me. “I broke it off with her right after we met and before we slept together. That is the honest to god’s truth! I cannot believe my mother did that.”
“I’m happy she did, because now I know something.” I wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Know what?” he signed.
“That you’re a liar and a cheater and I can never trust you. I need you to leave right now.”
“Ellie.” He gripped my arms and I wiggled out of them.
“Don’t make this any harder. If you love me like you say you do, then you’ll leave me alone!” I shouted. “Please. Just go.” I cried as I ripped the necklace he gave me from my neck and threw it at him. “Get out!”
Tears filled his eyes as he stood there and stared at me.
“I love you,” he signed.
“Stop! Don’t do this. I don’t love you anymore and I never want to see you again!”
He picked up the broken necklace from the floor, placed it in my hand and closed my fist.
“No matter what, you will forever have my heart, Ellie Scott. Whether you want it or not.”
“Just go,” I cried.
He tucked one hand in his pocket and walked out the door.
Chapter 22
Henry
Hearing her say she didn’t love me tore me to shreds, like I’d been ripped to pieces by a wild animal. I climbed in the back of the limo and slammed the door. Christian looked at me through the rearview mirror as I put on my Ray Bans.
“I’m not even going to ask, Henry. I can already tell.”
“Just drive, Christian.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Take me to the cemetery, and then you can go. I’ll get home myself.”
As I was sitting in front of my sister’s grave, my phone rang, and it was Addison. I went to decline the call but decided to answer it.
“Yeah.”
“Henry? Where are you?”
“Why, Addison?”
“Because the meeting with the Henderson Group is starting in a few minutes. Everyone is waiting in the conference room for you.”
“Tell them I need to reschedule the meeting.”
“Are you okay? You don’t sound good.”
“I have to go.” I ended the call.
I picked up one of the roses from the bouquet I brought earlier and held it between my fingers. The pain inside was so unbearable, I could barely breathe. I kept replaying the earlier events over and over in my head. The pain in Ellie’s eyes and the hurt in her voice paralyzed me.
“Hey, you.”
Looking up, I saw Addison standing there.
“How did you know where I was?”
“This is the first place you run to when things aren’t going well. What happened?” she asked as she sat down and hooked her arm around me.
“Ellie broke up with me and told me she didn’t love me anymore. She also said she never wanted to see me again.”
“Oh, Henry. I’m sorry. Why would she do that? Did you tell her about the baby?”
“I didn’t have to. Mom did.”
“Excuse me? Did you just say, ‘Mom did?’”
“Yep. Apparently, she tracked Ellie down at a café earlier today and told her about Kirsten and how we were engaged and now she’s pregnant. Then she told her to stay away from me.”
“That fucking bitch!”
“I tried to explain to her how sorry I was, and I was going to tell her, but it didn’t matter. She said she could never trust me again and she told me to get out.”
“She’s just in shock. Once she calms down and thinks about things, I’m sure she’ll want to see you.”
“I don’t think so, sis. Mom also told her that I was going to do the right thing and marry Kirsten.”
“She crossed the line, Henry, and something needs to be done. Mom or not. I don’t care.”
“I can’t live without her. I love her too much.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll talk to her and make her understand.”
“Thanks. But don’t. I don’t blame her for the way she reacted. It’s all my fault. I should have told her from the beginning.”
“This is all mom’s fault. She had no right to do what she did.”
“When I stopped by their house to give dad the files he wanted, Kirsten was there. I think that was an excuse to get me there. She told me the baby changes everything and that we need to work things out.”
“Over my dead body,” Addison said. “Something isn’t sitting right with me.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I don’t trust her. I never have.”
Ellie
Once I cried as much as any human possibly could, I sent a text message to my mom and