I was exhausted and I couldn’t think anymore, so I went upstairs and climbed into bed.
29
Asher
The moment I stepped off the elevator, I walked over to my bar and poured myself a bourbon. I couldn’t stop thinking about Everly’s call. As hard as I tried not to think about her when I left Rhode Island, my mind wouldn’t stop. All the “what if’s” kept circling around in my head and the harder I fought to stop them, the louder they became. A part of me wanted to love her, but the other part of me stopped such a notion. I asked her if anyone ever truly knew anyone, and I meant it. I thought I knew someone inside and out once, only to discover I was completely wrong and was made a fool of. Then there was my Uncle Roland and Noah. Everyone in my life had betrayed me in some way. Everyone except my father. What Everly and I had was good. It was really good. But it was only temporary, and I needed to keep reminding myself of that. I ran a multi-billion-dollar company with great success, I lived in a multi-million-dollar penthouse, and I had all the money I would ever need. I was set in life, and I didn’t need anything else.
A couple days had passed, and I had just gotten out of a meeting. Taking my phone from my pocket, I saw I had a text message from Everly.
“Hi, Asher. I’m in New York for a couple days, and I would like to see you if possible. Maybe tonight after you get off work at your penthouse?”
A nervousness fell over me as I read her message. Why was she in New York? Did she decide to move here after all? I felt an instant relief knowing she was here, but I also felt the fear inside me rise up as it felt like it was choking the life out of me.
“Hi. We could meet there if you want and maybe go out for a nice dinner. How is six-thirty?”
“I’ll see you then,” she replied.
It was six-fifteen when I arrived home. Everly would be here in about fifteen minutes and I needed to quickly change before she came. Just as I finished changing, I heard the elevator ding. When the doors opened, Everly stepped out looking as beautiful as ever.
“Hi.” I smiled as I kissed her cheek.
“Hi.”
“It’s good to see you,” I spoke.
“It’s good to see you too.”
“Come on in. Can I get you a drink?”
“Sure. You know what, I’ll have what you’re having.”
“Bourbon?” I arched my brow at her.
“Yes.”
She seemed extremely nervous, which was something she never seemed to be before.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I walked over to the bar.
Everly
Seeing him again was surreal. I’d missed him, even though I didn’t want to. Maybe coming here was a mistake, but after seeing him, I knew I didn’t have a choice.
“Here you go.” He smiled as he handed me my drink. “What brings you back to New York?”
I hesitated, but it was now or never. The nervousness inside me intensified as my heart rapidly beat out of my chest. Maybe I wouldn’t have to tell him. Maybe he’d tell me he loved me, and I could put what I knew behind me and never speak of it. There was only one way to find out.
“I came back because I love you, Asher. I’m in love with you and I needed to tell you.”
He stood there in shock as he stared into my eyes and inhaled a sharp breath.
“Everly, I don’t know what to say except I wish you never would have told me.”
“Why?”
“Because you just shouldn’t have. The last thing I want to do is hurt you and now you’ve put me in that position.”
“So you’re saying you don’t love me?” I could feel the tears spring to my eyes.
“No. I don’t. I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I can’t.” He turned away from me.
“So after everything we’ve been through, you can stand there and say you feel nothing for me at all?”
“Yes.” He lowered his head as I watched him clench his fist.
“It’s all because of Brianna, right?”
He spun around and the angry look on his face startled me.
“You know nothing about her, and if you do, you stop!” he shouted.
A single tear fell down my cheek.
“No. I won’t stop. I know how much you loved her and how betrayed you felt by her, Asher. But you can’t let that one moment define the man you are today.”
He stood there as he shook his finger at me.
“The fuck I can’t. You have no idea. That girl was my life. Ever since the first day I laid eyes on her when I was fifteen years old. I would have given my life for her. She couldn’t stand the thought of me going off to Harvard without her. So I decided to forget about it and stay in New York and go to NYU with her. We were going to be married and live in an apartment on campus together. We were happy. Happier than two people could ever be. Then one night, the summer before college, she said she needed to talk to me. We went to Central Park and she told me she didn’t love me anymore and she handed me back the ring I had given her. She said we were too young, and she couldn’t see a future with me. She then proceeded to tell me that she didn’t think she ever really loved me. I begged her to stop, because I knew it wasn’t true. I knew her and I knew what we meant to each other, but she wouldn’t. She just kept going on and on about how sorry she was and how we weren’t meant to be. Then she walked away and left me standing there with my heart shredded into a million tiny pieces. I made a vow that night never to let anything ever happen like that again,” he shouted.
“I know. I felt your pain the moment our hands first touched. I felt everything, Asher. But there’s something you need to know. You need to know the truth of what really happened that night.”
I looked over and saw his father standing over by the bar.
“Damn you!” I spoke.
“What? Damn me? Really?” Asher shouted.
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Tell him, Everly. Tell him what I did. Tell him the truth!”
“Your father was the one who was responsible for Brianna breaking up with you,” I finally spoke.
“What?” He let out a frightening laugh. “Who the hell do you think you are? But go ahead and humor me and tell me exactly how my father did that.”
“He took her to lunch one day and offered her a lot of money to break up with you and to never see or talk to you again. When she refused, he offered her an ultimatum. She either did what he asked, or he would financially ruin her father’s company, shut it down and make sure he lost everything.”
“How dare you,” he shouted. “My father would never do such a thing.”
“Your father would do anything he had to in order to protect you, Asher!” I shouted back. “He didn’t want you to ruin your future and he saw it was a possibility if you married her. Your lifelong dream had always been to attend Harvard and he saw you giving all that up for Brianna. He knew you weren’t thinking right at the time. You were young and in love. It happens. I get it.”
“You don’t get anything! I want you to leave now.” He forcefully grabbed hold of my arm.
The moment he did that, his father’s favorite book flew off the bookcase in the living room and onto the floor. Asher stopped, let go of my arm and bent down to pick up the book.