“If there is anything I can do for you—”
“I got myself into this mess somehow, I’ll get myself out,” I snap, taking my fury out on the messenger.
“Do what you must. Remember, I’ll always be here if you need me,” Professor Harper adds, not one bit upset for me being seconds away from biting her head off.
Despite the respect and admiration I have for the woman before me, I’m not sure my stubborn anger won’t lash out at her again, so I just offer a stern nod and walk away without saying another word.
I have no recollection of how I got to my dorm room, nor do I remember dialing human resources at Watkins & Ellis. The only thing that snaps me out of my fevered haze is the pissed-off woman on the other line, repeating word for word what Professor Harper had told me in her classroom earlier.
“There must be some mistake,” I plea with the representative.
“I’m sorry, Miss Bennett, but there isn’t. In fact, your candidacy has already been filled. We sent you a few emails requesting you to reconsider. However, you were adamant that your engagement was your main focus at this stage, and you wanted to put your law degree on-hold,” the woman continues with her rant, sounding more annoyed with each word she has to explain to me.
I fall to the floor in my room, my legs no longer able to support my trembling knees.
“No, you don’t understand. This is a mistake! I never rescinded my candidacy for the internship. Why would I? This is all I’ve ever wanted,” I stutter, clasping my hand over my mouth, unwilling to let the representative hear me crying.
She takes a beat, letting me draw some composure, which only intensifies my humiliation for falling apart with a stranger as my witness.
“Again, Miss Bennett, you were the one who contacted us, advising us that you were no longer interested. We even called you, and your fiancé told us the same thing over the phone.”
“My fiancé?!”
“Yes. Just give me a minute. I think I still have the email here. Ah. Here it is. His name is Finn Walker, am I correct?”
“Finn? You talked to Finn?”
She huffs out, her patience dwindling down at rapid speed.
“Yes. We did. A week ago, if I recall correctly. We tried to reach you, of course, but he was the one who talked with us. Aside from your email, we haven’t been able to reach you until today. I have to say, I find it quite disappointing we are only having this conversation now.”
This can’t be happening. She’s wrong. She must be. There must be some sort of mistake.
But how do they know Finn’s name?
“Can I ask you to forward a copy of my email?”
“Just a minute,” she replies, aggravated. “There, I’ve forwarded it back to you. Is there anything else you require from us, Miss Bennett?” she retorts bitterly, her tone leaving no room for miscommunication—Watkins & Ellis are through with me.
“No. Thank you. That’s all, I guess.”
“Apparently it is. Congratulations again on your nuptials. Some women aren’t made to lead successful careers anyway,” she adds, the little bitchy reprimand serving as her parting words before hanging up on me, only adding salt to my already open wound.
I rush to my laptop to check my email box and, lo and behold, in black and white, there it is—the fucking email that crushed all my dreams and aspirations. In its contents, I explain in detail to Watkins & Ellis that I’ve become engaged to a football star, no longer wishing to pursue law in favor of supporting his athletic endeavors.
Aside from my laptop, everything ends up on the floor, thrown by my maddening rage.
I wish I had never laid eyes on Finn Walker—the destroyer of dreams and my goddamn future.
I’ll kill him!
I’ll fucking kill him!
Since I don’t want Finn to hear my anger over the phone, or give him time to get his story straight, I run out of my room with the sole intent of finding him to get some answers face to face. If I haul ass, I can make it before he gets to his next class.
Ten minutes later, I stand outside Finn’s Philosophy classroom, drenched to the bone, and getting angrier by the second. Even the typically sunny Asheville weather suddenly turned to match my wretched mood. However, I was too furious to go back to my room for an umbrella. I shift from one foot to another, my wet clothes unable to dampen my boiling rage.
As I watch the students beginning to leave the classroom, my eyes first land on a bored Easton. But following behind him, looking chipper and right as rain, is the bane of my existence—the man who somehow made his way into my heart, only to trample on it. Finn is talking Easton’s ear off until he finally sees me standing there, waiting for him in a dripping pool of water.
“Stone? What’s wrong? Why are you all wet, brat?” he bombards worriedly, looking concerned.
However, I’m the one who needs answers, so I promptly ask, “Why did you do it?”
“What?” he asks in confusion, trying to wrap his jacket over my shoulders.
I grab the damn thing, throwing it to the wet floor, and yell, “WHY, FINN?! Just fucking tell me why?!”
My little outburst grabs the attention of everyone around us, leaving a thunderous expression on his face. He grabs my elbow and pulls me away to prevent me from continuing to make a scene. He is shit out of luck if he thinks I give a rat’s ass about what other people think. I never have, and right now, other people’s perception of me is the last thing on my mind.
I just want him to answer why he did it. How could he claim to love me and rip my world apart so callously?
“Answer me, Finn! Why did you do it?!” I yell out once he’s stopped behind a pillar, which is big enough to keep us both hidden from curious, prying eyes.
“I’ll answer you when I understand what the fucking question is about, Stone! Why did I do what, exactly?”
“God, you are such a fucking liar! How can you lie so well? Was everything you said to me a lie, too?”
“Stone, I have never lied to you.”
“Oh, no? Then how about lying by omission. Have you ever omitted something from me? Something that would change my life forever?” His stark, pale face is all the answer I need. “How could you, Finn? I trusted you! I fucking trusted you, and you took everything away from me!” I yell, throwing my fists into his chest and beating it as hard as I can, wanting to hurt him the same way he hurt me.
“Stone,” he croaks, the sound of his pain finally coming through. “What happened? Tell me.”
“What happened is that I fell in love with a liar. A liar who made sure all I had in life was him and nothing else. Well, congratulations. You succeeded.”
“Stone,” he begins to plea, grabbing my wrists in his strong, warm hands.
“Was it because it was in New York? Did you think I was going to forget about you if I went? Tell me. Explain it to me. Just make me understand how you could do something like this,” I wail, snatching my wrists away from his hold, unwilling to let him touch me. “All my life, I dreamed about doing something good with my life, and become someone who would change the world for the better. Working for Watkins & Ellis would get my foot in the door and guarantee my place in Columbia for law school. But after the email you fabricated, and the call you answered in my stead, they want nothing to do with me. I doubt any respectful law firm ever will, once news gets out of why I turned their offer down. I’ll be branded as the girl who preferred to cheer in the stands, watching her boyfriend get beat up by Neanderthals fighting over a damn ball, rather than advocate for justice and save innocent lives.”