The Other Side of Greed (The Seven Sins #5) - Lily Zante Page 0,83

think I’d just happily trot off to have dinner with you? After what you did?” Her face flushes, as her voice and temper rise.

She scans the door, catching herself. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you. The last thing I want to do is to sit down and have dinner with you. I would rather choke.”

I walk over to her desk. “I’m not married, and I’m not seeing anyone. I haven’t been married before and I have no exes lurking in the background.”

The lines on her forehead relax, but her narrowed eyes still regard me with the suspicion I deserve. My intentions are always to tell her. But when she looks at me, through me, inside me, the way she does now, delving deeper and deeper into my psyche, I balk. Because when she knows, she will never want to talk to me again.

“Then why do you jump every time Emma needs you?”

I can’t answer that question, but maybe I can get rid of her suspicions. I grab her hand. “Come with me.” I hold out my hand.

“I don’t want to go to dinner with you.”

“It’s not dinner. I need you to meet someone.” What I’m doing is bold, and wrong, for Emma, but it’s time I did the right thing by Kyra. “I want you to meet Emma.” I hate to throw this on her, and the only reason I’m pushing for it is because Emma suggested it. It should at least convince Kyra that I am not a love cheat.

I expect her to say no, but when she says, “Okay,” I have no choice but to keep my word.

KYRA

It’s not right, him asking me to go to the hospital with him to meet this ‘Emma’, so that he can prove that she is not his girlfriend. I feel as if I almost know this woman, because we’ve talked about her more than a few times and I know a lot about her. She probably knows nothing about me.

I should have declined his invitation, but I’m not sure I know who Brad is, and going along with his suggestion is the only way that I will come to know the truth.

He drives us to the hospital. The car ride is fraught with tension as thick and as heavy as the steam in a sauna turned up too high.

We have been on a rollercoaster ride. Embarrassment and shame have blanketed these last few times I’ve had to face him at work. This evening will put an end to my suspicions.

I hope.

As we make our way up in the elevator, my breath hitches in my throat. This is wrong. So very wrong. This woman has been in a really bad car accident. A near-fatal accident, and Brad is taking me, a complete stranger, to meet her.

We’ve come this far, and I’m tempted to say ‘Stop!’ This is enough. I believe him already. It must be true. She’s here and recovering, and she’s not his lover. He is single, and he isn’t the monster I’ve made him out to be.

I’m about to tell him that we don’t have to do this, when the elevator doors open and he strides out with me in tow.

I follow him, then take a step back when he talks to the nurses at the reception desk. They seem to know him, which fills me with confidence. This isn’t a trick. He isn’t lying. He’s not hiding anything. This is enough.

“Come on,” he says when I stand there, debating on this insane turn of events. I hesitate, but only for a few seconds, then follow him. He stops by a door, looks through the window and knocks. My anxiety soars, and my heartbeat spikes.

“Are you… are you sure about this?” I manage to say. My mouth is dry, and I’m left wondering about the stupidity of this.

“You think I’m with her. This is the only way I can prove to you I’m not.”

The way he says it places the blame on me. Like I’m the one who is demanding this. He opens the door, and I see a woman sitting in bed. She looks as surprised as I feel.

“Hello, Emma. I’m really sorry to show up like this, but this is Kyra.”

BRANDON

Shame curls in my gut. This situation is absurd—like something out of a Tarantino movie. It’s almost funny. I smother the guilt which rises like a phoenix from the pit of my stomach.

Emma looks shocked, but her eyes soon go to Kyra, who is standing timidly