Page 93 of Bound by Love
“But I—”
“If anyone should apologize, it should be me. Because of Lilly, I brought Liam into your life.”
Lea’s face crumbled with sorrow. She covered her face with her hands and started sobbing. Brie walked over and hugged her where she sat, knowing words could not make the pain go away.
When the water started boiling, she left Lea and poured them both a cup of hot tea. She had learned from Tono how comforting the drink could be.
She placed a cup next to Lea, along with a box of tissues, then sat opposite her, remaining silent as she let her friend release the tears that Brie knew she needed to shed.
When Lea came to the end of her sobs, she wiped her tears away and blew her nose several times. Picking up the cup, she held it in both hands, absorbing its warmth. After taking several sips, she met Brie’s gaze. “Thank you.”
Brie nodded.
Lea took a deep breath. “It’s like I can’t get my head or heart around this. I almost lost you, Brie.” She reached across the table to grab Brie’s hand. “When I think how close that was, I want to throw up.”
“Hope and I are safe, Lea.”
She nodded before taking another sip. “As far as Liam…if that’s even his real name…I’m all mixed up. I hate him on a level I can’t express. I feel so stupid and humiliated for having been duped by him. And yet…” She looked at Brie sadly. “My feelings were real. I loved him, and I thought we were going to start a life together.” The tears welled up, so she took a moment to calm down and breathe before speaking again. “In one fell swoop, I lost the future I saw for myself and the person I loved…” She shook her head, correcting herself. “ThoughtI loved.”
“I’m so sorry, Lea…”
“I keep running it over and over in my head, all the small things I missed and should have questioned—but I didn’t, Brie.”
Brie squeezed her hand. “I didn’t, either, and I was the one in danger. I really liked the guy. It’s just so weird to think the person we knew isn’t real. That we don’t even know the man.”
“I’m really struggling with that…” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. She took another sip of tea. “We didn’t just have sex, Brie. We made love. How can a person fake that?”
“I don’t know, Lea.”
She grabbed another tissue and dabbed her eyes. “I really suck at relationships. I seem to always fall in love with people who don’t love me. I’m fucking hopeless…”
“No, you can’t take responsibility for what happened with Liam. It was calculated and cruel. As far as Ms. Clark, that’s all on her. Don’t let that beautiful soul of yours get crushed by this.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know how to move on from here. I don’t want to love anyone…” Her face crumbled again. “But I desperatelyneedit.”
Brie got up and hugged her again. “Sometimes the love of family and friends is all we have to get us through. I love you, Lea. I love you so damn much.”
Lea could only manage a half-smile. “You know what the kicker is?”
Brie shook her head.
“Mary knew. The first night they met, she knew not to trust him, and all I could think was that she was being a jealous cow.”
“Honestly, I thought the same thing myself. If I had just listened to Mary…” Brie started to cry. If she had just listened, maybe none of this would have happened. “I’m forever indebted to Mary because she spoke to Rytsar about it. Otherwise…” Brie had to shake the horrible thoughts out of her head.
“Damn it, Brie. Who would have ever thought that Mary would turn out to be smarter than either of us?”
Brie snorted her agreement through her tears. “I owe her, again…”
Lea looked at her strangely. “Again?”
Brie quickly covered up her accidental slip by explaining, “Yeah, remember when I screwed up and disobeyed Sir by reading his mother’s note? When he kicked me out, Mary took me in. But instead of telling me it was going to be okay, she suggested Sir might be better off without me.”
“Oh Lord, that girl…”
Brie chuckled. “Mary can be brutal with her words, but she says it like it is. I’m starting to appreciate that more and more now.”
Lea sighed. “Yeah. I guess I am, too.”
