Touch of Love (4 page)

‘You can sue me if you want.’ She shrugged, putting down the glass. Her hand was shaking too much to carry it to her mouth without him noticing what a mess she really was. She couldn’t risk that. ‘
For now, I want you to go.’

‘
Where am I supposed to go?’ He gestured to his things, interwoven with hers all over the place. ‘Jesus, I can’t just take my toys and go play somewhere else, Elly. It will take time to find a place…’

He
was stalling, probably hoping she would cool off and change her mind.

‘
Why don’t you move in with Lucy?’ she asked sweetly, as she deliberated her options. He was right about needing time. A day at most, but still, she still didn’t feel like stooping to his level.

‘I told you she doesn’t mean anything to me,
Elly.’ Finally, the shirt was on, but he’d left two of the buttons open to offer her a glimpse of his neck. She remembered kissing it, savoring the salty taste of his sweat as they cuddled after an intense session of lovemaking. She averted her eyes to stare at the unmade, crumpled bed. The sight of the mangled sheets restored her strength to keep going. Sometimes, anger could be the best medicine. She welcomed the tidal wave of fresh fury that washed over her.

That
’s much better, thank you very much.

The solution came to her as she looked at one of her family’s photographs hanging on the wall.
‘I’m going to spend the weekend with my parents,’ she said finally. ‘I’ll be back Sunday evening, though. By then, you should be able to find somewhere to stay. If not, there’s always paid storage, right?’

She
didn’t wait for him to respond. There was nothing to say. Instead, she took out her small traveling bag and stuffed it with clothes and her cosmetics, enough to last her the weekend. She ignored him completely as he stood at the window like a marble statue.
But he isn’t made of marble,
she thought as she zipped up the bag and looked around.
Not even limestone. Probably clay, easy to shatter and impossible to put back together.

‘Leave the key on the table.’ She said, her fragile control
finally starting to snap. So that was it. The love story of her life proved to be nothing but an illusion, blown away by a gust of wind. She didn’t dare to think about what would happen next, not with him watching her with his resigned expression. All hell would break loose soon enough, but for then, she needed to remain strong.

‘
Oh, and one more thing…’ She put down the bag and looked at her left hand, where the small diamond solitaire stared back at her like an evil eye, reproachful and full of vengeance. Her fingers shook as she pulled it off, the weight of the plain golden band substantial in her hand. For a split second, she didn’t want to let it go, and her fingers curved instinctively into a protective cradle around the token of what was supposed to be the rest of her life. She felt the edge of the band cut painfully into her palm, and the sensation was enough to snap her out of her dreamlike state.
Who am I kidding?

‘
This is yours.’ She handed it to him, careful not to touch him. ‘You might consider selling it and using the money to pay your rent.’ It was a bitchy thing to say, but she needed something to take away some of the significance of what had just happened. Her engagement was off, and she had no idea what to do next.

Facing her parents
was the first step.

Two hours later, Elly wasn’t so sure that telling her parents was such a great idea. She considered calling up Jess and crashing with her, at least for the night. But she yearned to curl up in her family’s lap while she licked her wounds, even if that would prove totally misplaced. Maybe it worked in movies, where the teary heroine was welcomed home with open arms, but Elly’s family was a far cry from this picture.

‘
Elly, how could you?’ Her mom sniffled again, her red-rimmed eyes and runny nose a testament to her shocked reaction. ‘Breaking off an engagement is a serious step, sweetheart. It’s not a game you can switch on and off…’

‘This one is off
—permanently.’ She was getting tired of repeating herself like a broken record. ‘Mom, he slept with my coworker, who happened to be my friend. How is that for serious? Or did you think I should forgive him?’

‘I know, I know…’ Mrs.
Marlow sighed. Her trembling voice resigned, she continued, ‘I am not saying that Brad was right to behave so naughty, but to flush your whole relationship down the drain is very dramatic.’

‘Plus, who is going to pay for the wedding preparations?’ her father chimed in, his face worried. ‘We put in a deposit for the banquet
hall, Ells. Not to mention all the other things that are paid for by now.’

‘And the invitations?’
her mom added, her pale-blue eyes woeful. ‘Who is going to fix that?’

‘I kind of hoped you’d help me with that.
If you could handle the calls and explain the situation without going into too much detail, I’d be so very grateful.’ She’d had enough of their moping. They seemed to think they had been cheated out of the perfect wedding and the happily ever after.
What about me and my shattered dreams?

‘Are you absolutely sure that’s what you want?’
At least her father was calm. He might always worry about money, but he stuck to the facts. No emotional blackmail there. ‘I mean, sometimes things look bad and all, but you could talk it out.’

‘
There is nothing to say, Dad.’ She slipped off the kitchen stool and walked over to the french door leading to the garden. She could just make out the sparkly surface of the pool surrounded by potted plants. A few strategically placed rocks broke up the severity of the mostly paved landscape, and large ceramic pots filled with greenery added some much-needed life. Still, it was all very controlled and perfectly planned. Not a single leaf as much as stuck out from the immaculate hedges.

Just like
my parents. Reliable, calm, and predictable. Not a bad combination.
She guessed that was why they liked Brad so much. He fit into their rigid ideas of what life should be like more than she ever had.

‘Well, why don’t you sleep on it
?’ Surprisingly, her father didn’t push it any further. She was grateful as she walked up the sweeping staircase to her room at the end of the hall. Like everything else in the house, it was perfect and spotless, more so than it had been when she’d lived here. She plopped on the pristine, pale-yellow coverlet and closed her eyes. She was tired of keeping it together, first in the cab and later on when she’d arrived at the house, surprising her parents halfway through their afternoon coffee and cake. Her father worked from home, where his successful design business allowed for flexible hours.

She was still wearing her
office clothes. They were completely dry, but her skin felt cold and clammy as the shock finally set in. She didn’t want to cry—not yet. She would have to see her parents for dinner, unfortunately. They insisted on her joining them at the table, and she would be damned if she appeared with red, puffy eyes, which would be nothing but perfect ammunition for her mom’s argument that she’d acted prematurely. So her pain would have to wait, however hard it seemed to keep it together. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Eating was really rather low on her list of priorities, but it would offer some distraction and maybe even fool her parents into thinking she was fine.

On impulse,
she decided to go downstairs and grab something. In a breeze, she changed into a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt, glad to get rid of the clothes that felt soiled by what happened back in her apartment. She walked back down the staircase, her fingers caressing the carved rail as she reached the lower level.

‘Yes, she
’s here.’ Her mom’s voice stopped Elly in her tracks, the excitement making her cringe in premonition. ‘No, I don’t think you should call right now. Give it an hour or so…’

There
was a long pause, while she waited breathlessly, safely hidden from her parents’ sight.

‘I don’t know if it’s such a great idea, Brad.’

Her worst expectations were confirmed. She wanted to storm out and grab the receiver from her mother’s hand. Throwing it into the pool seemed like a reasonable option. Maybe it would finally drive home the message that she wasn’t interested in reconciliation.

‘
We’ll have dinner at eight.’

S
he gasped in outrage, realizing that her mom was practically inviting him in. Could she be so obsessed with the wedding that she would trample her daughter’s feelings? Did she even care how Elly felt?
Apparently not enough to take my side and remain loyal.
Wasn’t that what families were supposed to be all about? Sticking together in times of hardship.

She tiptoed back upstairs and paced her room with growing agitation. What
had seemed like a sanctuary could very well turn into a prison if she didn’t watch out. Sure, she could refuse to see him, but she hated to think about the drama her mother wouldn’t hesitate to use as leverage.

She
decided to call Jess and see if she could stay with her after all.

‘Yes?’
Jess picked up immediately, her voice so perky and joyful that Elly couldn’t help but feel envious. ‘What’s up?’

‘I broke up with Brad,’ she blurted, unable to keep it in any longer. ‘
He was cheating on me, and I caught him with his pants down, Jess.’

‘
That son of a bitch! I knew it.’

F
inally, someone who isn’t afraid to call things by their proper name.

‘You did?’ she was amazed by the silence that followed, almost able to see her friend squirm uncomfortably on the other end. ‘How?’

‘It’s just a figure of speech, Elly.’

Elly
was just as certain that Jess was lying as she was that Brad was a jerk. And she was tired of lies, however well intended they were.

‘O
kay, cut this crap, and tell me what you know,’ she pressed on and was rewarded by shaky laughter.

‘You’re very militant when you want to be,
Elly.’ Another pause was followed by a sigh. ‘Okay, here it goes. A while ago, he tried to hook up with me, as well. Not that I encouraged him in any way…’ Her rushed explanation did little to sweeten the bitter pill. ‘He just chatted me up at the party you threw for his thirtieth birthday. I thought he was joking at first, but he was serious.’

‘Why didn’t you ever tell me?’
She wanted to shake Jess until her teeth rattled. ‘Why?’

‘Because you wouldn’t believe me, sweetie.’ Jess sounded resigned, the fire in her voice gone. ‘
You’d think I was trying to make him look bad. You always complained I didn’t like him, remember?’

‘That’s because I didn’t have a clue you actually had a reason
.’
What’s wrong with the world today?
Everything around her seemed to collapse faster than a building caught in the path of a hurricane.

‘You’d come up with some lame excuse
,’ Jess insisted. ‘It would ruin our friendship. So I figured you’d realize it on your own, sooner or later.’

‘Well, I am enlightened now
.’ She sighed, catching a glimpse of her face in her mirror. She didn’t like what she saw. Her face was pale, and her hair hung in limp rattails around her forlorn features. ‘Look, I need to ask you for a favor.’ It was best to keep going. They could talk about all that later. She could almost imagine the two of them exchanging stories about Brad.
Or maybe there are more members of his fan club I don’t know about? Probably so.

‘Anything, sweetie.’ Jess sounded relieved.

Probably expected me to make a bigger deal out of her revelation. Well, not today
. The stakes were already raised very high by what she’d witnessed firsthand at her place. To beat that kind of an eye-opener, Jess would have to come up with a better story than Brad’s invitation for a quick romp.

‘I’m at my parents’ place right now,’ she spoke fast, eager to get it over with and start packing. ‘I can’t stay here, Jess. My mom
had a fit when she found out what happened, and I just overheard her talking to Brad. He will probably show up here soon. Can I stay with you for the weekend?’

Jess shared a place with another girl, who had just left for a trip to Australia. Jess joked around that it was her time to have as many dates as she wanted
because the place belonged to her for the next six weeks.

‘Oh
, Elly…’ There it was, the embarrassed pause again. ‘I wish I’d known earlier. Ryan is going to be staying with me for the weekend. Sorry, honey.’

‘That’s fine,’ she mumbled, disappointment washing over her like a tidal wave. Of course Ryan would be there. Jess
’s sudden love affair had blossomed at record speed after meeting him a few days before. At that rate, they would be married by next month.

‘I’m really sorry
.’ Jess hesitated briefly before asking, ‘What about Jake’s offer? Wasn’t it this weekend? The birthday party, I mean? It was a whole weekend affair, right?’

‘
Yeah, and I said no, remember?’ She regretted even mentioning it to Jess. ‘I can hardly call him up now and say I changed my mind. Anyway, he probably has someone else coming with him by now. It’s been almost a week. Guys like him don’t need to sit and wait for the phone to ring.’

‘I
saw the way he looked at you, silly.’ Jess wasn’t giving up, as usual. She was the most stubborn person Elly had ever met. ‘He really has a soft spot for you, Elly.’

‘And that makes it all ok
ay?’ She was getting irritated with the conversation. Probably because she’d thought she had this one in the bag. To be disappointed yet again was too much. ‘Should I just call and say, “Oh, honey, I know I said no, but now my fiancé screwed my coworker, and I’m free for the weekend. Do you still want me to come?”’

‘Something
like that.’ Jess sighed. ‘Maybe some power words as far as Brad is concerned. He is a son of a bitch, and you should be able to say it out loud. Anyway, what do you have to lose? The worst that can happen is he actually has someone else and will tell you so. Not like you have so many other options if you really want to disappear for the weekend.’

She made perfect sense. As much as
Elly didn’t like it, Jake’s offer was the best one on the table.
The only one, to be honest. Probably long gone, too, though.

‘I might try,’ she agreed grudgingly, annoyed with Jess’
s sigh of relief, wondering if Jess was really hoping it would work out or if she was just plain glad to be off the hook.

It didn’t matter. Time was ticking
, and if she didn’t want to face Brad, she had to hurry. She searched her phone for his number, glad that she’d kept it. She remembered her fingers poised over it a few days ago, deliberating over erasing it.
Not as if we’ll get to see each other again,
she’d thought back then, assuming her future with Brad was a done deal.

‘Good luck
.’ Elly could tell Jess was smiling by the way her voice rose just enough to let her know she approved of her decision. ‘Let me know how it goes. We could swap stories on Monday.’

Not very likely,
she thought darkly as she punched the numbers.
Not likely at all.