Chapter 98

Victor drove us deeper into the country to a spot in the hills that overlooked the river below.

He turned off the car and turned to me. “What’s on your mind?”

“I never thought about how our agreement would affect the people around us,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Victor responded. “How does whether or not we ever get married affect anyone else but us?”

“If your parents find out the truth, they will probably realize we were faking all the time and be disappointed in both of us,” I replied. “I’ve gotten close to your mother, and I don’t think I can handle her being upset over me.”

I needed to vent, and he was the only person who could listen to me.

“How are they going to find out?” Victor demanded.“You haven’t said anything have you?”

“Of course not,” I replied. “I could never face them again if they knew we’ve been lying to them…lying to everyone.”

“Why are you worried about this now? Our fake engagement has been happening for months, practically since I met you.”

“I didn’t know your parents then,” I explained.

Victor’s eyes narrowed as he spoke. “What are you trying to tell me, Daisy? After that huge engagement party yesterday, do you want to tell everyone the truth?”

I turned away from him. “I didn’t say that. I just wanted to tell you how I’m feeling. I don’t know how to escape from this web of lies we created.”

“I see the real problem,” Victor said. “William is back.”

My eyes widened at his words.

“No! The problem is I am spending time with your mother. I adore and admire her and don’t want to hurt her.”

“What do you want me to do about it now?” Victor raised his voice a little. “Do you want to just tell everyone the truth? Do you want to ruin everything because you know you can have William now?”

Why didn’t he understand I was just trying to tell him about my concerns? Instead, he thought I was finding excuses to cancel our agreement.

He was angry but still managed to keep his voice low. “Do you realize the truth would ruin my reputation and destroy my business?”

“I wasn’t trying to –”

“And I won’t be the only one to suffer,” he continued. “Nobody will donate money to a charity run by a known liar.”

I felt my temper rise to match his.

“Don’t worry. I know we can’t tell the truth now,” I said. “That’s the point. The truth would hurt everyone worse than our fake breakup will after you get what you want.”

Victor gripped the steering wheel tightly. “I don’t know what your problem is, Daisy. You’re getting what you want too.”

“Like we both agreed, you can do whatever you want with William, and I will help if necessary. He’s the “true love” you wanted, while I’m so money and profit driven that I couldn’t even be a real friend of yours, right?”

Not even a real friend?

I couldn’t believe we were hurting each other like this. It must be the penalty for lies. I hurt so badly that I could barely breathe. I needed to get away from him for a while.

“What I want is for you to take me home … right now,” I insisted.

After all the great times we have spent together, I almost forgot he was such a stubborn, obnoxious Alpha.

I needed him to understand my feelings and tell me everything would work out for the best.

Instead, he overreacted like I was threatening his precious leadership position.

Why would he instantly insinuate that I wanted out of our deal because I desire William?

Victor started the Lamborghini’s engine, and we zoomed away from our parking spot, leaving dust clouds in the air.

We didn’t say another word to each other. I climbed out of the car on my own when he stopped in front of Alex‘s mansion and hurried inside before I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer.

My tears began to flow while I was in the foyer, so I dashed into the downstairs bathroom and cried until my nose was bright red.

Then I washed my face and decided to go to my room. I couldn’t face my father feeling this guilty. I was lying to him, too, about my relationship with Victor.

The fact that the lie had made Alex happy didn’t matter. It was still a lie.

Yet I knew Victor was right. Telling everyone the truth now would only make things worse, but I don’t know why he didn’t understand how much it bothered me or why it didn’t bother him at all.

The only way out of this situation was to ride it out until we could tell everyone that we had decided not to go through with our wedding.

After my tears dried up, I washed my face and left the bathroom, wondering what I would do.

Restless and nervous, I would go crazy alone in my room, rehashing the argument.

I desperately wanted to go for a run. It was the only thing that calmed me and made me feel better when I was upset.

Why couldn’t I? It would be easy to slip out of the mansion without anyone knowing I was gone. I didn’t need anyone’s permission to shift, but should I tell Alex before I go? I wouldn’t be gone that long.

Before I could decide, Benson approached me with William in tow.

“Mr. James is here to see you, Miss Wilson,” Benson said. “Would you like refreshments served somewhere?”

“Not right now, but I’ll let you know if we change our minds,” I replied. “Thank you, Benson.”

William saw my tear-stained face and pulled me to a loveseat near the staircase.

“What’s wrong, Daisy?” he asked gently. “I brought a book you told me you wanted to borrow before I left town, but it looks like you need to talk to somebody.”

“I … I don’t know if I should say,” I replied. But I couldn’t keep it bottled up inside. “Victor and I had an argument.”

“About what?” William took my hand. “You can tell me anything. You know your secrets are safe with me.”

It struck me that there was somebody else who knew everything about my deal with Victor, and he was sitting beside me.

I looked around the foyer before I spoke and didn’t see any of the servants.

“I had lunch with Lana Klein today. She’s such a good person, and I like her very much. But I feel awful because she thinks I’m really going to be her daughter-in-law.”

“I can understand that,” William said. “You’re not the kind of person who can deceive someone and feel good about it.”

This was what I needed from Victor, not the anger he threw in my face. It made me feel like I wasn’t important to him. Yet, I wasn’t nice to him either.

“I can’t go back on my word, and I won’t. If Lana and Harry or my father found out I was lying to them, I would be ashamed. But I needed to talk about it, but when I tried to tell Victor …”

“He lost it on you,” William said, completing my sentence.

“Yeah. It was awful.” I groaned. “We said some terrible things to each other. I became as nasty as he was.”

“I can’t imagine that. Are you two still engaged?” William asked. “Or is your deal over?”

I shrugged. “I’m sure our deal is still on. He deserves to be the leader. He’s worked for it all his life. But I’m just so frustrated with him. I was going to shift and go for a run.”

William grinned. “Want some company? I could use a good run.”

“Oh, my Goddess, yes.”