The Pretend Girlfriend (A Billionaire Love Story #1)(64)

That was unacceptable!

Gwen waited until Beatrice calmed down. B wiped at the corners of her eyes. "It's not funny, B. It's true. I don't know what to do, and I can't believe you'd actually laugh at me! I kept telling myself I couldn't trust you with this, how you suck at keeping secrets, and finally I manage to tell you and you won't even believe me?"

The smile slowly left Beatrice's face. Her friend glanced around the bar as her hands balled into fists. "This is for real? You're not kidding. No, of course you aren't. You're about as funny as a rock in a field." Beatrice wasn't kidding either. The words stung.

Had Gwen been a little more clearheaded, she knew she would have simply taken her licks as well-deserved and carried on. Except now she couldn't suppress that instinctual urge to strike back.

"See? This is why I didn't tell you. I knew you wouldn't understand, and that you'd be all judgey about it," Gwen said.

No, stop now! the little voice inside her cried. You can still save this!

But Gwen ignored the plea.

Beatrice got a look on her face that said, "I can't believe the words coming out of your mouth. Not understand? You can't trust me? What is your problem?"

"You're my problem. If it wasn't for you, I'd never have met him, and I'd never be where I am now! Why can't you just be responsible for once, instead of constantly dragging me off to parties and bars so you can feel good about yourself?"

Some small part of Gwen managed to step back and watch from a distance. She knew even as she said the words that she didn't actually mean them, that none of this was actually Beatrice's fault, and that she was a good friend who didn't deserve this. But she just couldn't hold the frustration and anger back any longer.

Beatrice's face darkened, became stormy. She could look quite scary when she wanted to. "You want to talk responsible? I'm not the one who decided it was a good idea to sign some stupid girlfriend contract!" Beatrice stood, yanking the strap of her purse savagely back up onto her shoulder. "There's something wrong with you. Saying this as someone who used to be your friend, I think you need to take a step back and take a good, hard look at your life. Good luck with this soap opera you've found yourself in."

I'm losing her, Gwen realized as she regained some control over her faculties. Beatrice started storming towards the door. "Wait, Beatrice!"

By some miracle, her friend actually turned around, her body language saying, "What?"


Apparently, Gwen hadn't regained enough of her ability to reason. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

It was like she'd slapped her. Beatrice blinked in disbelief, her mouth dropping open and then closing slowly, her lips compressing. "I don't know; I can't keep a secret, remember?"

With that, Beatrice left. The bar was quiet, all the conversation having stopped so that everyone could see the show.

"Oh, yeah! Cat fight!" Lance said, his buddies hooting and hollering.

"Shut up," Gwen threw back. She needed to fix this. Again, she experienced that immediate sobering up effect that fear and panic had on the mind. She couldn't believe she'd said that, either. She needed to catch Beatrice, apologize, grovel, anything to get forgiveness.

But by the time she got out onto the street, Beatrice was gone. Gwen saw the back of her friend's head as a taxi passed by.

What have I done? she wondered.





Chapter 20


Beatrice wouldn't answer her phone, neither calls nor texts. Gwen kept leaving messages, each more pathetic than the last. She needed to make this right.

"Come on, just answer," Gwen said, hitting redial. Rather than ringing, her calls started going straight to voicemail.

She hit the lock button on the phone and then tossed it on her bed. Then she planted her elbows on her desk and buried her face in her hands.

Did I really just alienate my best friend? Gwen kept thinking. For the millionth time in the last hour since she'd gotten home from the bar, she wished she could just wake up from this.

And, what was worse, she also kept wondering whether Beatrice would actually tell anyone the true nature of her relationship to Aiden. And that got her wondering if and when she should tell him about... Letting the cat out of the bag wasn't strong enough. It was more like unleashing an entire pride of lions from their cage.

And then what will he think of me? Gwen wondered if there was a job anywhere for immense screw-ups, because she was the perfect candidate.

And she also did her best to ignore her laptop, with the essay still only partially written. She didn't even want to think about the pile of books and notes she hadn't even started going through to study for the midterm. Nothing in her life was going right. It was like she kept finding her way out of one maze only to discover that the exit to one was the entrance to another.

And then someone knocked at the door. Could it be Beatrice? Gwen thought. She rushed over, ready to yank it open. As she reached for the handle, she thought about how much trouble just jumping into things had gotten her into lately.

Taking a breath, she stood up on her tiptoes and looked out through the peephole. It wasn't Beatrice on the other side of the door, but Aiden. The fisheye lens made him look strange as is, but she thought there was something off about him.