“Years of being a girl come in handy.”
We climbed the stairs that led to the stately library and entered a small room that bore Ophelia’s name.
The room was lined with books and I realized the room led to an even bigger hall. Oliver warmly greeted us, but then he was swept away by a group of distinguished-looking men around his age.
When he was gone, Jude looked around and said softly, “This was my mother’s favorite room. She spent so much time here that I had them dedicate it to her after she passed.” He gestured towards a small table. “I would sit across from her scribbling my letters. Drawing pictures.”
I could easily imagine him as a little boy. And his mind seemed to be recalling the image as well as he stared at the desk, before reluctantly looking away. “Enough about me. Let me introduce you to some of mom’s friends.”
We spent the rest of the night hearing stories about his mom from nearly everyone who greeted us. She was much loved and missed, that was certainly clear. Despite everyone being very welcoming and nice, I was feeling overwhelmed. The photographers, the people, the opulence of it all, mixed with my unclear feelings toward Jude, was starting to wear on me and I could feel tension forming in my shoulders.
I excused myself and found my way to a balcony. I was enjoying the air, wondering what to do next. How could I start a conversation with Jude about how I felt? I needn’t have worried because I was so occupied with my own thoughts that I didn’t hear him when he joined me on the balcony.
He placed a hand on my lower back and said softly, “Mind if I join you?”
“I wish you could have met her. She would have liked you.” He said without waiting for me to answer his earlier question.
I smiled. “Do you like me?”
“I more than like you, Mrs. Foster, but I’m sure you already know that.”
“You’re just saying that.”
He kissed me then, catching me off-guard. I pressed against him, unable to get enough. I needed him. The feel of him. The smell of him. My body yearned for him as much as my heart. I had fallen in love with Jude. Love. That was what I felt.
And before I could second-guess myself, I spoke the words, “I love you, Jude.”
He didn’t sound surprised nor did he hesitate, responding simply with, “Not as much as I love you.”
My heart was pounding and I couldn’t even take a breath and then I heard Oliver call his name before he peaked out and found us.
“Hi, lovebirds, sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow you for a little bit.”
Jude kissed my cheek and disappeared with his father.
I watched him go, feeling elated. I wanted to sing, jump in the air and cheer. I was in love. He loved me back.
I meandered over to the other side of the balcony, looking out over the gardens when I heard voices near me. There were a group of ladies standing with their backs towards me, talking rather loudly. I assumed they had too much to drink and with amusement, I did a little eavesdropping.
“So what do you think? Is she just after his money?”
Oh, this is juicy, I thought to myself leaning in a bit to catch the other person’s response.
“Clearly,” said the other woman.
“Definitely a rags to riches story. I heard she’s originally from the South, broke, no parents, raised by her aunt. She’s lucky she hit the jackpot.”
My shoulders tensed. They were talking about me.
“More like she won the lottery. She must have been so excited. From trailer park to a mansion. Lucky girl.”
“I don’t know,” one of the ladies laughed cruelly. “Can you really picture Jude falling for a woman like her? I mean, consider the girls he’s dated in the past. He’s never had any interest in white trash before. If anything, out of desperation, Oliver probably planned the whole thing and threatened Jude with losing his inheritance if he didn’t comply. You know how much he wanted to control Jude’s life.”
“I heard Oliver isn’t even dying,” said another, and the others nodded in agreement. “He has both those young folks doing his bidding and it’s all based on a lie.”
At least she didn’t call me trailer trash, she just felt sorry for me, I thought to myself, but I didn’t know what stung more.
“We all know it’s not a real marriage,” said the cruel one again. “He’s the city’s most eligible bachelor and he marries her? It was a matter of convenience arranged by Oliver who knew that girl wouldn’t walk away from millions. And he knew that Jude wouldn’t let her. He’s just a broke, ex-athlete. He needs his daddy’s money.”
The old ladies nodded in agreement and I backed away, not knowing I was crying until I felt the tears slipping down my cheeks.
So that’s what they thought of me? They thought I was trailer trash. They thought that I was able to be bought. And then my anger dissipated. Isn’t that exactly what happened? Didn’t I agree to this farce of a relationship for money? They were right. I was just as much at fault as Oliver. And maybe he had planned all of this, but I’d been a willing accomplice.
I knew what I had to do. I made my way outside, walking past the confused faces of Oliver and Jude.
Jude caught up with me easily.
“Hey, where are you going so fast?”
“Out of here.”
“So soon? And without me? I’m pretty sure we came together.”
I said nothing. I couldn’t speak right then. I was too upset.
He grabbed my arm, stopping me. “What’s wrong, Lacey?”
I began to cry. “All of this. This whole scam of a marriage. Us. We’re what’s wrong. I don’t know who’s conning who.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just how convenient was it that your dad would send me to Vegas and you would come along? How convenient that he was dying.”
“You’re trying to say my dad planned all of this? That he’s faking his own impending doom?” He scoffed, “Tell me you don’t actually believe that, Lacey.”
"I don’t know what I believe,” I said. “I just know I can’t continue with this farce anymore.”
“Farce? What I feel for you isn’t a farce.”
“Really, Jude? Is that what you really believe? Because you weren’t even interested in me before all this—before this stupid ruse.”
“That’s not true—”
“Don’t lie. Seriously, don’t do this.” He grabbed my arm stopping me from moving. “Listen to me, Lacey.”
“No! I’m tired of this charade. I want out, ok.”
“But Lacey, I need you—“
“I’m sorry about leaving Ophelia’s Angels in a bind, but I’m sure you’ll find a way to raise enough money to keep it going.”
“This isn’t about that—”
I was done listening. “I can’t do this.”
I stuck my hand out and flagged a taxi.
One stopped for me immediately and I climbed in.
I didn’t make eye contact with Jude and as I slid into the taxi; I knew I was never going to see him again. Despite myself, I couldn’t stop from looking behind me. I saw him standing there just staring after me.
I hated the way I felt at that moment. With a heavy heart, I began to sob.
Chapter Ten
“Emmaline, I’m so sorry,” I whispered hastily as I stood at the threshold of her front door, waiting for her to let me in.
She blinked at me repeatedly in surprise and rubbed at her eyes. “What? What are you doing here? Come in.”
“I’m so sorry, I hope I didn’t wake Theodora.”
I didn’t complete my thought as a voice interrupted me. “Everything okay, Emmie?”
I recognized that voice and my mouth opened to a perfect O as I saw who was standing there behind Emmaline, shirtless with messy hair.
“Hi, Lacey. Long time no see.”
I smiled and wiped my nose on my sleeve. I was snotty from way too much crying and had taken a taxi straight from the event to Emmaline’s
home because I didn’t want to go back to Jude’s loft. I had foolishly given up the lease on my apartment figuring that I could look for another one after the six months with Jude were up.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I thought to myself.
“Hi, Colin.”
We awkwardly hugged. I hadn’t seen him since college and it was a shocker frankly to see him again, half-dressed in Emmaline’s home.
“Umm… so when did you two get back together? When did this happen?”
Colin and Emmaline looked at each other.
She placed a hand against his chest and said, “Give us a little privacy, ok?”
He kissed her solidly on the mouth. “Don’t take too long.”
He then walked away from me. “It’s good to see you again, Lacey.”
I smiled, still confused by his presence. As soon as he disappeared through the door, I said, “What are you doing? What’s Colin doing here? When did this all start?”
“I thought you were here to talk about you?”
I narrowed my eyes at her and sat down hard on the couch. “Spill it.”
“It’s been going on for at least a year.”
“A year!” I hadn’t been expecting that!
“Yeah. It just sort of happened,” she said, smiling. “I’ve spent years pushing him away, determined to not need him, but I’ve needed him all this time. I was being stupid. And I ended up hurting both Theodora and myself in the process. What’s the saying? Pride cometh before the fall? I was so determined that I could be a great single mom despite my age, that I refused the love and help of my child’s father. I was so stupid… we even considered getting married in Vegas when we met up—”
“Hold on. Rewind. You two met up in Vegas? When we were all together? Like on our trip?”
She blushed. “Yeah. Sorry about that. He just popped up. I wasn’t expecting that. I actually went to Vegas to get over him. We had just had an argument and I was determined to end it with him, but he showed up at the bar that night—”
“So, that’s why you weren’t around to save me from myself!? I got beat up, you know. Jude had to rescue me.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I was too busy making out with my ex in the hallway…. where unfortunately, Misha caught us.”
“So Misha knows too? I feel so left out of the loop!” I narrowed my eyes at her. “So is that why you were MIA the next day when I found out that I had married Jude?”
She nodded guiltily. “I was hiding Colin in my bedroom.”
I shook my head. “So did you guys get hitched too?”
“Oh no! Even in our inebriated state, we realized that would cause a lot of confusion for Theodora, so we wanted to do it the right way.”
I frowned. “Why couldn’t I have had your sense of practicality when drunk?”
She laughed. “Yeah, I did sigh in relief and thank God I hadn’t done what you did.”
“Thanks, Emmaline. Thanks for that,” I said sarcastically and then softened my tone. “Honestly, I’m so happy for you. I always thought you and Colin were good together. And I’m sure Theodora will love having her parents back together.”
She nodded. “We plan to tell her soon. As in tomorrow morning when she wakes up.”
I frowned. “I hope I didn’t wake her by knocking, and she’s sitting somewhere eavesdropping.”
Emmaline waved off my concerns. “That girl could sleep through a natural disaster. You’re fine. Let’s get back to you. What are you going to do about Jude?”
“Walk away. No, run away. With the last of my dignity.”
"Okayyyyy,” she said drawing the word out and giving me a long look. “Let’s try again. What’s going on? Why are you here? You were so excited about tonight and about you and Jude.”
I quickly told Emmaline what I had heard and she listened, interrupting only to ask a question to clarify some of the things I said.
And when I was done, I expected her to tear into them. I expected her to say that I was right to have left, that those people were horrible and that I shouldn’t even waste my breath on them.
Instead, she said, “Those people aren’t Oliver. They aren’t Jude. I think you overreacted, Lacey.”
“What the hell? Seriously, Emmaline. Someone calls me white trash and you think I should have just stuck around and thanked them.” I was beyond hurt. How could Emmaline not take my side? Didn’t she remember how we’d been treated as kids? “It’s like you’ve forgotten about our childhood. It’s like you don’t remember how we were treated by those spoiled ass rich kids. Damn, Emmaline, have you forgotten that we’ve come from nothing?” I stood up, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.
Emmaline chuckled dryly. “Nope, I remember. I remember every humiliating moment of high school. I remember how the rich kids taunted us, made fun of us, made us feel as if we didn’t belong there.”
“Yet you think I overreacted?” I said, the tears now flowing freely as I thought of all the horrible things the kids had said and done.
“I think you’re misplacing your anger. Jude didn’t say those things. Jude has never treated you as anything other than an equal. And Oliver, it seems he liked you the moment he met you. You have a chip on your shoulder, Lacey.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about—”
Emmaline’s eyebrows arched and I knew she was mad. “I don’t know what I’m talking about? I’m a woman who was born into poverty and got knocked up in college. I’m the one who insisted on being a single mother and doing it all on my own because I refused to accept the love and help of the one man who unconditionally and wholeheartedly wanted to give me both.” Her voice shook. “I had a huge chip on my shoulder, Lacey. And what do I have to show for it? I denied my daughter the gift of living with both her parents under one roof because I wanted to prove to others that Emmaline Daniels might have been poor and from the wrong side of the tracks, but she could do it all on her own. And what do I have to show for it?”
She waited for me to answer, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know she had ever felt that way.
“I’ll tell you what I have to show for it… I missed out on ten years of being with the man I loved and raising my child with the father she loved, all because of some misplaced pride and you shouldn’t do the same. We’re not those poor kids anymore. We’re not just trash from the wrong side of the track. We’re adults with choices and we need to start making better ones.”
I sat down defeated. I knew she was right.
“You know,” I said in a small voice. “Their words hurt so much because I couldn’t help thinking, what if they’re right? Am I really good enough for Jude? And God, I did agree to this arrangement for the money. So what does that say about me? It says I’m desperate.”
“Honey, there are women who marry incarcerated serial killers just to become famous. Compared to them, I think you’re doing okay. If there’s a scale of desperate women, I’m sure you’re not on it.”
I giggled. My giggle turned into laughter and we were laughing so hard we didn’t know Theodora was there until she stood in front of us looking sleepy and agitated.
“Can you two hold it down? Some of us are trying to sleep, you know. I do have responsibilities, specifically a school project tomorrow.”
“Oops, sorry,” I said sheepishly.
“Sorry,” Emmaline echoed. With a sigh of frustration, Theodora walked back to her room.
Emmaline smothered a giggle. “What did I tell you? She’s ten going on eighteen.”
I chuckled and placed my hand over hers. “Thanks for hearing me out. Helping me see reason.”
“That’s what friends are for. I just don’t want you to throw away a good thing. And what you have with Jude is a very good thing.”
“He said he loved me tonight…”
“Of course he does. How could he not?”
I hugged her and stood up to leave when I realized my only choice was a hotel or back to the loft.
>
“Do you mind if I spend the night here?”
“No, I don’t mind, but I think it would better if you go home and face your demons.”
“You mean, face Jude”
“Yep.”
“Call me a cab?”
“I’ll just drop you off.”
We pulled up in front of the loft and I looked at her. “Wish me luck,”
I hopped out the car as Emmaline made a U-turn and yelled out, “Go get him, girl!”
I squared my shoulders as if I were going into battle and made my way to the door. I took a deep breath and inserted my key.
Before I could turn the lock, the door was opening from the other side. Looking tired and pissed off, Jude stood there.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out.
He said nothing to me, just studied me, his eyes not revealing any emotions. He turned away from me and I avoided the inevitable as long as possible, taking my time to lock and bolt the door.
He went to the fridge, pulled out a beer and sat down on the couch and used the end table to open his beer, smacking the cap with his hand, sending the cap spiraling across the floor. I stared at the cap since it seemed the better option instead of facing Jude. Apparently, he had other ideas.
“I’m over here, Lacey. At the very least, you can look at me.”
I forced myself to.
“Why’d you run from me tonight?”
I shrugged and looked away from him, not because I didn’t know the answer, but because I didn’t even know where to start. So I just started talking and hoped he would understand.
“When we met, I didn’t even have my own car, Jude—”
He made a face, clearly confused. “What does that have to do with us?”
“You’re a son of a billionaire, a former athlete who’s been around the world. You have connections to all sorts of people. I was just a lowly temp worker. A nobody. Our meeting and marrying was like a Cinderella story, but instead of it being based on love, it was based on greed and deception.”
“A Cinderella story?” he said incredulously.
“Yeah, the handsome prince rescuing the lowly servant girl.”
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