by Ivy Smoak
"Then why the hell did you just steal 20 million dollars from me?!"
"I didn't steal it. My name was on your accounts."
"Jesus, Penny. And when did you realize I added you to all my accounts?"
"Today."
"Don't lie to me. You promised you wouldn't lie."
"Today, James. I didn't know until today."
He nodded. He seemed to believe me. Which was good, because it was the truth. "How long have you been planning this?"
"I haven't been planning anything. James, I had to transfer the money. I didn't have a choice. I was..."
"Stop lying! You promised you wouldn't lie to me," he repeated. He ran his hands through his hair. "Isabella tried to warn me. She said that you didn't love me. She always said you were after my money."
"Why would you believe her? Have the past two and a half years meant nothing to you?"
He shook his head. "Because she was right. You just wanted me for my money."
"I fell in love with you when you were my professor. You could have been broke. I still would have loved you, James."
"You don't love me. Stop lying to me. What's the point now? You got what you wanted. Just go."
"That's not true. I love you. All I want is to marry you. I'm not going anywhere."
He pulled out something from his pocket and tossed it at me. "You don't love me."
I unfolded the pictures. They were the ones of Tyler hugging me and holding my hand in the diner. Isabella was a fucking liar.
"You still love him." He sounded more hurt by this than the fact that he was missing 20 million dollars.
"I never loved Tyler. James, you know that. I love you. I've only ever loved you." I stood up, but he took a step back from me.
"Then why did you do it?!"
"I..." I didn't know what to say. I didn't have an answer. "Those pictures aren't what you think. I was upset when you were at your bachelor party. Melissa wasn't speaking to me. Tyler was just being a good friend. He went and asked Melissa to be his girlfriend right after this," I said and waved the pictures in the air. "Isabella took these and she's..."
"I know. I know that Isabella took these. She gave them to me a few days ago. And she told me I couldn't trust you. But I didn't listen. Because I trusted you. With everything. I was wrong." It looked like he was about to cry. I had never seen him like this.
I wanted to comfort him. I took another step toward him, but he took a step back. "You weren't wrong, James. You can trust me. Please just believe me. We're being blackmailed. I had to transfer the money so there wouldn't be pictures of us having sex leaked all over the internet."
He laughed and shook his head back and forth. "God, all you do is lie. You're leaving me, right? That's what this is?"
"No."
"And you needed money before you left me?" he said like he hadn't even heard what I had just said. "So you could run away with him?"
"What? No." I wanted to laugh. This whole thing was ridiculous. "I don't love Tyler. I don't want to be with Tyler. And were certainly not running away together. James..."
"Then why did you transfer 20 million dollars into Tyler's bank account?"
"I didn't." I transferred it to Isabella's account. Fuck. That bitch set me up. "I didn't." My voice sounded so small. Oh God, no. My whole body felt cold.
"Yes you did. At 4 o'clock you transferred 20 million dollars of my money to Tyler Steven's bank account."
"No. James." I could hear the desperation in my voice. "This isn't what you think."
"Stop it." He ran his hands through his hair again. "Isabella knew. That's why you didn't want me to talk to her. She knew you didn't love me. She knew you just wanted my money."
"I do love you. I love you so much."
"But not as much as you love him? Penny, I trusted you."
"Then trust me now. We're being blackmailed."
"Just stop!" His voice was so loud. "Who the fuck would blackmail you into giving my money to Tyler?"
"I can't tell you."
"Because the answer is no one! Your lie doesn't even make any sense."
He didn't believe me. "We are being blackmailed. I just can't tell you by who or they'll leak..."
"Photos of us having sex? Yeah, I heard you the first time. I need some air." He walked past me. He stumbled slightly and caught himself on one of the stools in the kitchen.
I had only ever seen him this drunk once before after hanging out with Rob back in Newark. "You can't leave. You're drunk. Please just sit down."
"Like you care."
"I do care."
"What because you love me?" he scoffed. "No one loves me. Keep the money. Just get the fuck out of my house."
"James." I put my hand on his arm.
He recoiled from me, like my touch caused him pain. "Leave." His voice was firm.
"I'm not leaving until you listen to me."
"Go be with Tyler. Go be happy. That's all I ever wanted. For you to be happy."
"You make me happy."
"Please just go." He wiped his hand underneath his eyes. I had never seen James cry. It killed me. He was crying because he thought I didn't love him. It felt like my heart was breaking.
"Those pictures aren't what they seem. I don't love Tyler. I love you. I love everything about you. This whole thing is just a misunderstanding."
He pulled out a few more pictures from his pocket. "Like this?" He slammed the picture down on the counter. It was of me touching that random guy's abs at the bar. "Or this?" He slammed down the picture of Austin kissing me.
"They're like the ones of Tyler. They were taken out of context. It was my bachelorette party. There was this list of stupid stuff my friends made me do. And Austin kissed me. I shoved him off right away. Isabella made him..."
"Just save it. I don't care, Penny. You're not my problem anymore."
"Problem? Is that what I've always been? Just something you had to take care of?"
He shook his head. "You certainly can't take care of yourself. You're immature. And selfish. And ungrateful."
"Ungrateful for what? This house that I didn't want? Because I don't like spending your money?"
"I try to give you everything and you always pretended like you didn't want it. You played me."
"I didn't play you. I don't care about your money. And this?" I picked up the picture he had of Austin kissing me. "I trusted you when you kissed Isabella. All I'm asking is for you to do the same. She orchestrated the pictures. You can't believe anything she says."
"But the money? Explain that to me. Just tell me who's blackmailing us." He put the word blackmail in air quotes.
My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my purse and looked down at the text:
"Don't you dare. All I have to do is press enter."
"What could possibly be more important than this conversation, Penny? Unless it's him?"
"It's not Tyler." Isabella must have cameras in here. She's been watching us this whole time. "You know this isn't about Tyler. You know that. We're just friends."
He shook his head. "You stole from me. For him. And you don't even have an explanation."
"I didn't steal. You said what's yours is mine."
"Come on, Penny. That's just something people say. And I don't know what love is. Obviously. We're calling the wedding off just in time. Because I just liked fucking you. That's all I know. I need another drink."
"You don't mean that."
"I do. You have a great body. But clearly you're a shitty person. You're ugly on the inside. I see that now." He grabbed a glass from the cabinet. "I'll find another ten to keep the bed warm. Don't you worry about that."
"You're just lashing out. Stop saying things just because you're upset..."
"I mean every word that I've said. Go to hell, Penny."
"You're such an asshole." Yes, I couldn't explain the missing money to him. But there was no reason for him to say that he never loved me. That I was ugly on the inside.
"Sure." He unsc
rewed the cap to the scotch and took a sip straight from the bottle. "I'm the asshole."
"Yeah, you are." I pulled off the lid to the box I had left on the counter. "Because you still talk to Rachel." I threw the pictures at him. "And cheated on me during your bachelor party." I threw the rest of the pictures at him, the ones of him fucking some random girl and kissing Isabella in his office. "And you loved Isabella. You lied to me. And maybe you still do love her. You left her millions of notes saying how much you loved her. You never left me love letters. You told me you were forced to marry her. That you never loved her. And talking about having children with her? Jesus, James. You never wanted that life with me. So now I know why. Because you just liked fucking me. You never loved me. You're a liar and a cheat."
"Have you been following me?" He held up the picture of Rachel. "What is wrong with you?"
"That's all you have to say to me? After everything I just said? God, you did cheat on me."
"I didn't fucking cheat on you! I already told you that when I got back from my bachelor party. I would never cheat on you. I'm not the one who fucked this up. You are. This is on you."
"Fine. Throw the blame on me. I'll take it, if that's what you need. But, James..."
"What I need is for you to either tell me why you stole from me or get the hell out of my house."
"I already told you! You won't believe me. Because you trust your ex wife more than you trust me."
"Because she never needed my money! God, my parents were right the whole time. You can't trust someone who comes from nothing. All they'll want is your money."
From nothing? I didn't come from nothing. I had a family that loved me. That meant more than all the money in the world. And I thought that's what he wanted from me, to be my family. I was so wrong.
"You kept telling me not to trust Isabella and that I shouldn't talk to her. And I was too naive to see that you were the one I shouldn't trust. So take the money you got your hands on. But you'll never get another dime from me. I'll blacklist your name so you can never get a marketing job in this entire city. I'm done giving you my handouts. I'm done with you. I never want to see your face again."
"Screw you, James." My whole body was trembling. Every venomous word that came out of his mouth broke me a little more. "I'm giving you what you want. I'm leaving." I walked away from him and opened up the front door. "Have fun finding a ten to keep your bed warm." I slammed the door behind me. Part of me wanted him to come after me. To tell me he was sorry. But I knew he wouldn't. He thought I was a gold digger. He thought I was in love with Tyler. And he didn't trust me. I pressed the button to close the doors of the elevator. Apparently he never had.
Ian was leaning against the car when I stepped off the elevator.
I looked down at the ground, hoping he wouldn't look up as I passed him.
"Penny? Do you need a lift?"
"No, I'm good." I kept walked.
"Are you okay?" He put his hand on my shoulder
"I'm fine." I wiped my tears away.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"Let me drive you wherever you're going."
I didn't want to go to my parents' hotel room crying. I didn't want to go to Melissa and Tyler's. Not when James thought I still had feelings for him. I couldn't go to Bee and Mason's. "You don't work for me, Ian. You made that clear the other day." I pulled away from him.
"And I said I was sorry. Please, just let me take you."
"I don't have anywhere to go. And you need to be here in case James comes down. He's drunk. So, don't let him go anywhere. I don't want him to hurt himself."
Ian frowned. "Is everything okay between you two?"
I couldn't tell James that Isabella was the one who had given me Tyler's bank account number. That she had orchestrated this fight between us perfectly. And even if I did, he wouldn't believe me. He trusted her way more than he trusted me. She had him wrapped around her finger. And James had said some awful things to me. He was drunk, but that didn't excuse it. It was like I was hearing how he really felt about me for the first time. And it wasn't what I had wanted to hear. James and I certainly weren't going to fix this overnight. The wedding wasn't going to happen. I grabbed my key out of my purse and the credit card that James had given me and handed them to Ian. I didn't need James' money. I never needed it. I only needed him. "Can you give these to him for me please?"
"Penny, what's going on?"
"We're done." I shook my head. "I'm done. Just don't let him go anywhere while he's drunk. I don't want anything to happen to him."
Ian nodded his head. "I'll still take you wherever you want to go. As a friend."
"It's okay, Ian. I just...I'll walk." Where the hell was I going to go?
"Where will you stay?"
"I'll figure it out. Just don't let anything happen to him." I walked away before he could ask me any more questions.
Chapter 29
Thursday
I knew I'd love James until the day I died. That's what hurt the most. He could say as many horrible things he wanted to me. It didn't change the way I felt about him. And I still wanted him to be happy. Even if I wasn't the one that could make him happy.
Sex. That's what it came back to. That was my biggest fear. That he was addicted to sex. I was just a good lay. Did he really mean that? I felt so cheap. James had lashed out at me before. He was good at pushing people away because he didn't think anyone could love him. So he didn't want to fall for anyone.
I hated that I was walking through the city streets of New York, a city that wasn't my home, feeling bad for the person who had just dumped me. But I did feel bad for him. He was so broken. I thought I could heal that wound. I thought I was enough. But I was just a good lay. I was just an escape from his reality. I was a drug. And he was ready to move onto the next thing.
The most ironic part is that Isabella had warned me it would happen. She had actually been right. Isabella had acted like a good friend to him the whole time she was torturing me. She won. And I didn't want to spend my whole life fighting her. I had a sick feeling that James was running to her right now, falling into her trap. Hopefully Ian would listen to me and not take him anywhere. If he wasn't going to be with me, he needed to find someone that actually made him happy. I didn't want him to revert back to her because it's all he knew.
I pulled out my phone and called Rob who was in town for the wedding. He could take care of James and make sure he didn't get back with Isabella. Rob hated her just as much as I did.
"Cashing in on your last lay as a single woman?" Rob said. "I thought you might call."
"Rob, can you go check on James?" I asked, ignoring him.
"Absolutely. I was just on my way over to hang out with you guys. Are you not there?"
"No. I'm...James can explain. Just take care of him okay? Promise to take care of him for me?" It suddenly hit me hard that I was losing all of James' family and friends too. Rob really had become one of my best friends. More like the brother I never had. I wouldn't be able to hang out with Bee and Mason any more either. I'd never get to see Jen again. I was losing the love of my life and my new family.
"What's going on?" Rob suddenly seemed to understand that I was serious.
"I'm...the wedding's off, Rob."
"What?"
"He doesn't love me."
Rob laughed. "Yes he does. You're just getting cold feet."
"No. We're done." My voice caught. "It's over. Please just go take care of your brother. He's drunk. And he needs you."
"He doesn't need me. He needs you. Penny..."
I hung up the phone. There was a text message waiting for me from Isabella:
"You did the right thing, Penny. You're both better off this way. You're free to do whatever you want now. Go back to Wilmington. Go home. Live your life. And don't worry about James. I'll take good care of him."
A person passing me on the street gave me a strange look. I quickly wiped away my tears. I was aware of the fact that
I looked like a crazy person, but I didn't really care. If James didn't want me anymore, it didn't change my feelings for him. I'd always love him. And I needed to do one last thing for him before it was too late.
I looked in my purse. I had about thirty dollars in cash. That could at least get me there. I'd figure out what to do next later. It was time to finally take Zach's advice. I needed to fight fire with fire. If I couldn't have James, I had to make sure Isabella didn't end up with him either. I put my hand out and hailed down a taxi.
***
I looked up at the Hunter's huge mansion. It seemed strange that this is what James thought I was after. I never cared about his money. I didn't know he still had doubts about that. But his parents had ingrained that thought into his head. If he had just trusted me, the wedding would still be on. I had trusted him. I was going to marry him despite the pictures Isabella sent. But James hadn't given me the same courtesy. What happened between us was just as much his stubbornness as it was Isabella's fault. And she knew him. She knew that he was sensitive about someone being with him for his money. She won.
What life did I have to live without James? I didn't have a home to go back to. New York was my home. Wherever James was, that was my home. He was home to me. I quickly wiped away the tears that had started to roll down my cheeks. I just wanted him to be happy.
I walked up the steps to James' parents' house and pressed the doorbell. A moment later, Eric opened up the door. He was the person that had been nicest to me at the engagement party. I fit in better with their help than with any of them. Because I came from nothing.
"Hi, Penny."
"Hi, Eric. I need to talk to James' parents."
"Are they expecting you?"
"No. But it's urgent. Can you please tell them that? I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."
"Of course." He stepped aside and I walked into their huge foyer. "The sitting room is to your left. Please take a seat while I go tell them."
"Thank you." I walked into the room he had pointed to as he disappeared down a hallway. The room was like every other room I had seen in here. It was way too ornate for my taste. Simple people liked simple things. This wasn't a life I wanted. I'd be okay.
