Page 90 of Lie With Me
Emily sinks back into the sofa, silent tears streaming down her face, but they don’t make me feel bad anymore. “Goodbye, Emily.”
She lets me go, having nothing more to say. Flinging open the door, my body braces, ready to run up to the room, back to Lenni. But before I can even take a step, Pops is there, gripping my arm. “We need to talk, Son.”
Lenni
My feet are heavy as I make my way down the staircase. Nearly an hour has passed since I got off the phone with Jackson. Telling Emily shouldn’t have taken this long, and I worry that perhaps Neil found Tripp instead.
When I get to the main floor, multiple employees are rushing about. Whispers of, “The wedding is off,” and, “I heard the ex stopped the wedding, and now they’re reconciling,” fill the air. I don’t think anything of it, because I’m sure that’s how it looks from the outside.
As I slowly make my way across the inn, checking open sitting rooms and anywhere I can think of where Tripp would be, I begin to notice the stares. The whispers become even more quiet. Hands go up to shield mouths. I recognize some of the people as Emily and Neil’s guests for the wedding.
Tripp probably made a commotion. That’s all it is.
Poking my head into another sitting room, I seeEmily’s parents talking to Neil’s. The conversation looks heated, and Emily’s mother is crying. Her father’s eyes dart over Neil’s mother’s onyx coif, and he pauses mid-sentence to fix me with a hard stare. Everyone turns to look at me, Emily’s mother’s lip curling up in distaste as she rakes her dull green eyes down my body.
Unease creeps into my very bones.
Heading to the concierge desk, I smile at the pretty blonde who checked us in yesterday. “Hi there. I was wondering if you’ve seen Tripp Kennedy around anywhere?”
She deflates, lips pinching together like she’s about to deliver bad news. “I’m sorry, Miss. Last I heard, he’s with Miss Porter.”
That’s all she says, as if I don’t know that she probably knowsexactlywhere they are.
Opening my mouth to ask her kindly to tell me, I’m cut off, and we both visibly cringe when we hear someone screech, “Howcouldyou?”
Turning, I see Margo behind me. Her face is red and splotchy, and she looks like a firework about to go off aimed directly atme.
What didIdo?
“How could I what, Margo?” I’m confused. She looks so incredibly furious and ready to burst at any given moment.
“I trusted you with my son. Welcomed you into our family. And you’re a… asex worker?” she spits between her clenched teeth.
Snapping away from the desk, I grab her arm andlead her closer to the large wooden table near the entrance, not daring to look back to see if the concierge heard what Margo said, even though she undoubtedly did. “What are you talking about, Margo?”
Where the fuck is Tripp? He said he wouldn’t tell anyone about me, so how the fuck does Margo know?
She rips her arm away from me, sneering as she fires out, “Is Valentina even your real name? I have no clue what my son wasthinking! Surely your engagement is a farce because there’s no way in hell he thought I’d allow him to marry a prostitute!”
Every fiber of my being wants me to beg her to let me explain. I’m still the same person I’ve always been, just with a different job title. I want to tell her that I quit sleeping with clients after I met Tripp. I want to tell her I quit the club altogether.
Instead, I straighten my spine and hold my head high. “Tripp is a grown man, Margo. I don’t think you have much say inwhathe gets to do. Or who.”
“You’re a disgusting creature!” she snarls. “You think you can target my son because he’s rich? You better hope you didn’t give him any diseases, or I’ll sue you for everything you have!”
My entire body warms with an embarrassed flush. People are staring. There’s no way they can’t hear what she’s saying. I want to be angry. Fuck, I want to feel so much anger toward this woman. But all I feel is a strange sense of sadness for the loss of a mother who was never mine.
As soon as Tripp and I made things official, Idared to hope that Margo and I would have some sort of mother-daughter relationship. We were already on our way there. How could Tripp do this? He promised he’d never hurt me. WassavingEmily worth our relationship?
He was devastated when she left him, and now perhaps she’s available again.
I shove that thought deep down. Somewhere it can’t resurface easily again.
Margo steps into me with a sneer. “I thought it was strange that I couldn’t find much on you. Valentina Parks didn’t exist before a few years ago when she popped up out of nowhere and began working at a restaurant called Decadence. I let you think I didn’t know you lied about your job, but I never thought Tripp would stoop so low as to bed a woman who sells herself for money. Secrets don’t do well in families like ours, Valentina.Everythingalways has a way of being brought to light. I think you’ve embarrassed us enough today. You should leave.”
The fact that she looked into my background doesn’t even phase me. I knew that was her MO before agreeing to Tripp’s deal. Honestly, I thought she’d be able to find out the truth. But apparently, she isn’t as good as everyone says she is.
For some strange reason, even though I was adamant about her not finding out before, I no longer give a fuck. I’m tired of hiding my past. Because it made me who I am today.