Chapter Twenty
Carly
“Dottie?” I call, stepping into her house with the smell of cinnamon rolls greeting me and I close my eyes, breathing it in for a moment as a feeling of calm washes over me. I remember when we were little and Aunt Dottie used to make us cinnamon rolls for our birthdays. It’s what I need after a hellacious few days.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Dottie says, poking her head around the wall to the kitchen with a smile on her face. “What brings you by? And shouldn’t you be at work?”
I nod. “Yeah, but I kind of needed a personal day.”
With a frown on her face, she studies me for a moment before nodding to the kitchen table. “Have a seat, dear. I’ll get us some coffee and rolls.”
As I sink into the chair and wait for her, I let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose in an attempt to diminish this headache. Although, if the three aspirin I took earlier didn’t help, I doubt anything will. The past two days have felt like weeks and I’m so incredibly lost. The bruise I saw on Ivy’s arm has been haunting me and I don’t know what to do to help her. There is a very large part of me that wants to rush in and drag her away from him kicking and screaming even when, rationally, I know it wouldn’t work for long. Before I could even relax, she would be back in his arms and I might just lose her forever.
Even though worrying about my sister has taken up most of my time, thoughts of Chance have managed to sneak in a time or two. And each time, it feels just as fresh as it did when I walked out of that bathroom. Of course, it doesn’t help that he hasn’t stopped coming around. I don’t know how many more times I can listen to him say that he wants me and he’s not going anywhere before I explode. Honestly, I just don’t understand. He’s married – why on earth is he still doing this? It doesn’t make any sense at all and I’m questioning everything that happened. Not that I’ll ever get any answers because I’ve vowed to stay away from him. If the past few weeks are any indication, I have absolutely no willpower around the man.
“Here you go, sweetie,” Dottie says, bustling into the dining room with a full tray in her hands. She sets it down between us and passes me a coffee and cinnamon roll before taking her own and dumping some cream and sugar in it. After setting my cinnamon roll down on the plate and adding a dash of each to my own cup, I stir my spoon through the tan liquid, lost in thought again. “So, what’s on your mind?”
“I had lunch with Ivy on Sunday,” I whisper, glancing up at her as her eyes widen and she nods.
“And? How is she?”
“She seems okay…”
Dottie places her hand over her heart and lets out a breath. “Well, that’s a relief.” Pausing to stare at me, she tilts her head to the side. “Isn’t it?”
“She’s engaged.”
“Oh,” she whispers, staring down at her coffee as she chews on her bottom lip. It’s something she only does when she’s really stressed and I haven’t even told her the worst part yet.
“There’s more.”
She nods, still not meeting my eyes. “Out with it, then.”
“She…uh, she has a bruise on her wrist.”
Dottie’s head whips up and the pain in her eyes makes tears well up in my own. “You think he’s hurting her?”
“I… Yes. I asked her about it and she said she was being clumsy and he grabbed her when she fell but I just don’t believe that,” I admit and hatred burns in my gut as I think about someone hurting my baby sister. I set my cup down on the table and lean forward. “What can we do?”
Dottie is quiet for a moment, staring down at her coffee as she absentmindedly stirs it, before letting out a sigh. “Years ago, I had this friend who met what we all thought was the most wonderful man, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that something was off. I suspected he was knocking her around and even though I had no proof, I just couldn’t let it go so I asked her about it. She straight up denied it and got mad at me for sticking my nose where it didn’t belong. It tore our friendship apart and I didn’t see her for nearly a year when she showed up at my house in the middle of the night, six months pregnant, with a black eye and a broken arm. I had been right, but it didn’t matter because she wasn’t ready to face the truth.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, horrified that she might actually be suggesting that we do nothing.
“I’m saying if he’s hurting her, his hooks are already in deep and if we say something, we might just push her away when she needs us the most.”
I stare at her with my mouth hanging open and voices roaring in my head. “You can’t be serious. I won’t just let him hurt her.”
“If we do this and she pulls away, she won’t have anyone to turn to when she is finally ready to leave. Believe me, child, I want to do whatever it takes to get her out of there, but I know this is something she has to do herself, even if it kills me.”
“So, we do nothing?”
She shakes her head. “No. You be there for her. You let her know that no matter what happens, you are always by her side because she will need you. Maybe not right away but someday, she’s going to need her big sister to be there for her.”
“I can’t believe this,” I mutter, dropping my head into my hands and sucking in a breath.
“I know it feels like everything that you shouldn’t be doing, Carly, and trust me, I briefly considered grabbing my gun and going for a drive, but it won’t fix anything. And even worse, Ivy would never forgive us.”
“At least she’d be alive,” I hiss, looking up at her.
She nods, taking a sip of coffee with an eerie calm settling over her. “We take this one day at a time, Carly, and if things get worse, we’ll be there to help her. But if you charge in now, you won’t be around and you won’t know if she needs you.”
“I hate it.”
“I know. I do, too.”
Silence descends over us and I take a sip of my coffee before taking a deep breath in an attempt to relax.
“So,” Dottie prompts, watching me with a raised brow. “Anything else on your mind?”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
“Whatever happened with that boy of yours?”
After another sip of coffee, I set the cup down and sigh. “I took your advice and let him in.”
“And?” she asks as she fights back a smile.
“And, turns out the asshole is married.”
“No,” she gasps, shaking her head as she lays her hand on the table in front of her. I nod, my chest aching with all the things I’ve been avoiding as I look away from her. “Tell me everything.”
With a sigh, I turn back and step completely out of character as I spill my guts – telling her everything from the moment I met Chance until last night when he was pounding on my door and telling me he couldn’t walk away from me. When I finish, she’s quiet – studying me intently.
“Could it be a mistake?”
I scoff. “No.”
“Did he confirm it? Did anyone else?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “You’re the first person I’ve talked to about this.”
“So, it could all be a misunderstanding.”
“A secret wife is not a misunderstanding.” My phone buzzes on the table and I grab it, thankful for the distraction.
Ivy:
Julian has tonight off.
Family dinner at 6?
“Ivy wants to have a family dinner tonight at six and she’s bringing Julian,” I mutter, already uncomfortable with the thought of being in the same room with the man who I’m convinced is hurting my baby sister.
“Okay,” Dottie says, looking toward the kitchen. “I think I can scrounge something up.”
Me:
Sounds good.
After pressing send, I stand up and offer Dottie a smile. “I’ll see you tonight then, I guess.”
“We were still talking about your beau,” she points out and I shake my head.
“There’s nothing to talk about and I have an appointment to get my nails done. Hopefully, a little relaxation will help me forget this shitty week.”
She makes a noise of annoyance as she stands up and wraps me in a hug. “See you tonight, Sweetie.”
* * * *
“Ready to do this?” Aunt Dottie asks, looking a little pale herself, as we grab a few plates full of food and turn toward the dining room where Ivy and Julian are waiting for us.
“I don’t know. Are you?” I’m not feeling anywhere close to okay, but I have to keep a straight face and be polite to Julian for Ivy’s sake. After some time to think about what Dottie said this afternoon, I realized she was right. As much as I want to rush in and whisk my sister away somewhere safe, she has to make the decision but as soon as she does, as soon as she’s sure she wants to leave, nothing will stop me from helping her. I have to believe she’ll come to her senses eventually because Ivy is smart and it won’t take her long to come to the realization that this relationship isn’t good for her.
She shakes her head. “No.”
“All right,” I sigh, trying to psych myself up. “Let’s do this.”
Dottie leads the way, stepping into the dining room with a smile on her face as she sets a platter of food down in the middle of the table. “Hope y’all are hungry. I made plenty.”
“Thank you, ma’am. This all looks delicious,” Julian says, charm oozing out of every word he says. It’s easy to see how my sister fell for him. If I had met him before I saw that bruise on her arm, I would have been equally as charmed by his southern gentleman routine but now I see the snake beneath his mask.
We all sit down and fill up our plates in silence before Ivy nudges me under the table. When I glance up, she shoots me a look that implies I should talk to Julian but, for the life of me, I can’t think of anything to talk to him about. Actually, that’s not true. I could ask him what made him believe it would be okay to hurt my sister, but I have a feeling Ivy wouldn’t appreciate that.
“So,” Dottie says, cutting the tension in the room. “How did you two meet?”
Julian smiles, glancing over at my sister as her lips tip up and it makes my blood boil. “I saw her at a charity function and I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen but I needed a little liquid courage before I could go talk to her and by the time I was ready, she had disappeared. For days afterward, I couldn’t stop thinking about her and I tried just about everything to find out her name but came up empty, so imagine my surprise when I spotted her as I was grabbing lunch one day. Of course, she wouldn’t even give me the time of day but I was determined to win her over, so I kept coming back to the restaurant every day after that, hoping she would show up and when she finally did, I convinced her to give me a chance. The rest is history.”
“What a lovely story,” Aunt Dottie says, smiling at Julian, but I can see the insincerity on her face. Julian asks her a question about the house and I turn to study my sister, my gaze immediately going to the spot where the bruise was yesterday. I can barely make it out but it’s still there like she tried to cover it with makeup. Glancing up at her face, something catches my attention and I stare at her upper arm, just under her shirt, where a fresh bruise colors her skin.
I turn my gaze to Aunt Dottie, who casually glances over at me before following my gaze to Ivy’s arm. She skirts over the area, keeping up her conversation with Julian and I wonder if she even saw it until I notice her knuckles turning white. When I glance over at Ivy, she’s watching me warily, so I flash her a smile and she relaxes back into her seat a little.
How can she just sit casually next to him after he’s hurt her?
“Ivy tells us you work for your father?” Dottie asks, slipping a dainty bite of food into her mouth and chewing slowly. I know how she feels. The thought of eating right now makes me feel ill also.
Julian laughs and shakes his head. “Ah, not really. I’m a political consultant so I do help my father out from time to time, but I don’t work for him.”
“Oh, I see,” Dottie replies and glances over to me like she wants me to help out with this façade of a dinner but all the things I want to say to this man would upset my sister.
“Carly, Ivy said you’re a writer?” Julian says, turning on the charm as he stares at me, waiting for my answer and I try not to glare. Clearing my throat, I fold my hands in my lap and nod.
“Yes, that’s right. I work for Mercedes Richmond at Champagne Dreaming.”
He nods, taking a bite of food. “Yes, I know her father. Excellent golf player.”
I force a smile to my face, hoping that it doesn’t look like a grimace. It’s not surprising Julian knows Mercedes’ father since he’s one of the wealthiest men in the city. I have to wonder, though, why they always bring up how well someone plays a sport like I give a damn. It’s like some kind of measure of their manhood. What am I even supposed to say to something like that anyway?
Ivy gives me a pleading look and when Julian looks away to talk to Dottie about something, I shrug. I really don’t know what the hell she wants from me. I’m doing my best here. Besides, there isn’t much I don’t already know about him since I googled him as soon as I got home from my nail appointment today.
“Carly, could I see you in the kitchen?” Ivy asks and my gaze snaps up to her. I nod and she stands, tossing her napkin to the table before she calmly walks out of the room. Dottie and Julian watch me carefully as I follow her.
“What are you doing?” she seethes, twisting around and pointing a finger at me.
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Are you trying to sabotage this? You promised me you would help convince Dottie that he is an okay guy.”
My jaw drops and I shake my head. “Yeah, well, that was before I saw the bruises on your arm and don’t think I didn’t notice the new one.”
Her hand flies to her upper arm before she can stop herself and I nod, vindicated.
“You don’t understand,” she hisses, stepping closer to me and lowering her voice.
“What I understand, Vi, is you’re in a dangerous situation and I’m so worried about you that my stomach is in knots most of the time.”
“Car, you don’t understand…”
“Ivy.” Julian’s voice cuts through our conversation, hard as steel, as he stands at the entrance to the kitchen. “I just got a call from my father. I’m afraid we have to go.”
She tears her gaze away from me and nods at him. “Okay. Let me go grab my purse.”
Her hand falls from her arm and she brushes past both of us, leaning up to give Julian a kiss on the cheek as she passes, before disappearing into the dining room. Julian smiles, his gaze lingering on my chest for just a bit too long.
“It was lovely meeting you, Carly.”
Ivy comes back to the kitchen, saving me from having to respond and wraps her arms around me.
“Talk to you later, okay?” she whispers in my ear and I nod. As she pulls away, Julian takes her hand and gently pulls her out the front door. Dottie rises from the table and goes to the window, pulling the curtain back just a fraction to spy on them. I join her, peeking through the other side as my heart climbs into my throat. Julian’s body is tense as he leads Ivy to his car, rougher than he was just a moment ago. She looks like she’s pleading with him and he stops in the middle of the street and slaps her across the face. Dottie and I both gasp. My hand flies to my mouth and my eyes burn as a tear slips down my cheek.