The Wager: A Billionaire Romance (19 page)

"No," I said.

"It's because for eight years, she was picked on mercilessly every day at school. Kids would call her names, hit her, spit in her hair, you name it. The worst, though, was in high school when a bunch of kids decided it would be great fun to pretend to be her friend and one of the guys even asked her to the prom. You can see where this story is going, can't you?" she said.

I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and closed my eyes.

"Yeah, I figured you would," Mel continued. "She went and got a dress and the whole works. Waited the whole night for her date to show up. Her parents bought a new camera just for the occasion."

"He never showed up?" I asked in a small voice.

"Oh, he showed up all right," she said harshly. "He and a group of his friend drove by in the limo taunting her and laughing at her for being stupid enough to think anyone would ever like her or go out with her."

"Oh my God," I whispered.

"Yeah, I'm sure you can see the parallels in the situation," Mel said. "It had taken four years before she finally felt comfortable enough to tell me about that time in her life. She's always been cautious and paranoid around guys, afraid they were only using her or playing a trick on her. Then you show up in her life and I actually told her you were different, and tried to convince her to give you a chance. And what does she get for it? The same exact shit."

"I had no idea," I said.

"Yeah well, now you know what you're up against. You've humiliated her again and made her feel utterly worthless. How can she ever trust you after that?" Mel asked.

"I...I don't know," I said.

My heart hurt not only for myself, but for Lily too. I'd had no idea she suffered so much when she was young and impressionable. The person she was now was so strong and fierce; I never suspected how far she had to come to reach that point.

"I need to see her," I said. My voice sounded hoarse and desperate, but I couldn't go another day with her thinking I was just using her or had toyed with her affections. She needed to know the truth.

"She's not here."

"What do you mean?" I asked, sharply.

"I mean she's not in New York."

"Where is she?"

Mel hesitated a long while and I was beginning to get impatient. "For God's sake, just tell me! This has gone on long enough and even if she won't give me another chance, I at least think she has a right to know the truth of my feelings," I shouted.

"All right, geez, no need to shout my head off," she said. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you anyways," she muttered more to herself.

"Where is she, Mel?"

"She's in Maine at her parent's house. Her dad just died."

I blew out a long breath at the news. Lily must be hurting so much and I hated myself for adding to her grief. I wanted to be there for her, to be the one to comfort her, but I knew I had to earn that right again.

"I'm going up there tonight," I said.

"Wait, you're only going to make it worse for yourself if you just go up and bum rush her at the funeral or something," she said. "We need a plan."

I bit back the retort that was on my lips at her low opinion of me. I was a jerk, but I wouldn't go so far as to make a scene at her father's funeral.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked, suppressing the annoyance in my voice. I was after all grateful to her for deciding to help me out.

"I'm going to call her and try to smooth things out, maybe plant the idea of her seeing you again so she's not so blindsided by it. In the meantime, I think you should write her a letter telling her everything. Don't leave anything out so that way, if she decides she still doesn't want to see you, I can give her your letter and she can read what you have to say," she said.

"
That's
your plan?" I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice. I wasn't expecting much, but her plan seemed so uninspired."

"Well, can you think of anything better?" she sniffed.

"No, I'm sorry," I said. "You're right. It's probably best not to rush her. Thank you for agreeing to help me."

I hung up shortly after and sat at my desk, staring at my computer screen, the blinking cursor taunting me. What could I say that would change her mind about me? I wondered. I closed my eyes and thought about that first moment I saw Lily at the Eichendorf, looking fiery and cool all at once in her hideous glasses and ill fitting dress. A slow smile crept across my face and I began to type.

Chapter Thirteen: Lily

I lay down on my bed in my old bedroom and stared up at the popcorn ceiling. The tears had finally stopped coming. I was completely cried out and I didn't think my body was able to produce any more tears. When I arrived in Maine almost a week ago, I went to the hospital immediately. My mother met me in the lobby and threw her arms around me, nearly collapsing from her grief.

"I'm so glad you're here." Her voice was muffled against my shoulder.

"What happened, Mom?" I asked. I led her to the waiting room and helped her sit on one of the chairs before taking the seat next to hers.

"He was heading in to work in the morning and the police say he stopped his car to help another motorist who had a flat tire on the side of the highway. And while he was down there helping to fix the flat, another car just lost control and slammed into the rear of the car," she said between sobs. "Your f-father was trapped under the car."

"What did the doctors say?" I was afraid of the answer. From what my mother described, it was lucky he wasn't killed on impact.

She shook her head sadly, a fresh burst of tears spilling down her cheeks. "Oh Lily, they say he won't make it. He's got massive internal bleeding, his spine is crushed, and...and...they say he's brain dead."

I felt like I was going to be sick. My strong, proud, kind father was laying in a hospital bed, his body broken and his mind far gone. It was like my life was turning into a nightmare.

"What are we going to do?" my mother lamented. "I can't let him go, Lily."

"Shh, mom. We'll figure something out," I said, wishing it were true.

It was hard to be strong for my mother, but I knew I couldn't break down now. She needed me, my father needed me, I couldn't give in to my urge to just crumple to the floor and cry. We stayed in the hospital all night, hoping against hope that a miracle would happen and he would wake up. Eventually, I told my mother to go home and get some rest while I watched over my father. She'd been in the hospital since the accident and looked rough, not that I could blame her.

"I can't leave him," she had protested.

"I'll be with him the whole time," I assured her. "If anything happens, I'll call you. Go on Mom, you need to take care of yourself too."

"All right, I'll just head home for a quick shower and then I'll be right back," she said.

"You need to sleep."

"You know I wouldn't be able to fall asleep with all of this happening. I know you mean well, honey, but I have to be here with your father. It might be the last time--," her words were drowned out by a fresh bout of tears. I pulled her in for a hug and patted her back soothingly.

"It's all right, Mom."

She left soon after and I sat alone with my father in his hospital room, by his bed. It was hard to see him like this and a wave of guilt hit me as I thought of all those wasted years I'd stayed away from home. It seemed so stupid now.

I thought I was being tough and moving on with my life by leaving town, but I was really only hurting myself and my parents. They never said anything or complained. They were understanding of my need to start my life over and the pain that I'd left behind. But in the face of all this, my reason felt so insignificant and stupid. I wished I could have all that time back.

My father died the next day. The doctors said his injuries were just too extensive. While it was heartbreaking and gut wrenching to hear, a part of me was also relieved that I or my mother didn't have to make the decision to take him off life support if it came to that.

His funeral was held three days later. My mother was a complete wreck, so I took over everything. I was running on autopilot, not stopping to think or feel anything. If I did, then I would just collapse from the sheer weight of it all.

I was surprised by how many people turned out for my dad's funeral. I always knew he was well liked and respected in town, but seeing the church packed was still extraordinary. After everything was over, I drove my mother back home. She moved listlessly through the house, staring at old photographs and mementos from the years they'd spent together. It was heartbreaking watching her like this.

***

I was still with my mother a week after the funeral. It seemed cruel to leave her there alone. She seemed so lost and in pain, I didn't have the heart to head back to my life in New York. What was there to go back to anyways? I thought bitterly. I shook my head, not even daring to go down that route. There was enough on my plate without having to add
that
mess on top of it. But I was finding it harder to keep him out of my thoughts. There'd be times when I'd catch myself wondering what he was doing now and if he ever regretted what he did.

Mel had called me every day since I'd come up to check on me. She wanted to come for the funeral, but I told her not to bother. I honestly didn't want to face her questions or concerns about my mental wellbeing. She was already too worried about how I had coped with breaking up with Roman, I could only imagine the kind of smothering attention she'd give me after all this. It wasn't like I didn't appreciate the thought or concern, but I just wanted to be left alone.

Something she said on her last phone call got my attention, though. Since she had heard of what Roman had done, Mel was adamant he was the worst human being on the face of the earth. It was almost astounding how much anger and vitriol she had for him, but recently she'd been softening her stance. At first, I didn't really pay it any mind. I had other things to occupy my thoughts. Then she had called me and told me that it might be a good thing if I had some more familiar faces around me at this time. I thought she meant herself, but when she said she had been talking to Roman, I was dismayed.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"I mean he called Chad to try to talk to me," she said.

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he wanted to find out where you were."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" I asked.

She hesitated which told me all I needed to know. I felt anger and betrayal that Mel would tell Roman I was up in Maine. She was my friend after all. Why was she talking to him and telling him where I was? And why did he even care?

"Don't get mad," she said. "He really sounded miserable."

"Good, he should be miserable. You do remember what he did to me don't you? Why would you go talk to him in the first place?" I asked angrily. "I don't understand you. You're the one who said he was a bastard and an asshole and they you turn around and...what? Are you two up to something? Does he have another little prank up his sleeves?"

I knew I was being unreasonable and lashing out angrily, but I couldn't believe that Mel would betray me like that.

"Whoa, calm down Lily! You know it's not like that. I would never do that to you," she said.

"Could have fooled me!"

"Come on, Lily. You're being unfair. I know how much he hurt you and don't think I didn't let him have it for that, but if you would talk to him, you'd see how much he regrets it. He says he loves you, Lily," she said.

My heart jumped up in my throat hearing her words.
Love? Roman in love with me?
I couldn't believe it and yet a part of me yearned for it to be true. A few weeks ago I would have melted in his arms if he'd told me that. I'd even day dreamed about it a few times. Then I remembered the wager and all my anger came rushing back up again.

"He doesn't even know what love is," I scoffed.

"I know you're mad, and you have every right to be. I would be too in your shoes. But maybe he regrets what he did? Maybe he really did fall in love with you and didn't know how to tell you about the wager without hurting your feelings," she said. "I know when I talked to him, he sounded miserable. Chad even says there's been talk about him going off the rails."

"I don't know what kind of sob story he told you but I can promise you it's all lies. I was there. I heard him tell that other guy he was only with me out of pity. Those words were straight out of his mouth. How can he explain that? If he had fallen in love with me,
why
would he say that?" I asked.

She was silent and I knew she had no answer because there was none. She had fallen for Roman's lies like I had. He was a very good actor, so I couldn't blame her.

"You know, now that I think about it, I bet he orchestrated that whole scene with Maxwell Stein too. I wouldn't put it past him to do that so he would come off like a knight in shining armor," I continued, warming up to the subject.