Page 99 of The Image of You

I couldn’t help the hiss that came out of my mouth. “But no one fucking called me.”

“I didn’t have your number. Looking back, I should have insisted that she give it to me, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was too worried about Alex. Sarah had her cell phone and tablet—and she assured me she was keeping you updated when she could get hold of you.”

“You didn’t question the fact that I wasn’t there?”

“No, I didn’t. I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t know you very well, having only met you once. I knew Alex was in love with you, but she was pretty private about things.”

“We tried to stay private because of the hassles Sarah and Ronald gave her all the time. They didn’t like me.”

“They don’t like anyone. They’ve always been very controlling.” She shook her head. “I had no idea how controlling until right now.”

“Continue, please.”

“Alex finally woke up, and right away, it was obvious something was wrong. She was confused and agitated. She didn’t know the proper date or why my hair was longer. They did a lot of cognitive tests and realized a big chunk of her life was missing.”

“What happened next?”

Emma frowned. “You have to remember who was in charge. Once Sarah was involved, I was shoved aside. When I was able to see Alex, it was only for brief visits, and I was never alone with her. Sarah was given power of attorney for Alex for decision-making—and that continued after she woke up with so much of her memory gone.”

They took over her life again, this time with full control. I shuddered at the thought. “How convenient.”

“When she woke up and we realized what had happened, Sarah came to me and said she would be staying with Alex through her recovery. She told me it was time to get back to my life now that the danger had passed. She would handle things from there.” Emma paused, fidgeting a little. “I asked her about you, Adam. She told me when she spoke with you and told you of Alex’s memory loss and condition, you informed her you didn’t have time to play nursemaid to someone who didn’t know you. She said—” Emma swallowed and cleared her throat “—she said you wished Alex a good life, but you weren’t going to be part of it anymore.”

Rage raced through me at her words. “I. Never. Fucking. Said. That.”

“I may not have known you very well, but I did question Sarah about it. It seemed so contradictory to the way Alex described you, or the feeling I got when I saw the two of you together.”

“I would never have deserted her.” I frowned at Emma. “When I came back, I looked for Ally. I hired a PI who got nowhere. I even went to see Sarah. I begged her to tell me where Ally was, and she refused.” I looked down at my hands that were twisting and grasping my pant legs in agitation. “She threw it in my face that Ally had been unhappy with all the traveling I’d been doing and had begged me not to go. She knew about the fight we’d had and told me Ally decided I wasn’t worth the hassle and decided to move on. I was so shocked that she had confided in her, and at the way she had broken up with me. It totally threw me.”

Emma’s cheeks colored, and Alan reached over to take her hand. “That’s my fault.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Sarah told me what you had supposedly said, I, um, well, I called you a bunch of names and said I couldn’t believe you’d do this, just because the two of you had a fight.” She shook her head. “Sarah sort of played along as if she knew what I was talking about, and I told her everything Alex had told me—about your fight and the phone call and how distressed she was she couldn’t get hold of you to apologize.” She sighed. “Alex was so upset with herself. All she wanted was to hear your voice and know you were all right.”

I sat back in shock.

Ally hadn’t told her mother.

I wasn’t an unfortunate error in judgment.

“She texted Ally while I was at her place,” I frowned. “She showed me her reply.”

Emma raised her eyebrow. “I don’t think it was Alex who replied. None of what happened was Alex.”

Sarah lied. It had all been lies.

When the accident happened, Ally still loved me. I should have stayed and pushed more, gave the PI time and let him do his job. Instead, I had let Sarah win and left. I’d deserted Ally—again.

I drew in a deep breath.

“Tell me everything, Emma. Don’t leave out a single detail. Especially the part about how Bradley Bennett ended up engaged to my fiancée. Then I can make a plan.”

Her eyes widened. “Your fiancée?”

I nodded emphatically. “I asked her to marry me before Elena died. She said yes. And I gave her a ring she loved, but we had to have it sized. With everything that happened, though…” I cleared my throat. “We hadn’t told many people. But Sarah knew. She fucking knew.”

“What are you going to do?”