes. Perfection gets brand deals. Perfection makes money.” I nod, that makes sense. “She was a complete Bridezilla in Italy. Seeing Pierre and Kitty together, you could see the strain looking back on it. I think he was going through the motions like maybe if he marries her, everything will get better. Anyway, the more he freaked out the further he started to walk into the garden. I had to run to keep up with him. Then we heard moaning. There was no mistaking what was happening. We heard Kitty’s voice. It was awkward as fuck. It was Pierre who made me record what was happening.”

“Insurance policy,” I muse.

“He was smart. He knew Kitty would turn it around on him if he didn’t have evidence. That if he left her at the altar, she would play the victim. I’m sure she will still after this.”

“I can’t believe she was screwing Bill Reeves.” I shudder.

“He’s not even a cute billionaire,” Harper says, making us both laugh. “I’m sorry for dropping this bomb in your lap this morning. But we need to protect Pierre right now, especially as he is our client.”

“Don’t remind me.” I scoff as I throw back the rest of my champagne.

“I really do mean it when I say get closure with him, Is. You deserve happiness but I think holding on to what he did to you all these years ago isn’t healthy.”

It’s hard to find closure when your heart has a permanent scar on it, and no one has come close to healing it.

“Issy?”My father stares at me as I burst through the front door of my home, tears falling down my cheeks. I can’t believe it. Harper was right, I would never have believed her if I hadn’t seen Pierre cheating with my own eyes. He is not the same boy I fell in love with. “Issy,” my father calls my name again, concern lacing it. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I scream at him as I take the stairs two at a time toward my bedroom. All the memories of the two of us together assault me as I slam the door to my bedroom and collapse on my bed, screaming into my pillow.

There’s a gentle knock on my door, “Issy.” It’s my father again and I can hear the pain in his voice.

“Mr. Alessi, I’ve got her,” I hear Harper’s voice.

“Harper, I’m worried. This is not like her. She is upset, I need to know she is okay,” my father asks her.

“She’s suffering her first case of heartbreak,” Harper explains delicately.

“Oh,” My father answers, seemingly surprised. “Do I need to make this boy hurt?”

Harper chuckles. “Maybe. I’ll let you know. And when you do, I’ll be right by your side.”

“Good. I’ll be in my office if you need me,” he tells her.

Then I hear the door to my bedroom creak open. “Issy …” I shake my head, I can’t. The bed dips as Harper sits beside me.“… I’m sorry you had to find out that way. I never meant to hurt you, I didn’t know how else to tell you.”

Turning my head, I look up at her through tear-soaked lashes. “I would never have believed you.” I sob.

Tears run down Harper’s cheeks, and she never cries. “He’s changed, Issy. That boy in there isn’t the same one from high school.”

“Why did he do it?” I sob.

“Ego.”

“I can’t go back to school. I’m a laughingstock.” Harper’s face softens. “All those girls looking me in the face after doing whatever the hell they did to my boyfriend. How can I trust anyone ever again?”

“They were not your friends, and this is a real shitty way of finding that out. You don’t deserve this. You are the best human in the world, and I hate the fact that he has tainted the world for you,” Harper tells me.

“I’m sorry for not being more understanding when you went through your own heartbreaks.”

“Babe, my heartache is nothing like this. He threw away years, years of a loving relationship for desperate puck bunnies who are probably sucking his best friend’s dick tomorrow.” My stomach turns replaying the image of Missy Jenkins with her mouth around Pierre’s cock. I will never ever be able to scrub that from my soul. “He will rue the day he ever fucked up. There will come a moment in his life when he is going to look back at the choices he made and realize cheating on you was the biggest mistake of his life.” My phone vibrates beside me. “Is that him?” Harper asks. I pull it out of my pocket and give it to her, I don’t have the energy. She takes it, looks down at the screen, and scrunches up her face at it. “He’s called you like twenty times.”

“I never want to speak to him ever again,” I tell her.

“Consider it done,” she says, tapping away on my phone, “he is now blocked.”

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