Chapter 30 - Naomi
I slide into my car and put the bag of clothes on the passenger’s seat beside me. I close the door and put the keys in the ignition, but I don’t turn the car on. I just sit there, with my hands on the steering wheel as I stare out into nothing.
What just happened?
Did we just break up?
He knows who my father is!
He knows who my father is and he wouldn’t tell me. My chest feels like there’s a huge hand squeezing it tight. It’s hard to breathe. My lungs just can’t get enough air. I put a hand to my heart, closing my eyes to try to take a deep breath.
I replay everything that just happened over and over to try to make sense of it.
But I can’t.
None of it makes sense.
How could he think that I planned this? Does he think my mother’s illness is fake? Does he think that I somehow convinced him to convince me to marry him? This whole thing is crazy! How could he think that? It makes no sense!
Another question needles at my brain. It’s the same question that’s plagued me my entire life.
Who is my father?
Max knows, and he refuses to tell me. I saw the vindictive curl of his lip when I asked. He turned away from me. He wouldn’t even say the name. I’ve lost Max, lost whatever we had, and I can’t even find out who Max thinks is behind it all.
My hands tighten on the steering wheel, and I rest my forehead against them. I squeeze my eyes shut, clenching my jaw and taking long, slow breaths in and out of my nose.
Through all the confusion, and all the questions, one emotion underpins everything: pure, unblemished heartbreak. I told him I loved him this morning, and it was true. I was starting to think that being engaged to him was a good idea. I was starting to think that maybe this could work.
How stupid could I be?
Of course this whole thing was going to blow up in my face.
I knew it would, and I still went through with it. I still convinced myself that developing feelings for Max wasn’t a problem.
Loving him was the fuel that made this whole thing detonate.
The hand squeezing my chest tightens, and I sit up straighter. I lean my head against the headrest, sucking air in through my nose and trying to stop the tears from falling down my face.
I’m sick of crying.
What did I expect? That we would live happily ever after? That he would decide to get rid of the contract and marry me for me?
Stupid, stupid girl.
A sob shudders through me, and I keep my eyes closed as tears spill out of them. My knuckles are white as I clutch the steering wheel. When I take one off and reach into my purse, I can hardly stop myself from shaking. I dial my mom’s phone number, and then hang up right away.
I stare at the blank screen, seeing my tear-stained reflection in it.
I can’t call my mother. She’s just had a brutal chemotherapy appointment. She’s probably asleep by now, or too nauseous to deal with my sorry, heartbroken ass.
What would I tell her? Sorry mom, I lied. I’m not engaged, but I accidentally fell in love with the man I was pretending to be in love with and he broke my heart.
Maybe I deserve it for being so fucking stupid.
Instead, I dial Meg’s number. As soon as she answers, I sob incoherently.
“Whoa, whoa, Naomi, is everything okay?”
“No,” I wail. “It’s not okay. Max broke up with me and he thinks that I set the whole thing up but I didn’t, I don’t even know who my dad is!” I snort, my breath shaking as I cry into the phone.
“Okay, slow down Naomi, come on. Are you safe right now? Do you need me to come get you?”
“No,” I cry. “Can I sleep at your place?”
“Of course,” she says. “I’ll boil some water for tea.”
“You got anything stronger?”
Meg chuckles. “That bad, hey?”
“Yeah.”
“You okay to drive?”
“Yeah. See you soon.”
When I hang up the phone, I take a deep breath. The air burns my lungs, and I swallow past a huge lump in my throat. I turn the key in the ignition and glance out the window at Max’s building. I turn to the plastic bag stuffed with clothes, and I wipe my eyes one more time.
“Goodbye, Max,” I whisper, and then I pull out into the street and drive to Meg’s house.
She greets me with a hug and a bottle of wine. I laugh as the tears well in my eyes again, and she wraps me in her arms again without saying anything.
Half a bottle of wine and a full box of tissues later, I’ve told her everything from the accidental ‘I love you’ to the final goodbye.
She takes a deep breath.
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“So he thinks that you masterminded this whole thing?”
I nod.
“And he thinks that you pretended about not knowing your father and you wanted to somehow retain control of this… this merger or whatever?”
“He called it an acquisition.”
“Whatever,” she says, swirling her wine in her glass. She shakes her head. “Honey, he sounds like a fucking moron.” I snort-laugh. “How could he believe those things? Does he know your mom has freaking cancer? Does he think you’re faking that too? Does he think you rented a shitty apartment just to make your master plan more believable?”
“I don’t know,” I say, grinning through my tears. “I don’t get it.”
“Maybe he’s just hurting, and he’ll come around.”
“I’m not sure I want that. I mean, if he won’t even hear me out when he thinks something like this happens, then is he really worth it? What if we got in a fight about something real?”
Meg purses her lips and I shake my head.
“Don’t say it.”
“What?” Her eyebrows shoot up.
“Just don’t.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know you’re dying to say ‘I told you so’. I can see it in your face.”
Meg’s eyes flash, and a grin spreads across her lips. She takes a sip of wine and shakes her head. “I would never gloat over something like this.”
“Oh, please,” I laugh.
Meg shrugs.
“Fine.” I say before gulping down half my wine.
She turns to me, tilting her head and grinning. “Fine, what?”
“You can say it. But only once.”
Meg takes a deep breath, swirling her wine and shaking her head. “I always said he was trouble. Didn’t I say that before this whole thing even started?”
She turns to me and smiles, throwing her arm across my shoulders and laughing.
“I’m joking, Naomi,” she sighs. “Even I didn’t see this coming. When I saw how happy you were, I thought this was the real deal.”
I sniffle, and she squeezes me closer. She nods to the bottle.
“We’ve still got half a bottle to polish off.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let it go to waste.”
She laughs, filling up my glass. We clink our glasses together, and then she looks at me with sadness in her eyes.
“In all honesty, Naomi, I’m sorry this happened.”
“It’s okay,” I sigh.
“It’s not. He’s a bastard for not listening to you and for thinking you would do those things to him. Did he not get to know you at all? You’re a fucking angel! And he’s a double bastard for not even fucking telling you your father’s name!”
“I think that’s what bothers me the most. I told him how curious I was. I told him how much it had bothered me when I was a kid, and he still wouldn’t tell me!”
“Maybe he thought that if he told you, it would be like admitting that he was wrong about the whole set-up conspiracy.”
“Maybe,” I say, and I smile sadly. “But hey… At least I got three hundred grand out of it.”
“Atta girl,” Meg grins. “Exactly.”
“My mom’s in treatment and her house won’t go to foreclosure. And I might finally pay off my student loans.”
“Who needs men when you have money? Squeeze ‘em for every dirty red penny.”
“Cheers to that,” I laugh. But my heart aches and my eyes feel puffy. I’d rather have Max than his money, but it seems like that ship has sailed for good.