22 Kept in the Dark
“I didn’t tell you because she’s not my sister.” I twisted free from Alistair’s grip and stepped away, putting distance between us. “And considering how quickly you dumped me to marry her, I think I was right not to share that information.”
Alistair’s face crumpled. “Hazel, please. I know I hurt you, but try to understand my position.”
“Your position?” I nearly choked on the words. “What position is that exactly? The one where you stole my wedding dress to marry someone else? Or the one where you’re now crawling back because you suddenly realized I was a good person?”
“That’s not fair.” He straightened his shoulders. “I’m trying to do the right thing for everyone involved. I still love you, Hazel. I never stopped.”
I laughed, the sound sharp enough to cut glass. “You have a strange way of showing love.”
“Ivy needs me,” he insisted. “She’s dying, and she has no one else. I couldn’t just abandon her.”
“So instead you abandoned me.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “After everything I’ve done for
you.”
Alistair stepped forward, his eyes pleading. “I know it seems cruel, but I’m trying to be compassionate. Ivy sees me as family now”
“Family?” I raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you call the woman you’re sleeping with?”
His face flushed. “It’s not like that between us. She’s… like a sister to me.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You married her, Alistair. In my wedding dress.”
“I know how it looks-”
“It looks like exactly what it is,” I snapped. “A betrayal.”
Alistair sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Look, I didn’t come here to argue. I came to help you with this PR nightmare.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Actually, you do.” His tone turned businesslike. “The public is turning against Evening Gala. Your reputation is in tatters. But I have a solution.”
I waited, curious despite myself.
“We stage a reconciliation,” he said, leaning against my desk with false casualness. “You make a public statement saying you were just emotional about the wedding being called off, but now you understand and support Ivy’s relationship with me.”
I blinked slowly. “You want me to apologize? For what, exactly? Being abandoned days before my
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22 Kept in the Dark
wedding?”
“Not apologize, exactly.” Alistair waved a hand dismissively. “Just show the world you’re not the villain they think you are. We could arrange a photo op–you, me, and Ivy together. One big happy family.”
The audacity was breathtaking. My hands curled into fists at my sides.
“Let me get this straight,” I said, my voice dangerously quiet. “You want me to pretend everything’s fine? To smile for cameras while standing next to the woman wearing my wedding dress, married to my fiancé of six years?”
“When you put it that way, it sounds bad.” He frowned.
“Because it is bad!” My voice rose despite my efforts to stay calm. “It’s manipulative and cruel, just like everything else you’ve done lately.”
Alistair’s expression hardened. “I’m trying to help you save your company. Being stubborn won’t
fix this situation.”
“Get out,” I said, pointing to the door. “Get out of my office and my life.”
“You’re being irrational,” he argued. “Think about this logically-”
“The only illogical thing I ever did was love you,” I spat.
Before Alistair could respond, the door swung open. Vera stood there, her dark eyes taking in
the scene before her.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked, though her tone made it clear she didn’t care if she was.
I had never been so grateful to see my best friend. “Not at all. Alistair was just leaving.”
“I was not,” Alistair said firmly. “Hazel and I are having an important discussion about how to
handle this situation like adults.”
Vera’s eyebrow arched dangerously high. “Is that what you call this? Being adult?”
She strode into the room, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. She placed herself between me and Alistair, a physical barrier of protection.
“I came to give Hazel a ride home,” she said, glancing at me over her shoulder. “The vultures are still circling downstairs.”
“Thank you,” I said, grabbing my purse.
Alistair stepped forward. “Hazel, please. Don’t leave like this. We need to resolve-”
“She doesn’t need to resolve anything with you,” Vera interrupted. “She needs to get away from you and your toxic influence.”
“This doesn’t concern you, Vera,” Alistair said dismissively.
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22 Kept in the Dark
Vera’s smile was all teeth. “When my best friend is being harassed by her lying ex–fiancé, it absolutely concerns me.”
“I’m not harassing anyone,” Alistair insisted. “I’m trying to help Hazel understand Ivy’s perspective. The poor girl has cancer, for God’s sake.”
“Poor Ivy,” Vera repeated, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Always the victim, never the villain.”
Alistair’s jaw tightened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vera countered. “You think you understand Ivy? You think you know what she wants, what she feels?”
A flicker of uncertainty crossed Alistair’s face. “Of course I do. We’re… close.”
Vera laughed, the sound cold and cutting. “You’re pathetic, Alistair. You’ve always been so easy to manipulate. No wonder Ivy wanted you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice hardened.
“It means you’re being kept in the dark,” Vera said, her eyes glinting with the satisfaction of knowing something he didn’t. “And it’s honestly pitiful to watch.”
Alistair’s confident facade cracked. He stepped closer to Vera, his expression turning cold. “What do you mean?”
Vera just smirked, clearly enjoying his discomfort. She turned to me, ignoring his question entirely. “Ready to go?”
I nodded, too exhausted to continue this confrontation. As we walked toward the door, Alistair
called out after us.
“This isn’t over, Hazel! You can’t ignore this situation forever.”
I paused at the doorway, turning to face him one last time. “Watch me.”
As Vera and I stepped into the elevator, leaving Alistair behind in my office, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. The burden wasn’t gone completely, but for the first time since my world had shattered, I wasn’t facing the aftermath alone.
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