Chapter 5
I could hear the clink of glasses in the background.
And Janet's shrill voice pierced the air.
"Tell her to come over and explain herself face-to-face. She shouldn't think just because she's from the city, she can look down on us," she demanded.
Edward was clearly struggling to keep his temper in check.
"Did you hear that? They're mortified right now," he said.
I stared at the note in the evidence bag, my smile fading.
"How is their embarrassment my problem?" I shot back.
"You dragged this to the police, made Sophia's family look bad in front of the cops, and now Jason's getting questioned," he snapped.
"Edward," I interrupted him. "Did you ever care if I was afraid?"
The line went quiet.
In the background, someone was telling the waiter to bring more dishes.
After a few seconds, he said, "You're fine, aren't you?"
That was it. Whatever hesitation I had left just broke apart.
"Send me the address," I said.
Emma looked up at me.
I covered the phone and whispered, "Emma, I'm heading over."
She frowned.
"You shouldn't go alone right now," she said.
Henry grabbed his car keys.
"I'll drive you," he said.
On the other end, Edward's voice turned icy the moment he heard Henry's voice.
"Are you still with him?" he demanded.
I didn't answer.
Edward gritted his teeth.
"Fine, bring him along. Let's see how far you want to take this tonight," he said.
When I pushed open the door to the hotel's private dining room, the air inside was stifling.
The table was loaded with dishes.
Sophia was sitting next to Edward, her eyes rimmed with tears.
Janet and Sammuel looked pissed, like they were just waiting for me to show up and admit I was wrong.
A few mutual friends were there, all on Edward's side.
When they saw Henry walk in behind me, the laughter at the table died down.
Edward stood up.
"You really brought him here," he said.
I didn't even look at him.
"Attorney Clark had something come up, so Mr. Grant came with me to deliver the documents," I said.
Sophia asked quietly, "What documents?"
I set the evidence bag down on the table.
The plastic bag hit the lazy Susan, making a soft sound.
"Activity logs from the car's system," I said.
Edward's eyes narrowed.
But Janet cut in before anyone else could speak.
"Are you trying to intimidate us with that? You've already made our whole family lose face today. What else do you want?" she snapped.
"Mrs. Lane," I said, looking her right in the eye.
I stared back at her, unflinching.
"You lost face because your daughter wanted to snoop around someone else's car, and Edward had someone illegally lock it up."
Sammuel slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.
"Who are you saying broke the law?" he snapped.
Henry spoke up, his tone calm and steady, "The police have already taken the case. Whether it's illegal or not, that's for the cops and the courts to decide."
Sammuel's bluster faded.
Edward shot Henry a cold look.
"This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it," he snapped.
"He's a witness," I replied. "To prove you left me standing in the rain outside the police station while you went off to wine and dine Sophia's family."
There was a sharp intake of breath around the table.
Edward's expression turned stormy.
"Olivia, do you really have to air our dirty laundry in front of everyone?" he snapped.
"I'm not the one making a spectacle here," I shot back.
Sophia shot to her feet at last.
Tears were falling down her cheeks in an instant.
She said, "Olivia, I know you mind how close Edward and I are. But we've been together since we were kids.
"He's always taken care of me, it's just second nature. You can't just sic the cops on him because you're jealous."
Her words made everyone at the table turn their eyes on me.
Jealousy. That was all it was to them.
So nearly dying on the highway could be twisted into me being jealous.
Edward just sat there, not saying a single word for me.
He sat back down, his face cold and unyielding.
"Look at you now, so aggressive," he said.
I remembered back when we first got together, he took me to meet his friends.
Someone joked that I wasn't good enough for him.
He slammed his glass down, grabbed my hand, and led me out of there.
"I can't even bear to hear a single harsh word said to her. Who the hell do you think you are?" he snapped.
It was the same private room and the same table full of people watching.
But this time, he handed the harsh words to everyone himself.
I pulled the ring box out of my bag.
It was the engagement ring he'd given me when he proposed last year.
The diamond was small, but I wore it for a whole year.
"Edward, the engagement's off," I said.
I slid the box across the table to him.
"Tomorrow, I'll let both our families and friends know. I'll pay for my side of the hotel bill. The rest is your problem," I said.
Edward stared at the ring box, but didn't reach for it.
He swallowed slowly, his throat tight.
"Are you done making a scene?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm done," I replied.
I turned to leave.
Behind me, a chair scraped loudly against the floor.
Edward grabbed my wrist.
His grip landed right on my injury, making me wince.
Henry seized his hand.
"Let her go," Henry said.
Edward's eyes blazed with fury.
"Just try touching her," he snarled.
Henry didn't back down.
"You've already hurt her," he said.
Edward finally looked down and saw the blood on my wrist.
For a split second, the anger in his eyes flickered.
But then Sophia suddenly clutched her chest and whimpered.
"Eddie, my head's spinning," she murmured.
Edward immediately let go of me and turned to steady her.
"Sophia?" he called out.
I looked down at the red marks on my wrist.
So this was what it meant to give up on someone. It wasn't the crying or the screaming.
It was reaching the point where I couldn't even be bothered to let him know how much it hurt.
The ring box stayed on the table.
As I reached the door, I heard Edward's hoarse voice calling after me.
"Olivia, if you walk out that door today, don't ever come back," he said.
The doorknob was cold in my hand.
I pulled the door open.
"Fine," I said.