I bite the inside of my cheek, debating my words, but I can’t hide behind anything but the facts. “It’s my grandmother’s—my father’s,” I correct myself, “company. It’s Davenport. They are the silent party trying to buy the permits.”
Her eyes grow wide as her face falls into disbelief. “What?”
I swallow because this will be the most painful moment of them all. “I didn’t know, but Caroline…”
“That’s your sister, right?” she double-checks.
“Yes. She voted with my shares…” Savannah tries to follow my story. “To ensure that Davenport proceeds with their plan.”
She steps further back, covers her mouth, and I see the wave of mistrust taking over her body. “Are you telling me that you are partly responsible for this?”
I’m quick to follow my urge to be closer to her, to comfort her, but it’s one step forward and two steps back from her.“Please, understand that I didn’t realize.”
“They’re your shares!” she barks out. “Surely, you know what the hell you’re voting for. Was this before or after we started to… you know.” She’s breaking.
“No,” I say, adamant. “Believe me, I didn’t look at the meeting agenda because I never go, simply to avoid my father.”
Tears fill her eyes. “Oh my God…” Her face goes pale. “I shared so much with you. Were you using me to get intel for your horrible profit?”
The moment I’m close, she attempts to pound my chest,but I’m quick to grab her wrists and hold them up to ensure she concentrates when I explain. “No. Absolutely not. I wouldn’t do that.”
“You also say you only succeed,” she cries.
My hands crawl up to hold her face. “Baby, no. This isn’t something I would want. Listen to me, if I had been aware,I would have tried to put a stop to it.”
She continues to shake her head profusely, her eyes swelling with tears. “This isn’t happening,” she whispers to herself.
“I’ll make this right,” I promise, and my entire body is now flooded with adrenaline.
“You can’t!” She shakes me away and zips straight to the open door of my office.
“Savannah, please.” She’s so enraged that it’s pointless to have a conversation with her right now.
She points at me, and she’s shaking. “Leave me alone. You can’t fix this…” She wipes a tear away. “And even if you could, you will always be the man who had a part in ruining my family.”
Our eyes meet, and it’s cold, tense, no sign of hope.
“Don’t follow me,” she bites out and walks away.
“But I’ll still find you,” I call out, completely insistent.
I never understood how a heart could beat entirely for someone else. Most would say, including myself, that I don’t even have a heart.
But today simply proved how I have one, because it just completely broke, and I feel every single shard.
26
SAVANNAH
Attempting to cover the deep circles under my eyes has proven to be an obstacle. Lack of sleep and crying can really test your concealer. Still, I continue my pursuit of looking refreshed and unaffected as I stare into my bedroom mirror.
“Why don’t you give it a few days?” Elodie sits on the edge of my bed as she outstretches her arm to ensure Lola doesn’t fall off my bed while she plays with an old blush brush.
I grab the shade of red lipstick that screams F-you and begin to apply. “No. My mind is made up. I’m already in misery, and I won’t give Julian the satisfaction of thinking he can salvage this.”
“So, you just show up and quit? You really think he’ll let it be so easy?”
I pause for a second before applying it to my bottom lip. “I’m sure he won’t. But he doesn’t have much choice. He hurt me.”
