Cruel Fortune (Cruel #2)(74)

This was still a game. And he thought that ring was a checkmate. But I’d find out the truth. I needed him to think that he’d won. Think that I was bowing out.

“Well, fuck,” I said, running a hand back through my hair. I had to be fucking convincing. He knew me as well as I knew him. “I thought you were just fucking with her. I didn’t realize you were actually serious.”

“I am.” He picked up the box and set it back into his desk. “Took you long enough to notice.”

“Jesus.” I shook my head. “I just want what’s best for Natalie.”

“That is what I want as well.”

“So, if that’s you, then I’ll…do what’s best for her.”

I swallowed my pride and held my hand out. Lewis looked at it skeptically and then stood and shook.

“Thanks, man,” Lewis said. He still looked suspicious but also…smug as shit. Like he actually thought he was winning.

I had every intention of doing what was best for Natalie. I just suspected that Lewis and I differed on what that meant.





Part V





Surprise, Surprise





Natalie





32





Snow was falling lazily onto the Manhattan streets. A thick blanket of white was covering the roof of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The tourists wore heavy coats, hats, and gloves. They peered up at the beautiful neo-Gothic–style landmark with awe, stopped to take pictures, and gawked at the stream of wedding attendees as they stepped out of limos and traipsed up the stairs like it was a red carpet.

I shivered under my coat that wasn’t quite appropriate for a New York winter but had been fine back home in Charleston. Lewis stepped out of his Mercedes behind me. He radiantly smiled down at me. I knew he was pleased that I’d decided to come with him. It had seemed doubtful up until the point where my feet had carried me out of my apartment building and into his car.

Now, I was here, and I was frozen in place.

Entering that building would make a statement as much as leaving did. If I left, then Katherine would win this round. And she’d use her advantage for everything in the future. Leaving didn’t mean freedom from the Upper East Side. It meant surrender.

And I refused to stand down in this battle.

Which meant I needed to walk inside. To proclaim that I wouldn’t be bullied by Katherine. But it might mean this battle would turn into a war.

“Are you ready?” Lewis asked.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the church. This wasn’t just about Katherine either. This was about my relationship with Lewis. I’d told him we’d be fine, and he’d been nothing short of incredible since then. Under normal circumstances, being a plus-one at a wedding wasn’t a declaration of intentions, but it was today. And I still hadn’t forgiven him for what he’d done to get me here. Good intentions or not.

“Natalie?” he asked, cautious and patient.

I took a calming breath and then nodded. “I’m ready.”

We stepped forward into the throng of guests and up the stairs, and then we entered the enormous church, already half-filled with wedding attendees. It was a stunning building with pews for hundreds of people. High-vaulted ceilings were held up by enormous columns. The walls were interspersed with elaborate stained glass art and sculptures to the saints. At the front was a raised dais for the priest to perform the ceremony.

I shed my jacket as we walked down the aisle toward our seats.

Lewis’s eyes slipped to me. “Is that the dress Jane got you?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you were going to have Elizabeth give you a dress.”

I shook my head. “I decided to just wear this one. Felt more…me.”

Sort of. Not bohemian enough, but at least I’d picked the thing out.

“You look beautiful.” He kissed the top of my head.

Etta and Charlotte saw us first.

“Natalie, you look great,” Etta crooned.

“That’s not an Elizabeth dress,” Charlotte noted.

I laughed softly at their attention. “Nope, just one from Bergdorf.”

“But it was such a good opportunity,” Etta said.

“Maybe another time,” I told them.

“Give her some space, girls,” Nina said, ushering them away from me.

My eyes slipped up to Lewis’s mother’s, and I froze at the sympathy there. She knew. She knew about what Edward had done. She knew about my humiliation. I was instantly uncomfortable. I didn’t want to be pitied.

“Natalie, such a pleasure to see you.” She pulled me into a hug as Lewis slid into the booth next to his sisters. Her voice lowered significantly. “I heard about what happened with my husband. I am sorry about that. It will never, ever happen again. It should have never happened in the first place, and I’m horribly embarrassed that he said those things to you. To be clear, I do not think that at all. You’re a beautiful, dedicated, charming young woman, and I’m thrilled that you’re dating my son.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. My voice was choked. I didn’t realize until she’d said it how much that actually meant to me.

I darted away from her before she could say anything else and make me relive that horrible moment. Especially since Edward was standing at the other end of the pew, speaking with a man in the row behind us, who I didn’t know. I hoped he didn’t try to say anything to me.