Cruel Fortune (Cruel #2)(87)

“He really didn’t.”

“How did you get the file then?” Lewis asked.

I glanced over at Penn, and Lewis just laughed. “That’s what I thought. And you don’t think he manipulated it in any way? You think he told you the complete truth? Not to fool you in getting you back? Did you even fucking consider that maybe he was the one who was lying?”

I hadn’t. Not once.

Lewis choked on a laugh. “Of course not. Because Penn Kensington is a fucking saint. He didn’t put a fucking bet on you to screw with your head. He didn’t have sex with random women constantly just to toy with Katherine. No, he’s perfect. And you believed his lies without even a thought.”

“Lewis, drop the charade,” Penn said. “You know that I didn’t lie about this shit.”

“I’ll admit it. Yes, I have a file on you, Natalie. I keep a file on everything. It’s how I organize my life. It’s not a secret to anyone who knows me. Which is why Penn obviously knew there would be one,” Lewis said calmly. “But I’m a thousand percent certain that whatever file you were shown isn’t the real one. That it was manufactured against me.”

I shook my head. I hadn’t considered that. I hadn’t considered it…because the evidence was right in front of my face. How would Penn have gotten access to my manuscripts? Lewis had an obvious way to get them. A way I had never thought of until I’d seen them there.

“Stop twisting shit around,” Penn said. “You told me last year that you liked Natalie, and you’d fallen in love with her words. But I know for a fact that she had never let you read them. She didn’t even let me read them.”

“You can’t lie your way out of this,” I told Lewis.

“You have no proof that any of that is even mine. You want to believe the worst of me,” Lewis said, taking a step forward. Penn stepped between us. “I don’t even know why you were with me if you wanted to fuck him instead.”

“That’s not what this is about,” I spat. “This is about you stalking me, Lewis. For a year before we dated and then while we were dating. You didn’t need to do any of this. You didn’t need to take pictures of me or have video surveillance of my building. You could have waited for me to give you my manuscripts. But you don’t respect me. You think that I’m a game piece that you can move around.”

“Natalie, I don’t…” His voice was strained.

I held my hand up. “I’ve made up my mind. It’s over. Stop what you’ve been doing. Stop following me around and trying to supposedly help me. I don’t need your help anymore.”

“Please, we can work this out. It’s him that’s the problem.” He pointed at Penn.

“If you continue this behavior, I’ll file a restraining order,” I said breathlessly. The threat hung between us.

Lewis clenched his hands into fists. “You wouldn’t.”

“I don’t want to. I didn’t want any of this.” My voice wavered on the last line. My strength was ebbing.

I was mad at Lewis, but I had cared for him. The time we’d been together hadn’t been a lie for me. He’d just lied to me through it all. And now, that was all I saw.

“Just…let me go.”

“I can’t,” he said, his eyes wide.

I shook my head. And I knew that he meant it. That he wasn’t going to let it go if I didn’t stop this.

“I’m sorry,” I finally said. “Sorry that you felt you had to lie to get me, to keep me. Sorry that you’re still doing it now, even when all the evidence is in front of us. But I’m not sorry about Penn. And I’m not sorry about leaving.”

I stalked across the room, stepped into my heels, and snatched up my purse.

When I turned back toward the door, Lewis lunged for me. He grabbed my elbow, preventing me from leaving. “Don’t.”

“Let me go,” I said, calm but firm.

“Lewis,” Penn growled. He was there in a second, ready to stop it if anything happened.

But Lewis just looked dejected. Like my words had finally sank in. “Don’t go like this. We can try again.”

“No”—I extracted my arm from him—“we can’t.”

My heart constricted as I eased past him and out the door. I hated what had just happened. How it had all gone down. The fact that Lewis had seen what we’d done, so he now clearly blamed Penn for our breakup. When it was all his lies. And secrets. And obsession.

I was nearly to the elevator when I felt Penn catch up with me. Our eyes met for a minute, and then I turned away. He knew me well enough not to say anything.

His shirt was still undone. His tie had vanished, likely never to be seen again. He hastened to right himself. Though it was obvious that we were both more rumpled than we’d been earlier.

I’d come to Katherine’s wedding to prove a point. That I wouldn’t back down from a challenge. It had all unraveled from there, and now, there was no reason to be in attendance.

But when we bypassed the entrance to the Grand Ballroom, there was a crowd of people standing around, reading on their phones. Not what I would have expected of a reception party. Then, Jane appeared. Her eyes rounded when she saw me, and she darted toward me.

“Oh my god, Natalie, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” she gushed.