The light glinted off the rock on her hand and Paisley wasted no time twisting the bands off. She held them out, but Lucas merely glanced at them and back up to her.
“They’re yours.”
Paisley laughed. “I don’t want them. Save them for the next woman you use or return them. I don’t give a damn, but they will not be leaving with me.”
Lucas shook his head. “You’re not leaving.”
Backing up a step, Paisley let out a mock laugh. “Like hell I’m not. If this Jeb Smith is my father, then we’re done. I told you from the beginning that this wasn’t permanent.”
Yeah, she’d said those words, but she’d ignored them and had fallen face-first in love. She hadn’t taken her own advice and had totally ignored all the red flags as to why getting too emotionally attached was a bad idea.
So here she was. Brokenhearted, barely holding herself together, and the daughter of a man she’d never heard of...and clearly a man who wanted nothing to do with her since he’d known of her existence.
Paisley bit her quivering lip and turned away. She did not need a witness to her vulnerability and agony.
“Paisley, don’t shut me out,” Lucas pleaded. “I wanted to find all the facts before I came to you. I was trying to make this process as painless as possible.”
She whirled back around, swiping at the tear that had the nerve to escape. “What process? Finding my father or you lying to my face night after night as we made love? Did you even feel guilty for using me? After all we shared before, after what we were building now, where the hell was your conscience in all of this? Because I would never use someone I love.”
His brows rose as he stared back at her without a word.
“That’s right. I love you.” Another tear escaped and she didn’t bother wiping it away. She wanted him to see the damage he’d caused. “At least when I broke your heart years ago, I did it so you’d have a better life. I did it because I loved you so much. I never lied to you, not one time.”
Lucas pursed his lips and gave a clipped nod. He glanced away, but not before Paisley saw a shimmer in his eyes.
Could he actually have a heart, after all?
“I won’t be staying here,” she told him. “I’ll come back and get my things and my mother’s boxes when you’re at work. My attorney will be in touch regarding the divorce.”
His eyes darted right back to hers. “Don’t make any decisions out of anger. We need to talk about this.”
“We’ve been talking,” she reminded him. “The story won’t change. You lied to me and used me. I thought we could actually have something together again. I was foolish enough to want to give you that family you mentioned. I was hopeful that you’d grow to love me again and maybe this would all work out. But that was all too naive and I can see exactly what this is and what this isn’t.”
She started to turn, but he reached for her.
“At least let me tell you about your real father,” he stated. “You have his face shape and the same mouth, the same dimple to the right of your lips.”
Paisley stared down at her gold, strappy sandals on the glossy hardwood floors. She didn’t want to look at him, didn’t want him to see the impact of everything he said.
“He never wanted children,” Lucas went on. “He was paying your mother at first for child support, but then he got laid off from his job in construction. He kept telling her to just move on and leave him out of it. He thought you’d be better off without him as a father. Surely you can understand that.”
Paisley didn’t miss his hint at the similarities between this man thinking she was better off without him and her doing the same to Lucas years ago.
But this wasn’t the same. This wasn’t some young love trying to figure out their future. This was her life, her past, the part that shaped her into who she was today.
“You can text me all of his information and I’ll take it from here,” she told him, heading to the elevator. She grabbed her clutch and hit the button. “My lawyer will contact you this week.”
She didn’t turn around, didn’t want to look into his eyes again. The pain she felt... She couldn’t even put a label on such emotions, but she didn’t want him to see. Yes, she’d wanted him to know he’d hurt her, but now that pain bordered on soul crushing and heartbreaking, and she didn’t want to be seen as weak.