Bound Together (56 page)
Authors: Marie Coulson
“
I do
believe you forfeited that title. She’s a free agent now. And
besides, it’s only a dance.” The sound of shouting pulled our
attention toward the bar where I saw Sebastian exchanging words
with a very familiar brunette. I stared mortified at Jared. He
brought
her
to the dinner? And after everything he’d said outside, he was
still seeing her. Storming away from Felix and giving me an anxious
glance, he headed for the two of them. I could see the woman crying
as Jared tried desperately to calm everyone down. People were
beginning to stare and just as I got to my feet Sebastian came
hurtling towards Felix and hit him square in the jaw. “You fucking
asshole! You’re supposed to be my best friend!” Amy shrieked and I
quickly darted to her side as the two men fought against the table.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen I swear! It was a mistake. She’s
not worth this Bastian.” Hammering blow after blow into Felix’s
face, Sebastian spat and hissed at him. “She was the love of my
life! I was going to marry her and you took it all away from
me!”
Jared and the woman
appeared behind them and with a forceful tug Jared dragged
Sebastian away from Felix. The brunette was sobbing beside them and
I couldn’t help but feel slightly pleased, as if justice were being
served. “I’m so sorry Bastian. I never meant for this to happen.
Please you have to believe me.” He glared at her and snatched his
arm from Jared’s grasp. Pointing at her face he snarled, “You’re a
dirty little whore and you deserve all you get. You should have
stayed in New York. Is there nowhere I can get away from you, you
soul sucking bitch?”
“
Hey!” Jared jumped to
her defense and it instantly got my back up. Amy stood at the table
wide eyed and tearful. Staring at them all, I yelled over the
shouting back and forth that was going on. “Hey! Will someone
please explain what the hell is going on here?” Sebastian faced me
with fury in his eyes.
“
That whore over there is
my ex-girlfriend. And this dick, who I thought was my friend is the
one that’s been screwing her!”
Grinning, Felix laughed.
“Yep, and what a good little lay she was too. Never had better.” He
reached out a hand and stroked my arm which I instantly pulled
away. “Well, yet anyway.” A crash reverberated through the room as
Jared dove at him, completely destroying the table as they landed
on top of it. His fist pummeled relentlessly into Felix’s stomach,
chest, face and ribs. “Don’t you ever fucking touch her
again!”
The brunette screamed at
him, “Jared stop! He’s not worth it!” Releasing Felix, Jared stood
back and surveyed the damage as well as the faces of all the people
currently staring in his direction. Squaring up to him I scowled.
“What do you care anyway? You’ve clearly moved on. What is it
Jared? You can’t have me then no one can?” Grabbing me by the
wrist, he dragged me away from the table and through the hallway to
the elevator. “What the hell are you doing!? Where are we going?”
The brunette followed closely behind us and as the elevator door
opened, he swung me inside. “We need to talk. Right now.” Standing
in the corner as far away from him as possible I glared as his
guest stepped inside to join us. She was still crying and her body
shook as she sobbed into her hands. “You have no one to blame for
this mess but yourself Lucy. I warned you.” She nodded and cried a
little harder if that were at all possible. Turning his gaze to me,
I could see he was furious. “And I told you to stay away from him.
I begged you to listen, but once again you just can’t do as you’re
fucking told!” I glowered, snapping back at him “You don’t have the
right to tell me who I can or can’t see anymore Jared. Like he
said, you forfeited that right when I caught you with her!” I
pointed at the sobbing woman in front of me and she quickly shot
Jared a pleading look but he completely ignored her.
The elevator came to a
halt and taking my wrist once again, he pulled me along beside him
down the hallway to a room. I glanced behind me to see the woman I
now knew to be
Lucy
following behind. If he thought for one minute all his
naughty little fantasies were about to come true, he was wrong! Why
the hell was she following us!? Opening the door to a large suite
he pulled me inside as Lucy shut the door behind us. The walls were
magnolia and a corner couch was sitting on the far side of the
room. A light wooden coffee table that sat in front of it and a
large dining table set for six were the only other pieces of
furniture. Gesturing at the couch, he asked me to sit. Begrudgingly
I did. Turning to the blotchy, red faced woman in the corner he
sniped at her. “You lied to me. All this time you’ve lied. You
swore you ended it, that it wasn’t Felix. But it was, wasn’t it?
Every cut, bruise and scratch. It wasn’t Sebastian at all. All this
time the man I should have been going after was in the same state
as me!” Hurrying to him, she gripped the collar of his jacket. “I’m
sorry, I’m so sorry. I knew once you found out you’d go crazy and
we both know Felix isn’t the type to let things go. I know I lied,
I told you it was over but I couldn’t end it. Without Bastian I had
nothing.”
“
You had me! You had your
mother!”
Standing, I dropped my
purse on the table. “Will someone kindly explain what the hell I am
doing here?” Looking at me and then Lucy he sighed, exasperated.
“Tell her. Tell her Lucy. Tell her the truth, all of it. There’s
not much sense in keeping it a secret now is there?” My heart
stopped and I felt sick to my stomach as she turned towards me.
“I’m not Jared’s girlfriend.” I stared at her waiting. “I’m his
sister.”
What!? Slumping onto the
couch she gazed up at me. “I’m his sister. And this whole mess is
because of me. Because I was stupid enough to get involved with
Felix.”
Grabbing a handkerchief,
she sobbed and ran out of the room. Jared tried to stop her but she
shook her head and breezed past him to the solace of the bedroom.
Walking over to me, he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index
finger. I was speechless. He had a sister? “But….you said you were
an only child.”
“
I
lied
. According to you it’s what I do best.” He took a long, deep
breath. “Lucy is my father’s daughter.”
Taking a seat on the
couch he joined me as I slowly lowered myself on to the cushion
beside him. “When my parents died I took over their finances which
included all the accounts
and
my father’s office. When I finally sat down to
look at it all I noticed some discrepancies. Every month thousands
of dollars were just disappearing into an unknown account. So I
started digging. I looked in every possible business, personal and
savings account but I came up with nothing. I was going crazy
trying to figure it out and one evening I tore my father’s office
apart, looking for anything that could tell me where all this money
had gone and that’s when I found them.” Getting to his feet, he
stood staring out of the window. “Letters, hundreds of them all
from the same woman. I discovered that when I was a very small
child, my father had an affair with his secretary. It didn’t last
long but long enough to get her pregnant. When he found out, my
father made sure that the child would have everything she needed
and in return her mother sent letters and photos. I don’t know if
my mother knew but finding out I had a sister turned
my
world upside down. So
I went to find her and that’s when I met her mother.”
I sat completely floored
by the new revelations. He had a family? Another heir to the
Garrett fortune. “I told her I wasn’t there to cause trouble but
felt she ought to know my father had died and that meant the money
would be stopping. Lucy had moved to college in New York but her
mother was so sweet she insisted I stay and talk, ask questions,
anything I needed really. She was so nice and understanding and for
the first time in a long time I felt like I had someone who
actually understood what it was like to be alone with such a huge
responsibility. We kept in touch and she introduced me to Lucy who
was surprisingly accepting of the fact she had a brother; she was
practically giddy. We got along great and I saw her every month for
dinner in the city when I was there on business. Lucy has her
inheritance but it’s secured until she’s twenty five; my father’s
very own insurance that she went to college. So, when her mother
fell into financial trouble Lucy asked for my help. She didn’t want
a handout so I gave her mom a job instead. I gave her the coffee
shop.” My mouth fell open in shock. “You mean, Lorraine? Lorraine
was your father’s mistress? This is a lot of information Jared.”
Coming back over, he crouched in front of me. “I know, but I had to
tell you. The only reason I didn’t is because Lucy’s got herself
into trouble and the fewer people knew the safer I could make her.”
I stared at him.
“
What kind of trouble?”
Exhaling loudly he shook his head. “She was in an abusive
relationship with a man in New York which until about five minutes
ago I thought was Sebastian. But finding out it’s Felix changes
everything.”
He winced and I could see
he was stressed. This was taking its toll on him. “What did he do
to her?”
“
He
doesn’t like the word no so whenever she used it he’d give her a
good beating and make sure she knew her place. He’s a very well
respected member of the California social elite and now she’s
pregnant with his child. When people discover she’s
my
sister, she’s going
to become a hot commodity. I spent a lot of money, time and
manpower to keep myself out of the national press and now that
whole commotion downstairs is going to completely undo all my hard
work. She has a hefty inheritance, owns half of the business and if
the press or Felix gets hold of the news, that prick will use her
to his advantage in any way he can, publicly. My family’s
and
my name will be
dragged through the mud. The calls I have been getting were from my
friend in New York. I asked him to keep an eye on her and when he
called me in my office he told me she was in the hospital. That’s
why I went there. I told Lorraine to put you and Kate in charge in
the shop and took her with me. I thought together we could try and
persuade Lucy to come back here but she took off before we arrived.
We must have searched the whole fucking city for her, but nothing.”
I watched him intensely as he continued. “She finally called that
night we were at the bar, your birthday.” I cringed at the memory
of that awful night. The alcohol I had consumed, mixed with the
barrage of information I had just received, made me woozy as I
tried to process everything he was saying. Lorraine and his father
had an affair, he has a sister who’s pregnant by the man my
roommate was currently falling in love with and who turns out is an
abusive asswipe. God, why me?
He sat staring at me,
waiting with bated breath for me to speak but I had no words. I was
completely speechless. “I’d just got home when I got her message
and she said she was on her way. I couldn’t turn her away Layla.
She’s my sister and to be honest I was so relieved that she was
alive I didn’t care. But I knew whoever this guy was, he wasn’t
going to just let her walk away and that’s why I couldn’t tell you.
I couldn’t tell anyone. I had to keep her safe. If I’d known then
that it was Felix I could have avoided this whole horrible mess,
stopped it all months ago. She’s really fucked up this time.” I
shrugged.
“
You can’t help who you
fall in love with Jared. She couldn’t stop any more than I could
have stopped falling in love with you. I’m sure you can make calls,
pay people off to keep quiet.” He ran his fingers through his hair
and I could see the tension he was holding as his arms and
shoulders stiffened as he moved. “Of course I can and all her
problems just go away. But what she cost me; no amount of money in
the world can replace what I lost.”
Holding my gaze, he spoke
clearly with desperation in his voice.
“
Layla, I could never be
unfaithful to you. I love you completely and entirely. No more
lies, secrets or hiding. I give you my word. Just come back to me,
please baby.” His hand brushed my cheek and I jumped as though it
caused me physical pain, and for all intent and purposes, it
did.
“
Jared,
I…that’s a lot to take in. I believe you. I do. And I’m sorry that
you felt you couldn’t tell me about something that’s been causing
you so much distress. Because I
would
have understood. It’s what you
do when you love someone.”
Taking my hands, he held
them tightly but I pulled them away resting them on my lap. “But
it’s not enough. We don’t trust each other. Just look at what
happened between us that night at the bar. There are so many
reasons for us to be apart. You’ll never truly trust Ollie and now
you know about that kiss, you’ll never really trust me either.” He
opened his mouth but I shook my head. “You won’t Jared. Not really.
There will always be that piece of you that wonders if I’m hiding
something and I’ll always think the same about you too. I guess,
sometimes, love just isn’t enough.”
Sitting beside me on the
couch he rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor.
“Please don’t do this to me Layla. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I
walk around in a daze. I haven’t been able to focus at work and I
can’t even set foot in that coffee shop anymore because every time
I walk in and don’t see your gorgeous smile, it cuts like a
knife.”
I do
believe you forfeited that title. She’s a free agent now. And
besides, it’s only a dance.” The sound of shouting pulled our
attention toward the bar where I saw Sebastian exchanging words
with a very familiar brunette. I stared mortified at Jared. He
brought
her
to the dinner? And after everything he’d said outside, he was
still seeing her. Storming away from Felix and giving me an anxious
glance, he headed for the two of them. I could see the woman crying
as Jared tried desperately to calm everyone down. People were
beginning to stare and just as I got to my feet Sebastian came
hurtling towards Felix and hit him square in the jaw. “You fucking
asshole! You’re supposed to be my best friend!” Amy shrieked and I
quickly darted to her side as the two men fought against the table.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen I swear! It was a mistake. She’s
not worth this Bastian.” Hammering blow after blow into Felix’s
face, Sebastian spat and hissed at him. “She was the love of my
life! I was going to marry her and you took it all away from
me!”
Jared and the woman
appeared behind them and with a forceful tug Jared dragged
Sebastian away from Felix. The brunette was sobbing beside them and
I couldn’t help but feel slightly pleased, as if justice were being
served. “I’m so sorry Bastian. I never meant for this to happen.
Please you have to believe me.” He glared at her and snatched his
arm from Jared’s grasp. Pointing at her face he snarled, “You’re a
dirty little whore and you deserve all you get. You should have
stayed in New York. Is there nowhere I can get away from you, you
soul sucking bitch?”
“
Hey!” Jared jumped to
her defense and it instantly got my back up. Amy stood at the table
wide eyed and tearful. Staring at them all, I yelled over the
shouting back and forth that was going on. “Hey! Will someone
please explain what the hell is going on here?” Sebastian faced me
with fury in his eyes.
“
That whore over there is
my ex-girlfriend. And this dick, who I thought was my friend is the
one that’s been screwing her!”
Grinning, Felix laughed.
“Yep, and what a good little lay she was too. Never had better.” He
reached out a hand and stroked my arm which I instantly pulled
away. “Well, yet anyway.” A crash reverberated through the room as
Jared dove at him, completely destroying the table as they landed
on top of it. His fist pummeled relentlessly into Felix’s stomach,
chest, face and ribs. “Don’t you ever fucking touch her
again!”
The brunette screamed at
him, “Jared stop! He’s not worth it!” Releasing Felix, Jared stood
back and surveyed the damage as well as the faces of all the people
currently staring in his direction. Squaring up to him I scowled.
“What do you care anyway? You’ve clearly moved on. What is it
Jared? You can’t have me then no one can?” Grabbing me by the
wrist, he dragged me away from the table and through the hallway to
the elevator. “What the hell are you doing!? Where are we going?”
The brunette followed closely behind us and as the elevator door
opened, he swung me inside. “We need to talk. Right now.” Standing
in the corner as far away from him as possible I glared as his
guest stepped inside to join us. She was still crying and her body
shook as she sobbed into her hands. “You have no one to blame for
this mess but yourself Lucy. I warned you.” She nodded and cried a
little harder if that were at all possible. Turning his gaze to me,
I could see he was furious. “And I told you to stay away from him.
I begged you to listen, but once again you just can’t do as you’re
fucking told!” I glowered, snapping back at him “You don’t have the
right to tell me who I can or can’t see anymore Jared. Like he
said, you forfeited that right when I caught you with her!” I
pointed at the sobbing woman in front of me and she quickly shot
Jared a pleading look but he completely ignored her.
The elevator came to a
halt and taking my wrist once again, he pulled me along beside him
down the hallway to a room. I glanced behind me to see the woman I
now knew to be
Lucy
following behind. If he thought for one minute all his
naughty little fantasies were about to come true, he was wrong! Why
the hell was she following us!? Opening the door to a large suite
he pulled me inside as Lucy shut the door behind us. The walls were
magnolia and a corner couch was sitting on the far side of the
room. A light wooden coffee table that sat in front of it and a
large dining table set for six were the only other pieces of
furniture. Gesturing at the couch, he asked me to sit. Begrudgingly
I did. Turning to the blotchy, red faced woman in the corner he
sniped at her. “You lied to me. All this time you’ve lied. You
swore you ended it, that it wasn’t Felix. But it was, wasn’t it?
Every cut, bruise and scratch. It wasn’t Sebastian at all. All this
time the man I should have been going after was in the same state
as me!” Hurrying to him, she gripped the collar of his jacket. “I’m
sorry, I’m so sorry. I knew once you found out you’d go crazy and
we both know Felix isn’t the type to let things go. I know I lied,
I told you it was over but I couldn’t end it. Without Bastian I had
nothing.”
“
You had me! You had your
mother!”
Standing, I dropped my
purse on the table. “Will someone kindly explain what the hell I am
doing here?” Looking at me and then Lucy he sighed, exasperated.
“Tell her. Tell her Lucy. Tell her the truth, all of it. There’s
not much sense in keeping it a secret now is there?” My heart
stopped and I felt sick to my stomach as she turned towards me.
“I’m not Jared’s girlfriend.” I stared at her waiting. “I’m his
sister.”
What!? Slumping onto the
couch she gazed up at me. “I’m his sister. And this whole mess is
because of me. Because I was stupid enough to get involved with
Felix.”
Grabbing a handkerchief,
she sobbed and ran out of the room. Jared tried to stop her but she
shook her head and breezed past him to the solace of the bedroom.
Walking over to me, he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index
finger. I was speechless. He had a sister? “But….you said you were
an only child.”
“
I
lied
. According to you it’s what I do best.” He took a long, deep
breath. “Lucy is my father’s daughter.”
Taking a seat on the
couch he joined me as I slowly lowered myself on to the cushion
beside him. “When my parents died I took over their finances which
included all the accounts
and
my father’s office. When I finally sat down to
look at it all I noticed some discrepancies. Every month thousands
of dollars were just disappearing into an unknown account. So I
started digging. I looked in every possible business, personal and
savings account but I came up with nothing. I was going crazy
trying to figure it out and one evening I tore my father’s office
apart, looking for anything that could tell me where all this money
had gone and that’s when I found them.” Getting to his feet, he
stood staring out of the window. “Letters, hundreds of them all
from the same woman. I discovered that when I was a very small
child, my father had an affair with his secretary. It didn’t last
long but long enough to get her pregnant. When he found out, my
father made sure that the child would have everything she needed
and in return her mother sent letters and photos. I don’t know if
my mother knew but finding out I had a sister turned
my
world upside down. So
I went to find her and that’s when I met her mother.”
I sat completely floored
by the new revelations. He had a family? Another heir to the
Garrett fortune. “I told her I wasn’t there to cause trouble but
felt she ought to know my father had died and that meant the money
would be stopping. Lucy had moved to college in New York but her
mother was so sweet she insisted I stay and talk, ask questions,
anything I needed really. She was so nice and understanding and for
the first time in a long time I felt like I had someone who
actually understood what it was like to be alone with such a huge
responsibility. We kept in touch and she introduced me to Lucy who
was surprisingly accepting of the fact she had a brother; she was
practically giddy. We got along great and I saw her every month for
dinner in the city when I was there on business. Lucy has her
inheritance but it’s secured until she’s twenty five; my father’s
very own insurance that she went to college. So, when her mother
fell into financial trouble Lucy asked for my help. She didn’t want
a handout so I gave her mom a job instead. I gave her the coffee
shop.” My mouth fell open in shock. “You mean, Lorraine? Lorraine
was your father’s mistress? This is a lot of information Jared.”
Coming back over, he crouched in front of me. “I know, but I had to
tell you. The only reason I didn’t is because Lucy’s got herself
into trouble and the fewer people knew the safer I could make her.”
I stared at him.
“
What kind of trouble?”
Exhaling loudly he shook his head. “She was in an abusive
relationship with a man in New York which until about five minutes
ago I thought was Sebastian. But finding out it’s Felix changes
everything.”
He winced and I could see
he was stressed. This was taking its toll on him. “What did he do
to her?”
“
He
doesn’t like the word no so whenever she used it he’d give her a
good beating and make sure she knew her place. He’s a very well
respected member of the California social elite and now she’s
pregnant with his child. When people discover she’s
my
sister, she’s going
to become a hot commodity. I spent a lot of money, time and
manpower to keep myself out of the national press and now that
whole commotion downstairs is going to completely undo all my hard
work. She has a hefty inheritance, owns half of the business and if
the press or Felix gets hold of the news, that prick will use her
to his advantage in any way he can, publicly. My family’s
and
my name will be
dragged through the mud. The calls I have been getting were from my
friend in New York. I asked him to keep an eye on her and when he
called me in my office he told me she was in the hospital. That’s
why I went there. I told Lorraine to put you and Kate in charge in
the shop and took her with me. I thought together we could try and
persuade Lucy to come back here but she took off before we arrived.
We must have searched the whole fucking city for her, but nothing.”
I watched him intensely as he continued. “She finally called that
night we were at the bar, your birthday.” I cringed at the memory
of that awful night. The alcohol I had consumed, mixed with the
barrage of information I had just received, made me woozy as I
tried to process everything he was saying. Lorraine and his father
had an affair, he has a sister who’s pregnant by the man my
roommate was currently falling in love with and who turns out is an
abusive asswipe. God, why me?
He sat staring at me,
waiting with bated breath for me to speak but I had no words. I was
completely speechless. “I’d just got home when I got her message
and she said she was on her way. I couldn’t turn her away Layla.
She’s my sister and to be honest I was so relieved that she was
alive I didn’t care. But I knew whoever this guy was, he wasn’t
going to just let her walk away and that’s why I couldn’t tell you.
I couldn’t tell anyone. I had to keep her safe. If I’d known then
that it was Felix I could have avoided this whole horrible mess,
stopped it all months ago. She’s really fucked up this time.” I
shrugged.
“
You can’t help who you
fall in love with Jared. She couldn’t stop any more than I could
have stopped falling in love with you. I’m sure you can make calls,
pay people off to keep quiet.” He ran his fingers through his hair
and I could see the tension he was holding as his arms and
shoulders stiffened as he moved. “Of course I can and all her
problems just go away. But what she cost me; no amount of money in
the world can replace what I lost.”
Holding my gaze, he spoke
clearly with desperation in his voice.
“
Layla, I could never be
unfaithful to you. I love you completely and entirely. No more
lies, secrets or hiding. I give you my word. Just come back to me,
please baby.” His hand brushed my cheek and I jumped as though it
caused me physical pain, and for all intent and purposes, it
did.
“
Jared,
I…that’s a lot to take in. I believe you. I do. And I’m sorry that
you felt you couldn’t tell me about something that’s been causing
you so much distress. Because I
would
have understood. It’s what you
do when you love someone.”
Taking my hands, he held
them tightly but I pulled them away resting them on my lap. “But
it’s not enough. We don’t trust each other. Just look at what
happened between us that night at the bar. There are so many
reasons for us to be apart. You’ll never truly trust Ollie and now
you know about that kiss, you’ll never really trust me either.” He
opened his mouth but I shook my head. “You won’t Jared. Not really.
There will always be that piece of you that wonders if I’m hiding
something and I’ll always think the same about you too. I guess,
sometimes, love just isn’t enough.”
Sitting beside me on the
couch he rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor.
“Please don’t do this to me Layla. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I
walk around in a daze. I haven’t been able to focus at work and I
can’t even set foot in that coffee shop anymore because every time
I walk in and don’t see your gorgeous smile, it cuts like a
knife.”
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