Chapter 86 86

Chapter 86 86
"Sure," I replied, keeping my eyes on the road, but having a slight internal struggle of what his question was going to be.

"Who is Liam?" He asked, and I felt my blood boil.

I should have known that question was coming. Wilson had heard enough of the confrontation to know there was more to the story than just a falling out with a friend.

My hands tightened on the steering wheel and I'm sure Wilson must have seen it because he said, “It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry for intruding.”

“I shook my head, “No it's fine. It's nothing to hide anyway.”

I took a deep breath, and felt Wilson's curious eyes on me, waiting for answers.

"Liam is my ex-fiancé," I said simply. "The man Clara was sleeping with behind my back while we were planning our wedding."

"Ah!" Wilson exclaimed, and there was understanding in that single syllable. "So she wasn't just a friend who betrayed you. She was a friend who betrayed you with your fiancé."

"Exactly," I confirmed. "They had this whole plan worked out. Liam was going to marry me, convince me to sign over control of my assets to him, and then they were going to take everything and disappear together." I explained further.

"But you found out before the wedding," Wilson guessed.

"A few days before, actually," I said. "I overheard them talking about it. I heard every detail of their plan, heard them laughing about how easy it was to fool me. It was..." I trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.

"Devastating," Wilson supplied the perfect word quietly.

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding my head in agreement. "That's a good word for it. Devastating."

The reason I was giving Wilson all these details about myself was completely baffling to me. I’m afraid to admit but the truth remains that he is so easy to talk to. You know when you're talking to someone and you know they are definitely listening to you, letting every word sink in. That was exactly how it felt talking to Wilson.

We pulled up to a red light, and I took the opportunity to look over at Wilson. He was looking straight ahead, his expression thoughtful.

"She mentioned that you ran away. Is that why you left?" he asked, careful not to make me feel like a coward for leaving.

"Part of it," I admitted. "After I called off the wedding, and I automatically cut ties with both of them, I realized I needed a fresh start. Too many people knew about us. It was only a matter of time before they got to know what happened, and I dreaded seeing those many pitying looks and whispered conversations whenever I was around.”

I continued, “So I left, hoping to start over and have a fresh start. A fresh page without any drama or pain. To find something new and peaceful."

“But were you able to do that? We're you able to find it?” He asked further.

I took a deep breath, unsure of how to answer the question. “Well, at first I thought I did, but then—” I suddenly went quiet, my heart breaking inside of me.

“Are you okay?” He asked, immediately noticing the switch in my expression.

I cleared my throat, and answered, “Yeah.”

What followed was silence.

“And that swine thinks she can walk up to me and say trash to me about that jerk.” I spoke again, breaking the silence myself.

"So now they're both here…" Wilson asked, trying to be less curious.

"Apparently," I replied, the light turning green and forcing me to focus back on the road. "Though I don't know why. She said Liam was looking for me, but I can't imagine what he could possibly want after all these years."

"Maybe he wants to apologize," Wilson suggested.

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Liam doesn't apologize genuinely. All he knows how to do is to manipulate. Whatever reason he has for being here, for looking for me, it's definitely not about making amends. It's about what he can get from me. He is a bastard!"

"Well, he'll have to go through me to get to you now." Wilson said, and there was that protective edge in his voice again.

I glanced at him, surprised. "Wilson, if we're being honest, you barely know me. You don't have to—"

"I think I might know enough," Wilson interrupted. "At least I know you're someone who's been hurt badly by people you trusted. I know you're trying to continue to build a great life for yourself. And I know that you deserve to do that without your past showing up and causing problems."

His words touched me deep inside. His words felt like a healing stream flowing from his mouth to my heart and every bruised part of me that had been battered by betrayal. "Thank you," I said softly. "That means more than you could ever know."

Finally we arrived at the first property. We followed Jennifer into a parking garage, and I focused on finding a spot. As I maneuvered the car into a space, Wilson's phone buzzed again.

He looked at it and sighed. "I should probably take this," he said reluctantly. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not," I said. "Take all the time you need."

Wilson stepped out of the car and moved a few feet away for privacy. I could see him through the windshield, his back to me, phone pressed to his ear. His shoulders were tense, his free hand running through his hair in what looked like frustration.

Jennifer appeared at my window, tapping lightly on the glass, and I rolled it down.

"Everything okay?" She asked me.

"Yeah," I assured her. "Wilson just had to take a call. We'll be right behind you."

"No problem," Jennifer said, nodding her head slightly. "The property manager is meeting us at the entrance, so take your time."

I watched Wilson for another minute, wondering what kind of call could make someone so usually composed look so stressed. When he finally ended the call and turned back toward the car, his expression was carefully neutral, but I could see the strain around his eyes.

He got back in the car and immediately said, "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't apologize," I told him. "Is everything alright? You looked pretty stressed."

"It's complicated," Wilson said, echoing the same words I'd used before when he'd asked about Clara. "Work stuff. Nothing for you to worry about."

I wanted to press, and try to maybe offer the same kind of support he'd been giving me all morning, but I also understood the need for privacy. "If you need to go—"

"I don't," Wilson said firmly. "I'm exactly where I need to be right now."

The way he said it, the certainty in his voice, made me believe him. We got out of the car and headed toward where Jennifer was waiting with a professional-looking young man who must have been the property manager.

As we walked, Wilson's phone buzzed again. He glanced at it, then silenced it completely, shoving it into his pocket.

"Are you sure you don't need to deal with that?" I asked.

"I'm sure," Wilson said. "Some things can wait. And right now, helping you find what you're looking for is more important than whatever my phone thinks I need to know."

I smiled at that, feeling grateful once again for this strange guardian angel who kept appearing in my life exactly when I needed him.