The Pink Rose: Secrets, Love and Betrayal

by Alicia Roberts

  Max looked at her, as if he expected her to say something more. When she didn't, he finally said, "Well. Maybe - it could be. Something more, you know."

  Amy looked at him icily. "No, I don't know. I don't want to be another of your 'delusional' girlfriends. What do you mean?"

  He shifted uncomfortably. "I can't say I love you. I don't know if I even believe in love. But I want to spend more time with you, we could have a fun time together, for longer. And it would be easier if we were living in the same place. That's all."

  "Ok."

  She closed her eyes. What had she expected? "Could you take me home please? I don't feel so well."

  "Of course."

  He was solicitous and considerate as he paid the bill and helped her to the limo. But she didn't really feel sick - just a slight nausea. So Max wanted her to be with him for a little longer, living in his apartment, knowing he could get tired of her at any time, and that he didn't love her?

  No, it wasn't happening. When she got to her place, she went upstairs and lay down, allowing the room to spin around her, her thoughts just as unstable.

  She might as well admit it to herself - she was falling in love with Max. And he wasn't about to fall in love with her.

  The next morning she talked to her boss, and when work was over she came home and packed her bags. She sent Max a text: "I need 2 think, need a break. Going away for 2 weeks. Will call after I get back nxt Sunday."

  It had been easy enough to book a place to stay, and that night she drove up to Vermont.

  She needed to clear her thoughts.

  ***

  When he saw Amy's text, Max wanted to smash his hand through his plasma TV.

  He was angry, no he was incredibly angry. Why had she taken off? He tried to call her, but her cell phone was off.

  He drove to her apartment the next morning to see her, but her housemate said she'd left last night. Where? She didn't know, but Amy had told her to give Max a box.

  When he opened the box, he found all the little bits of jewelry he'd given Amy over the course of the last few months. Tiny pendants and bracelets and earrings, made with gold, diamonds, rubies and amethyst, things he'd pretended weren't real stones so that Amy would accept the gifts. He put the box in Amy's room and left - he wasn't about to take those things back.

  He swore under his breath - when his parents had called him aside after the Sunday lunch and told him not to lose Amy, this probably wasn't what they had in mind.

  He was in a sour mood the entire week, and even had to go to an art opening alone.

  "Where's Amy?" asked the paparazzi, as he walked in, "Is it true you two broke up?"

  It was an intolerable few days and since Amy wasn't there to keep him company, he chose to work on Saturday. On Sunday he turned up to the family lunch alone, and the teasing began immediately.

  "Have you scared her off already?” “So she realized what a big mistake she was making, right?"

  He scowled at everyone and didn't have much to say. "She had to go away," he satisfied himself with saying. "I'll bring her over to lunch week after next."

  He couldn't bear to think that it might be over, that he wouldn't bring her to the lunch again. It felt like someone had stabbed him deep inside, and he was determined not to let Amy get away. What if she met someone else on her holiday, what if she was with that other guy right now? The thought struck him hard and twisted inside him painfully like a knife.

  He worked late on Monday, trying to kill time till the day Amy got back.

  When he walked out of the office, it was dark, and while he waited for his car to pull up, a familiar figure sashayed up to him.

  "Max," she purred.

  "Chloe." The bitterness was gone from his voice, he was tired and worried about Amy, and didn’t have the energy to be annoyed with Chloe. "What are you doing here?"

  She shrugged. "I came to see my lawyer, but now my car's broken down. I wonder if you’d give me a lift? I live quite near you, after all."

  She smiled and tossed her sleek hair over one shoulder.

  Max sighed as his car pulled up. "Chloe - "

  "No, come on Max. I really don't want to get a taxi, you know I don't trust them."

  He rolled his eyes and stepped into the car. "Try trusting them once. Or call someone."

  She slid in before he could stop her. "Come on, Max, you know it's not safe for me to wait outside all alone so late."

  She smiled and reached out to touch his arm. "So, how've you been?"

  Max couldn't help but flinch. "What do you want, Chloe?"

  She was as annoying as ever and he wondered how soon they'd arrive at her place.

  If she was surprised when he drew back, she didn't show it. "I read that you and Amy broke up. I'm so sorry, of course it's not surprising given that she -"

  He interrupted angrily before she could continue. "Don't believe everything you read. Amy and I are still together, and as a matter of fact, she's moving in with me."

  Chloe stared at him in disbelief.

  "So, Mr. Commitment-Phobic is finally settling down." She spoke slowly and twirled her hair with a slim finger. "Well, just so you know, I'm always there for you. You'll get hurt by this girl; love hurts anyway, and she's not right for you. Trust me on that."

  Max stared at her icily. Traffic was terrible and the car inched forward. There seemed to be no way of shutting her up, so he pulled out his cell phone and began to chat with Matt about their latest acquisition plans for a line of herbal cosmetics. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally dropped her off, and hoped he'd never have to see her again.

  ***

  It had been a lovely two weeks for Amy. She'd stayed at a romantic bed and breakfast, and met quite a few charming couples who were there on "mini breaks" and "second honeymoons". She got a fair bit of advice that seemed to make sense, and now she felt at peace.

  Yes, it had been good to get away, but it was better to be home, she thought, looking around the tiny apartment. She loved Max, she might as well admit it to herself, but she wouldn't try to rush anything - things could move slowly in a relationship, and though he didn't admit it, what he had with her was a relationship, albeit a slightly messed-up one. Taking her to meet his family and asking her to move in - you could call it whatever you liked, but that didn't change what it was.

  She'd decided to give him time to understand his feelings. If he loved her, that would be great. If not, she'd know she'd given it her best shot. She wouldn't rush him or pressure him in any way…

  She heard Mandy talking to someone on the phone and opening the front door. And then there was a knock on her bedroom door and she turned around in surprise as it opened slowly.

  "Max," she squealed, and rushed to give him a hug. "It's great to see you again."

  He looked a bit bashful, but happy at her reaction. "I was worried you'd met some Lothario on your holiday and forgotten about me."

  Amy laughed happily. "Are you crazy? I spent all my time hanging out with ridiculously romantic couples, I was just about the only singleton. I - "

  "Amy." His face was serious and he held her shoulders fimly and looked into her eyes. "Move in with me. You have to say yes, I can't let you go. I love you."

  It was Amy's turn to look like she was in shock. Just when she'd thought things would get back to a normal, easy-going state, Max threw her this curve ball. She should be happy, but… "Are you sure?" She sounded doubtful. "I mean, you spent all this time telling me how you don't believe in love."

  Max sighed melodramatically and made an absurd, martyred face. "I was really hoping you'd be happy to hear that, or maybe you even felt the same way. But yeah - I can't deny it, my chest hurts when you're not around, and the thought of you being with another guy makes me want to punch a hole in the wall. It's horrible but only you make me feel better. So I guess this is love. And now I need you."

  Amy stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds and then finally said softly, "Yes. I'll move in with you.
"

  "Great." He grinned broadly, relieved. "Now say you love me."

  Amy laughed. "You're ridiculous, that's not how it works."

  Max smiled and drew her close, kissing her deeply. She soon felt herself pushed onto the bed and as their embrace deepened she found herself pushing him away.

  "Wait." She spent a few moments catching her breath and then finally said, "I don't play games. Might as well tell you - I love you, Max. I think you're amazing and - "

  His lips came down on hers again, destroying her ability to say anything more. But she pushed him away again. This was probably a good time to tell Max that Nicky was her cousin.

  "Max, I think I should tell you something."

  He traced her lips with one finger.

  "No. I think we shouldn't be talking so much…" He nuzzled into her neck, and she smiled as he began to trail his lips down slowly, forgetting whatever she had been about to say …

  ***

  Two weeks passed by quickly, and Max was thrilled that Amy was settling into his place. It was lovely to see her every morning when he woke up, and he felt happy and content as they drifted off to sleep together each night. The only imperfection in his life was Nicky's purchase of the herbal cosmetics company from right under his nose, but he put that down to a fluke.

  Tonight he was actually hosting a party - important investors in his company, a few well-known entrepreneurs, a couple of society dames with great connections, and some of his friends. Normally he would hate having to attend parties like this, where networking and business opportunities were an underlying motivator, but tonight he would actually have fun.

  Being with Amy made everything enjoyable - he was starting to see a future for them together, maybe even kids, but he was scared to admit that to her yet. Instead, he focused on enjoying the times they had together.

  Caterers and a professional party planner took care of all the arrangements, and the only things he and Amy had to do were relax and welcome the guests. They were having fun mingling and having a few cocktails, when he spotted her out of the corner of his eye.

  Chloe. What was she doing here?

  He frowned, and tried not to let this ruin his good mood. Stalking over to her, he glared into her beautiful cold eyes.

  "Get out," he growled, refusing to take any chances of ruining his party.

  "Oh come on Max," she purred, "I'm an invited guest, I'm here as Steven's plus one."

  She smiled an infuriatingly smug smile, but Max knew better. "What do you want?"

  She took a sip of her martini. "I just wanted to know if you were aware. You've got a mole leaking information to Nicky Dunn."

  Max stared at her coldly, his heart sinking. He was getting a very bad feeling about where this was going.

  "What do you know?"

  Chloe smiled and took another elegant sip. "Don't you know Nicky is Amy's cousin? They grew up together."

  His heart seemed to have stopped. The implication was crystal clear. But no - it couldn't be. "Just because they're cousins doesn't mean she's leaking information."

  Time seemed to have slowed down. He watched as the guests mingled, they sipped their drinks and laughed and chatted in some kind of strange slow-motion way, oblivious to what was really going on. He noticed Amy out of the corner of his eye. She was standing with three powerful society ladies who seemed to have taken a fondness to her, and her eyes sparkled as she laughed at something. And then she noticed him standing with Chloe and began to excuse herself and make her way over. Everything was slow… he seemed to be standing in some kind of fog…

  Chloe's steely voice brought him down to earth with a thud. "If she wasn't a mole, she would've told you Nicky was her cousin."

  Max tried not to flinch, or to say anything until the fog in his mind cleared. He knew he must have gone a bit pale, and when Amy finally reached them she looked concerned.

  "Are you ok?"

  She peered at him and reached out to hold his arm.

  He drew back slowly, and looked at her. "Is this true?"

  Amy glanced at Chloe and then back at him. "Is what true?"

  And then she turned to Chloe again, "Could we have some privacy please?"

  "Of course." Chloe smiled, as if happy to oblige, and glided away.

  "Max, what's going on?"

  She looked concerned, but Max knew immediately that Chloe had been telling the truth. "Nicky Dunn is your cousin, isn't she?"

  She looked puzzled. "Yes, but - "

  Max raised an eyebrow, his eyes were cold and Amy went silent for a minute before saying softly, "I tried to tell you earlier, but I never found the right moment and I - "

  "I would never be with you if I knew Nicky was your cousin."

  She stared at him and said quietly, "Yes, that's what I thought."

  "And apparently you've been feeding her information about what companies I plan to buy."

  Her eyes widened in surprise, "What makes you say that?"

  He was silent. So Chloe was right.

  And then realization dawned on her face. "Chloe told you?" She swiveled her neck to try to see where Chloe was, but she'd disappeared. "She did, didn't she?"

  He didn't deny it and a veil of anger slowly slid over her face. "And you believe her."

  "Do you deny it?"

  "Yes, of course I do! Why would I tell Nicky - "

  "How do I know why?" Max's voice was furious, and he tried not to talk too loudly. "Maybe she's paying you, maybe you've got a twisted sense of family loyalty. We all know how badly you want to start your own business, maybe she's giving you seed capita - "

  "That's enough." Her voice was low, and harsh like a whip. "We don't need to destroy this party, we can talk later."

  "No, we can't. I can't have you around any more."

  Panic began to rise up in his chest. So that's why she'd gotten the job in his company to start off with. She didn’t really love him, she was just another girl who wanted to use him, and she’d done a better job than anyone else before."The longer you're here, the more you can tell Nicky."

  She looked at him with wide eyes, her lips parted slightly. He noticed that her eyes were starting to look a bit watery, as if she was about to cry, and for a moment he had a vision of her bawling and screaming, ruining his reputation and spreading lies. But then he noticed she'd blinked back her tears.

  "Fine," she said slowly, "I'll just leave."

  "Good." Max was furious, the anger was giving him a headache, he wanted everything to be over. He couldn't think straight, he wanted all these people to leave, but they didn't. They would be here for a while. He couldn't let his feelings show, or everyone would wonder what was going on. He breathed steadily, trying to act normal, and turned around, leaving Amy on her own.

  He walked over to a few friends and pretended to listen to what they were saying, but he had no idea what was going on. Chloe must have left. He noticed Amy putting on a happy face and speaking to people. He thought she'd be leaving? And then he noticed her walking out the door calmly. He gulped. She must've been saying goodbye to everyone.

  Victoria, the wife of one of his investors, came up to him and began saying something about how sorry she was that Amy had to leave the party because her friend had been hospitalized.

  Max smiled and nodded politely. Amy's a good liar, he told himself. She'd been lying all this time. He wouldn't let her ruin his day; he had to get through this party. He'd forget what had happened, he decided, and make it through the next few hours. He mentally blocked out his conversation with Amy, and went through the motions of being a good host.

  ***

  Max came home on Monday might to find out that Amy had stopped by during the day, while he was at the office.

  She'd packed up all her belongings, and left her key on the kitchen table.

  It hit Max with a sudden force that there was now a big Amy-shaped hole in his life. His apartment felt empty, even though she'd only lived with him for two weeks. There were big gaps where her
things used to be - the spot next to his toothbrush where hers used to stay, the box in his bathroom full of her hair appliances.

  He tried not to think about that, or the fact that he felt hollow inside. He missed her. Whatever she had done, he had loved her, and he knew she'd been special.

  Why had she betrayed him? He tried to focus on what she'd done, but it didn't really make sense. She'd left the company as soon as she could - if she was a spy, wouldn't she have stayed on? She'd done a good job of pretending she liked him, he decided, and refused to think about it any more.

  He threw himself into work, but the next three weeks still passed at a snail's pace. There was so much to do, so many things to think of - but all his thoughts kept returning to Amy. The way she smelled, the way she smiled at him…

  Stop it, he told himself. She'd betrayed him in one of the worst possible ways. She knew how much the company meant to him and she'd done her best to bring him down.

  He discovered that Nicky was planning to buy out an online coupons website and tried to investigate what potential it had. But the rivalry was beginning to feel half-hearted to him - if she wanted the site, she could have it. He didn't have to buy everything she did…

  Chloe had called him the week after Amy left, but he didn't have the patience to talk to her. She'd barely managed to say that she was calling to check up on him, when he told her to leave him alone.

  "I guess you need some time by yourself," she'd murmured, sounding sympathetic.

  Max knew her sympathy wasn't genuine, and he resisted the urge to curse as he hung up.

  And then one evening when he was working late, the security guard downstairs gave him a buzz.

  "There's a woman here to see you."

  Amy. His heart jumped at the thought of seeing her again. And then he frowned at himself - the thought of seeing her shouldn't make him happy and excited, and it might not even be her. What if it was Chloe?

  "Who is it?" he asked, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice.

  "It's a lady, says she's Nicky Dunn and you'd like to see her?"

  "Of course. Send her up."

  He tried to get over his disappointment that the visitor wasn't Amy - he didn't want to see Amy anyway - and wondered what Nicky was doing here.