I turned to step around William, but he caught my arm, forcing me to look up at him. “You aren’t going anywhere, Mackenzie. We’re talking about this.” His eyes were intense as he stared down at me, his lips in a firm line. “We can work this out. My PR is already working on damage control. The story will go away by next week.”
I looked down at his firm grip on me, and then blinked back up at him. “Who do you plan to pay off this time?”
“What?”
“You heard me…”
He glanced back at Alex, who was more than likely flashing a shit-eating grin, then back down at me. “Whatever he’s told you is a lie.”
I heard Alex scoff a deep throaty laugh.
“It doesn’t matter, William. The engagement is over…” I ripped my arm from his grip and walked off, but once again, he followed me.
“Like hell it is!”
I spun around quickly, making him bump right into me. I tugged on my left ring finger, freeing the rock I had been wearing for the past year. “You’re not the man I thought you were. And apparently, I can’t be the woman you want.” I held it out between my fingers, waiting for him to reach for it, but he didn’t. So I bent down and set it on the table instead.
“Why are you being so stubborn, Mackenzie?” he growled. “I’m willing to take you back after you had an affair
with my son
, and now you’re ending our engagement?”
“Don’t you get it?” I shook my head at him. “I don’t want you to take me back! Our entire relationship is a lie. I know nothing about you. Your life revolves around your career, and I’m just a side dish in your eight-course meal.”
“You can’t possibly think that’s true. I’ve given you everything I know how to give…”
I shrugged, pushing back the tears. “I’ll admit I didn’t realize it at first, but now that I have, I can’t continue to live like this. It’s not fair to me and it’s not fair to you. This just wasn’t meant to happen.”
I started walking away again, but William firmly squeezed my wrist and turned me around to face him. He pulled me toward him, much more aggressively than I had ever seen him before. This was definitely not the William I thought I was marrying. “I won’t accept that, Mackenzie.” His face tensed and his eyes turned cold. “You’re my fiancée, and I’m not letting you leave.”
I saw Alex walk up from behind him just as I yanked my wrist out of his grip. “What is it with you Lancasters? You are so used to getting your way that you can’t even fathom someone disagreeing with you? Well, newsflash…I. AM. DONE. I don’t need liars in my life…I’ve had enough of that growing up.”
“I never lied, Mac…not once,” Alex intervened, standing closer.
“Oh, really? Why don’t you tell your dad how you met me at the club one night…why don’t you tell him how you knew it was me and how you purposely took me to your hotel suite. And while you’re at it, why don’t you try and convince me that I wasn’t just a revenge lay to get back at your Dad…” But before he could get a word in, I turned to William and yelled in his face, “And why don’t you tell me what actually happened to your late wife? And what else have you covered up or lied about to ‘protect your image’? C’mon…enlighten me!” I yelled at both of them, adrenaline fueling the courage to fight back. William had me fooled all along…everything about him was a lie. “I trusted you,” I hissed at him. “I trusted you and you made a fool of me.” I couldn’t stop the tears from pouring out; the thought of me almost marrying a man I hardly knew made me sick. “Well, wish granted…”
Once I felt content yelling at Alex and William, I grabbed my purse and stormed out, warning both of them to not follow me. It remained silent until I slammed the door behind me, realization surfacing that I had nowhere to go.
I immediately grabbed my phone to call Staci, but I knew she’d be busy working. I decided to call anyway, hoping she’d pick up and let me crash with her.
The second I stepped outside, reporters started screaming and flashing their cameras at me. “Mackenzie! Mackenzie! Are the rumors true? Are you having an affair with Alexander Lancaster?”
“
Oh my god…
” I tried not to panic, but they were barely giving me enough room to breathe. “No comment!” I screamed back, pushing my way through. How did they think that was going to get me to talk? God…they were relentless.
“Mackenzie!” More screams. “What’s your relationship with Mr. Lancaster’s son?”
I pushed through, needing space to find a cab. I needed out of here. Anywhere.
“Mac! Mac!” I heard a deep, hurried voice.
I spun around to Alex running toward me.
Great.
The moment they noticed him, they enclosed us in a circle with their cameras and flashing lights, making it impossible to think, impossible to get away. I held my arms up, bracing myself. “Alexander!” they screamed as he reached where I was.
“C’mon…let’s get out of here.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me with him toward a cab.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I mumbled, but right now, I knew I didn’t have much of a choice. He squeezed my arm harder, warning me not to argue with him. I knew the more exposure in public we had, the more the media would spread rumors. “Fine…” I agreed when he opened the door and pushed me inside. I moved all the way over to the other side and rambled off Staci’s address before Alex could shut the door.
“No…take us to the Four Seasons on Fifty-seventh,” he directed to the driver. He took off before I could speak up.
“I’m not staying at a hotel! I can’t afford that,” I hissed, moving away from him. I had a savings account, but the last thing I wanted to do was blow it on a seven-hundred dollar a night hotel room.
“You need to be somewhere safe,” was all he offered back.
“Well, I’ll go broke staying there. I’ll be fine at Staci’s.”
“You aren’t paying for it. And you
are
staying there. Those reporters are probably going to follow us and follow you wherever you go, so you’ll need to stay somewhere with security. They won’t be able to bother you once you’re inside.”
Although he was right, I hated agreeing with him. I wanted to hit him, scream at him, but I just continued sitting there staring out of the window. I couldn’t believe this was happening…who the hell at the event would talk to the press?
“Mac…”
“Not now,” I shot back before he could continue. We arrived at the hotel shortly after. I had nothing with me except my purse, so I’d have to ask Staci to bring me some of her clothes and other necessities up to me later on. I felt bad for getting her involved once again, but I knew she would help me.
Alex paid for the cab and started to get out before I stopped him. “Wait…won’t it look bad if we both go in a hotel together? I mean, I can check in by myself. I’ll be fine.”
“I really don’t care what it looks like, Mac. I told you that already. Keeping you safe is something I’m much more concerned about than what some stupid newspaper says.”
I nodded in response and let him rush us inside before the reporters could catch up with us. He checked me in and handed me the key. “C’mon…I made sure you had a good view.”
“Really? You think it’s the view I’m worried about?” We walked around to the elevators and hit the call button.
“No.”
“Well, thanks…but I could’ve stayed at Staci’s…” I pressed again, but I knew it was worthless. He was ‘in-charge’ Alex and nothing I said would change his mind.
“Can we please talk?” he asked as we stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the thirty-seventh floor.
“It’s not going to change anything.” I stood in the corner behind him.
Once the doors closed, he turned around and stared at me, intense and controlled. “I didn’t know who you were…when I first saw you that night at the club—I
didn’t
know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not,” he urged, his voice strained. “I swear. I didn’t know.”
I swallowed, wishing I could believe him, but I wasn’t sure. I could hardly think with him this close to me. “Then when?” I whispered. “When did you know?”
He blinked, taking a step closer. I watched as the muscles in his upper arms shifted and his hand came up to reach for me. “The next morning. That’s when I recognized you. I’d seen pictures of you online and it just hadn’t clicked until you woke up in my bed.”
I stared at him, unmoving and barely able to breathe. If he was telling the truth, then why did I still feel sick to my stomach about it?
“Then why didn’t you tell me then? Why didn’t you say something?”
“I had thought about it, but I don’t know…I liked you, Mac.
A lot
. I knew if I told you first, I’d never have the chance to prove you wrong about William. I knew you didn’t belong with him the moment I figured out who you were.”
As I let his words soak in, it all started to make sense. Him giving me that note as I was leaving his suite, him overly calm when we finally came face to face at dinner a week later…he knew we’d be meeting in person soon. He knew we’d be meeting in front of William…
“That’s why you didn’t call…” I said, mostly to myself. My eyes burned into the wall behind him as I talked it out. “If you were so interested, you would’ve called that week…I mean, you had my number after I called about my ring. You knew we’d be forced to officially meet…you knew we’d be living together…you knew
everything.
”
“Mac…just listen…”
“You had days to tell me, Alex…that whole week before dinner…the four weeks after that.” I finally blinked and looked at him. “Why didn’t you say something? You lied. You left me in the dark…you made me believe you were honest.”
“I’ve been completely honest with you, Mac. I didn’t know it was you that night, and once I realized it, yeah—I didn’t tell you—but that doesn’t mean I lied.”
“You withheld the truth. It’s the same thing.” I scowled. The elevator came to a stop and dinged, the doors sliding open just in time. “There’s no point in this conversation.” I stepped around him, exiting the elevator and heading toward my room.
“Mac…” He followed me out, walking behind me as I searched for my room. “You’ve got to believe me.” I could hear the desperation and pain in his voice, but I didn’t care. My blood was still boiling, his betrayal fueling my thoughts and actions.
“I don’t have to believe anything, Alex.” I quickly spun around and faced him. “You lied to me. You knew I was going to tell William about us and you
still
didn’t tell me the truth. So give me one reason why I should believe a word you say?” I challenged, keeping my eyes locked on his.
“Because I’ve shown you over and over how much I care about you…I’ve opened myself up to you, can’t you see that? Have you seen me bring any other woman over? Or even mention other women?” I swallowed at the intensity of his eyes and face. He stepped closer. “No, because there was no reason to. I didn’t want anyone else, Mac. I want
you
. I don’t know how else to make that perfectly clear.”
I snorted, huffing out an amused laugh. “Calling me a fox and ‘hotter in person’ is reason enough to believe you’re just as fake as your father.” Before he could stop me, I spun back around and walked the rest of the way to my room.
Just as I was shutting the door behind me, he stopped it with his foot and stared down at me. He looked defeated, broken. I couldn’t get my emotions in check, not when I was around him anyway. My heart ached, wanting to wrap my arms around him and tell him it would all be okay, that I could forgive him, that my feelings were just as strong as his were, but my head was too stubborn. I’ve dealt with complicated for most of my life. I’ve suffered from disappointments, lies, and false hope. That was why William and I were so compatible. He wasn’t multi-layered. It was easy. Our relationship was simple and it’s what made us work.
Had I known it was all based on lies…I would’ve walked away sooner.
But better late than never
, I thought. I couldn’t let myself get involved with someone like that again.
“What?” I asked, pushing my feelings for him away.
He swallowed and looked at me genuinely. “I’ll send someone to bring up your things. Don’t answer the door for anyone but room service or me. Answer your phone when I call.”
I blinked. “Anything else?”
He stared at me for a long moment before speaking up. “You were never a revenge lay, Mac.
Never
.”
I didn’t know how to respond. I was always vulnerable around him but right now, I needed to stay focused. My entire life was changing, and I needed to make a plan on how I was going to get through this alone.
“I’m going to take a bath,” I said quietly. “Call me when I can expect my things to be delivered.”
“I will.” I started to shut the door, but he held it open and continued, “Remember what I said.”
“Yes, I will.” I sighed. I watched as he released the door. I breathed out in relief, finally left alone to get my head back together—figure out what my next step would be.
AFTER TAKING A
long, hot bath, I lay on the bed looking out through the large floor-to-ceiling windows. My phone was blowing up with texts and voicemails from Staci, Chelsea, and Brittainy. I didn’t have the energy to explain everything to all of them right now, so I only planned to call Staci for now.
“Oh my god! Please tell me you’re okay?” she answered on the first ring.
I sighed in relief from hearing her voice. “I’m okay.”
“Thank god…shit, Mac. What the hell happened?”
“I’m staying at the Four Seasons. Alex brought me here. William’s a complete asshole and liar. Someone at the event spoke to reporters about us,” I breathed out. “That’s about it, in a nutshell.”
“How…I mean, how could anyone know?”
“It was all based on speculation, from the pictures at the event of Alex and I walking in together and being seen next to each other all night. It was a fabricated story on their end, but…it was true. I slept with him. I was ready to tell William before everything blew up in my face.” I swallowed, exhaling slowly before I continued. “He overheard Alex and me fighting. He didn’t even care, Stace,” I explained softly. “He only cared how it would affect his image.”
“Oh my god, Mac…I’m so sorry.”
I shrugged although she couldn’t see me. “It’s over. William wasn’t the man I thought he was and Alex lied about knowing who I was before we met at dinner that night.”
“He knew?”
“Yup…” I said, exaggerating the
p
. “He said he realized it was me the morning after. Then he told me William pays people off to keep their mouths shut—to keep his reputation clean—and that his late wife didn’t die from cancer.” I let out a long breath. “Everything was a lie.”
“Holy shit…” she breathed out.
“My thoughts exactly.” Even I was still trying to wrap my brain around it.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked softly. “That’s a lot to take in.”
I rolled over on my side, staring at the plain, cream-colored wall. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I need a few days.”
She sighed in response. “I’m so sorry. If you need me,
call!
I’ll be right there.”
“I know.” I smiled. “You always are.”
After hanging up, I curled my body into a ball and sunk into the oversized comforter. I needed to clear my mind, erase this day. I just wanted to sleep. Sleep it all away.