Chapter 36
Kjell
Jakob deliberately keeps me waiting. He hasn't responded to my messages, and he hasn't shown up at the office all morning. This is his way of punishing me, and dammit, it's working.
I stare at my laptop screen, trying to finish the article about that fitness influencer who allegedly lost weight only thanks to liposuction. But I can't concentrate.
There's Sky's closed-off expression and the constant silence during our return from her mother's yesterday. And then there's Jakob's message that has been haunting me since.
How could you betray me like that?
He knows. That's the only possible explanation for his words. Somehow, he found out that I lied to him.
Fuck. This is an absolute nightmare.
I run my hands through my hair. Too many thoughts are swirling in my head. They collide with my forehead, bombard the back of my head, pound at my temples.
My phone rings. Once again, Mother is trying to reach me. And for the first time, I wonder if she felt the same way all those years of my childhood. If she carried the same inner turmoil that drives one to madness. If she hated herself as much as I dotoday. Because she wanted to do everything right but couldn't see any other way out.
Thoughtfully, I turn the phone in my hands. What would happen if I answered? What would she say? And how would I react?
"Kjell."
That's Jakob's voice.
I put the phone away and lift my eyes. He's standing right in front of my desk. His expression is frozen, lips pressed together, body tense.
"Where were you? I've been looking for you all morning," I ask, as if that's somehow important now.
"Today, I'm the one asking questions," he replies, his tone matter-of-fact, as he lowers his gaze to me and demonstratively places a stack of photos on my desk. He lays the pictures out one by one in front of me.
There's me, entering the Blohm villa. Me, getting into the Blohms' car. Fortunately, you can't see Sky as she ducks in the passenger seat. And there's me again, kissing Sky in her short-haired wig in the doorway.
I stare at the photos in disbelief. "Are you spying on me?"
"I'mthe one asking questions, remember?" He slams the last picture on the table.
It shows Sky—completely without disguise—and me. In the living room. Photographed from the terrace! To take this photo, someone must have sneaked onto the property!
"This can't be true. Are you out of your mind? How did you get these pictures?" I ask, feeling desperate.
"You've been lying to me? To me, your best friend?" He responds with disappointment, ignoring my questions.
Dammit, yes, I have. "I didn't want to—"
"Please, spare me that," he interrupts harshly. Then he leans over the desk and taps on the top photo. "It's quite a strangecoincidence that there's nothing to find at the Blohms', yet you spend every free minute there, don't you think?"
Feeling powerless in the face of the situation, I run my hands through my hair. I screwed up. A massive screwup. I've known that for a while, not just today. But what else could I have done? Let Sky's father continue to dictate her life forever, leaving her never truly happy?
"I'm sorry," I reply, and at that moment, I experience what it's like to be on the other side of the equation. I know how my parents must have felt when I confronted them.
Pathetic. Guilty. And incredibly desperate.
"Oh, it's sorry now, is it? Then everything's fine," he spits out the words like spoiled milk. "Explain it to me, Kjell. I want to know why this woman means more to you than our friendship and our dream together."
"Because I love her," I reply without a second thought. Nothing has ever sounded so crazy and so right in my ears at the same time. But it's true. I've done all of this for her.
Jakob blinks up at the ceiling. "I can do research too, you know?"
