My throat closes up, and I can’t talk anymore. The fact that I may have just lost Ava forever is sending such a huge surge of panic through me…
“It’s fine,” Elizabeth says in a warm, soothing voice. “I know you’re upset, and I would be too in your shoes. But can you please join the call? I’ll email you the details. We have to present a united front if we’re going to minimize this thing.”
I nod, then remember that we’re on the phone. “Okay,” I croak out.
“Great. Talk to you later.” She hesitates. “Take care of yourself, Lucas. This too shall pass.”
She hangs up.
She believes that bullshit about this all passing because she isn’t the one losing somebody important.
Flexing my clammy hands, I climb into my car. I have to go to Ava. I have to fix this.
Chapter Thirty
Ava
By the time I reach Ray and Darcy’s house, I’m completely out of breath. Perspiration drips from my face and soaks my clothes. The door is locked; I pull out the key and go inside.
Just in case, I call out, “I’m home!” Only cool silence greets me.
Letting out a long shaky breath, I lean against the wall. My legs feel like soggy noodles. Tears I’ve held back until now stream down my cheeks, mingling with my sweat. My chest shakes, and an ugly sob rips from my throat.
Slowly I slide down to the floor until I’m crouching and crying. Lucas isn’t worth it. Intellectually I know that. But my heart doesn’t want to listen. It breaks and breaks and breaks, and I don’t know how I’m going to pick up the pieces and make everything okay again.
I need to get a hold of myself before Ray and Darcy come home. I don’t want them to see me like this. It’s just too humiliating to think that I fell for him—twice!—when he’s never loved me or cared about me. He’s had an ulterior motive, just the way my dad had an ulterior motive when he stayed with Mom. Her body, plus the cheap thrill of doing it with someone who wasn’t his wife. Except Lucas is smarter than my father because he’s playing for a multimillion dollar inheritance in addition to the cheap thrills.
I don’t know how long I stay there crying, but a sudden loud thump on the door jolts me. My spine reverberates from the forceful bang as I jump to my feet, spinning around. I look through the peephole and suck in a breath.
Lucas.
Quickly, I lock the door before he realizes he can just walk in.
“Open the door,” he roars.
“Go away,” I say.
Much to my disgust, I sound like a frog with a cold. Damn it. He’s going to know I’ve been crying. And that thought enrages me, giving me the strength to get through this confrontation.
I wipe my face with the sleeves of my shirt. “You’ve done enough. Get out of my life.”
“Ava, you didn’t give me a chance to explain.”
“Explain? I read the article! I saw your reaction. I know what they printed is all true.”
“Yes, it is all true, but it has nothing to do with us!”
“Really?”
“I didn’t come back to you for a damn painting.”
“Right. You don’t care at all about a painting worth millions. And you just happened to run into me when you needed to marry someone to get it, because you just happened to be in Chiang Mai, halfway around the fucking planet, at the same time I was. Wow. That sounds really believable.”
“Damn it, it’s not like that.”
I slam my palm against the door as loudly as I can. “I don’t care what it’s like, go away!”
“Ava, talk to me face-to-face. Please. Five minutes. That’s all. Let me make you understand.”