DANNY
As soon as the doorman called the penthouse, Carl told him to let me go up. I try to keep an open mind as I ascend the elevator.
Dad’s sent me a few texts with the same message. “Listen to what he has to say. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”
It's hard to control my temper when I know that right now Adele's heart is breaking all because of this prick. The one that’s too much of a coward to tell her the truth. The one that’s staring me in the face the moment the elevator doors open.
“Carl.” I walk up to him, silently demanding answers with my hostile expression.
He heads toward the balcony without saying a word, leading me there. He’s wearing a pair of shorts, and there's perspiration dotting his forehead as if he's just been working out. He grabs a towel off one of the white sofas and then opens the glass door. We stand on the balcony, and there are no smiles.
“Danny, you didn’t need to come. I told Adele I’ll be there later.”
Is he fucking kidding me?
“Later? If you don’t want to marry her, then you should just be a man and tell her. Don’t even think about jilting my sister at the fucking altar. It’s humiliating and…”
“Just like you did?” He raises an eyebrow.
His arrogance is sending me over the edge.
“I told Harper that it was over. I even canceled the fucking wedding, and she still went ahead with it,” I remind him, my voice rising several octaves.
“She even went as far as standing at the altar waiting for you, hoping that you’d change your mind. You knew she was there, but you still ignored her. You acted as if she didn’t matter.”
His blue eyes have gone dark. I want to hit him, but instead, I back off and walk away. I need to be the better man. Carl’s trying to provoke me, but it’s not going to fucking work.
“When did you join Harper’s fan club? I thought you hated her just as much as everyone.”
He grabs a bottle of water that's sitting on the table outside. “I’ve been getting to know Harper, and I can see that you really hurt her. I’ve always listened to your side of the story. Never heard it from her.” He takes a swing from the bottle and then sits down on the chair and stares out at the view of Manhattan.
“When did you get this place?” I ask as I go to sit next to him.
“I thought that it would be a great wedding gift for Adele. Somewhere for us to live together after we get married.”
“That was considerate of you. So much that you couldn’t even be bothered to show up at your own engagement party. Carl, are you fucking Harper?” I cut straight to the point.
“I’m talking to you about what you did.” He tries to turn the conversation back to me.
He didn’t answer the question, which makes me all the more suspicious.
“My sister’s back at the house crying her eyes out over you. Just be a man and tell her that it’s over.”
"That’s why you came here? You thought that I'm fucking someone else.” Carl snorts. “I don't know what your problem is. I told you that I’m running late, and I’ll be at the house later. I’m marrying your sister whether you like it or not. I need to get ready for my rehearsal dinner.” He stands and dries his spiky blond hair before walking away from me.
There’s a lot of things going on in my mind. I don't like the way he keeps defending Harper. It sounds like they're too close for comfort.
I head back into the elevator, still confused about what's going on. I didn’t even get to ask him about the fucking messages.
There’s so much messed up shit that the idea of going to the house right now feels too painful. I don’t know what to tell anyone. They’ll have questions about what’s wrong with him, and I can’t even honestly say that I know because none of it makes any sense to me.
As soon as I get out of the building, I call Henry and tell him to drive me to the nearest bar for a drink. I feel guilty taking a detour, but this is all too much. I need some alcohol to steady my nerves so that I can face the rest of the shit storm that this day will inevitably be.
“Sir, I’ll be out front in about twenty minutes.”
I nod. “Good.”
Harper must have something to do with this. That’s the only reason why Carl would have mentioned her so many times. She must have said or done something to change his heart. She’s so fucking manipulative that she can make the strongest man weak. She did it to me, and there’s no doubt in my mind that she has done it to Carl, too.