I shouldn’t be surprised. He’d just walked into the office and found a blubbering mess who was talking in riddles.
As well as being confused, Ben also sounded genuinely concerned. And I was kind of suffocating trying to speak with my hands covering my face so I lifted my head from my palms and wiped my eyes.
If how I looked terrified Ben, that was his problem, not mine. I had bigger things to worry about.
‘No,’ I started to explain. ‘I love my brother, that’s the problem. If I didn’t think he was amazing, there’s no way I’d even consider going to the wedding. It’s two people that are also going who are the bastards.’
‘Okay. That clears that part up, but I’ve still got no idea whothe bastardsare or why they’re bastards, so I’m afraid you’re going to have to spell it out for me. Who arethey?’
‘My ex and my sister.’
‘Right. I can understand why you would hate your ex, but why would you hate your sister?’
‘Because she betrayed me.’
‘How?’ He frowned.
‘By sleeping with him.’
12
BEN
‘Fuck,’ I said, my eyes bulging.
When I asked Sarah why she hated her sister, I was not expecting her to saythat.
‘Now I can understand why you think they’re both bastards,’ I added. ‘I’m not even sure if that word is strong enough for what they did to you.’
‘Tell me about it.’ Sarah slumped back in her chair. ‘It happened last year and even now, I still can’t decide who’s the bigger arsehole.Himfor cheating orherfor betraying my trust.’
‘I’d say they were pretty even in the monumental arsehole stakes.’
‘Yep.’
‘So what are you going to do?’ I asked.
‘I have to go. I can’t let my brother down. It’s going to be so humiliating, though. All the family will be gossiping and my sister will be smug and fawning all over him. I’m dreading it.’
‘So they’re not even…’
I was about to ask if her sister or ex had even expressed any regret or apologised—not that it would excuse their actions, of course—but then Jess stepped into the office.
‘Oops, sorry! I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything?’ Jess grinned. ‘I’ve got an important call coming in any minute now and came to get… oh my God, Sarah, are you crying?’ She raced over to her. ‘What’s up?’
‘Adrian’s getting married next month in Spain. Andthey’regoing.’
‘Fuck!’ Jess winced. ‘That’s terrible. Don’t worry. I’ll go with you for moral support. When is it?’
‘Second weekend in May.’
‘Oh…’ Jess hung her head, then pulled out her phone and started scrolling through it. ‘Shit. I’m so sorry, but I can’t that weekend. Theo and I are covering for Jane and Jackson’s holiday. They’ve had it booked for ages. And D.D. has pencilled in a meeting that weekend here too. I…’
Jess’s phone started ringing.
‘Hon, I’m so sorry, but this is the call I’ve been waiting on for weeks. I need to get this, but I’ll be right back, okay? Ben, please make sure she’s okay. I won’t be long.’
‘Will do,’ I said as Jess slipped out the door.
