Page 121 of The Husband Contract
She nods slowly. “For years, I always thought maybe I’d try to figure out what happened to the person driving the car who killed my parents. Sometimes I think to myself, are they still happy? Are they still alive? Do they ever think about the lives they ruined?” She shrugs. “Sometimes, in the back of my mind, I think—wow, if I could get my revenge, I would.”
“But you would never do that,” I say softly.
“I wouldn’t. But it doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it. I think everyone who loses someone in a horrific or sad way thinks about getting their own revenge back. So, I understand. That’s not the part that hurts me.”
“I know. It’s the fact I didn’t listen to you.” I reach for her hands to see if she’ll let me grab them, and I’m thankful when she does. “I made a huge mistake, Willow, and I knew in the back of my mind you weren’t that person. But I didn’t listen, and I’m sorry.” She nods wordlessly. “I love you, and I am determined to prove that to you.” I bring her into me and give her a kiss on the lips. She presses her body against mine, and I feel her hand on the side of my face. Her body is warm against me, and I want to do more—but I’mnot going to overstep the boundary between us. I step back. “You want to call your friends? You want to see if we’re heading to New York City?”
“Yeah,” she says. “Let me do that.” She turns around, walks back to the desk, and picks up the phone. She looks over at me. There’s a look of wonder in her eyes. “You’re not all that bad, Sebastian.”
“I’d like to think not.”
“Well, you’re not. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I know you have a propensity to take a lot of things on, and I don’t want you to do that.” I smile at her, because even through it all, she’s thinking about me. Because that’s the sort of woman she is. That’s the sort of woman I love.
“Thank you, Willow. You really are the best.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Willow
Katherine, Brielle, and I jump up and down on the plush king-size bed in the presidential suite of the Plaza Hotel and giggle with joy.
“I cannot believe we’re in New York City.” Katherine flops down on the mattress. “And tomorrow we will meet with Sebastian’s friends to pitch our ideas. I’m so excited.”
“I am nervous.” Brielle squeals. “We really need to work on our business plan tonight and our presentation.”
“Yes, we do,” I agree with them before taking a seat on the mattress. “We need location ideas, real numbers, innovative plans as to how we’re going to make our bed and breakfast different from all the others.” Excitement courses through my veins. I really hope they like our idea.
“They’ll love it,” Katherine says. “They’ll absolutely love it.”
“Do you guys think I made the right decision?” I ask, looking at them with a worried expression. “You don’t think that I’m taking advantage of Sebastian, right?”
“Oh my gosh, no! Like he said, his friends are businessmen. We just got an opportunity to present something, and if they love it, they’ll buy it,” Katherine says. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be honest.”
“I know, me too. And it did feel really good sticking it to Charlotte,” I say. “She’s called me like a hundred times already.”
“Me too.” Katherine cackles. “Charlotte has been calling me nonstop. Did I tell you she left a voicemail where she was screaming that she had to cut her trip short?”
I shake my head and laugh. “No, but I guess that’s her problem.”
“Yeah. Now she actually has to work.” Brielle laughs. “Clean some toilets, bitch.”
I start giggling. “She is going to hate that.”
“Well, I guess she’s going to have to start paying a livable wage then,” Katherine says. “Until such time, she needs to work or lose it. She deserves everything that happens to her.”
I nod, and though I feel bad for my cousin, frankly, I think she deserves it. I’m disgusted that she did this to me. I’m disgusted that she thought it was okay to use my name and have people believe I was doing those atrocious things. And the fact she knew Louisa was telling people it was me, I can never forgive her.
“I’m so sorry,” Brielle says, reaching out and rubbing my shoulders. “She’s horrible, absolutely horrible. And as far as I’m concerned, if I never see her again, it will be too soon.”
“I agree,” I murmur. “I told you Aunt Mildred said unless I go back to work at the hotel, they’re disowning me.”
“Who gives a shit?” Katherine says. “They were horrible to you anyway.”
“I know, and I’m sad it’s come to this. I’m sad this is what it takes for me to break away—but I should’ve walked away a long time ago.” I take a deep breath. “I’m finally coming into my own, guys. I’m finally realizing my own self-worth.” I look down at my phone. “Sebastian and I are going to meet in an hour. I feel nervous. I don’t know what to expect.”
I stare at them, feeling almost ashamed of my thoughts. The thought of seeing Sebastian again, alone, has my heart thundering in my chest. As my anger toward him subsides, an ache forms deep in my soul. I miss him.
“Well, what do you want?” Katherine asks. “Ideally, in a real universe, what do you want?”
