Her heart shattered into a million pieces as she turned to see Eleanor smiling at her from the doorway. The look of triumph in the woman’s eyes made Lily even angrier than she had been before. “You betrayed me?” she said in disbelief. After everything that Eleanor had said and done, Lily still had not thought that she would stoop as low as to contact Oliver.
“Are you surprised?” Eleanor bumped the door shut with her hip and smirked.
Lily had been so lost in thought that she had not even heard the door open behind her. “How could you?” she asked when she finally found her breath again. The realization that Eleanor had orchestrated the entire meeting made her chest feel numb with anger.
“I wrote to Mr. King and everything. How else would he have known where to find you? He was only too willing to accept my invitation. Honestly, Lily, you should really not be so trusting. You made the game far too easy.” She crossed the room, closing the distance between them before folding her arms over her chest.
Balling her fists at her sides, Lily allowed her anger to bubble to the surface. “Have you any idea what this will do to Julian and his reputation if Mr. King implicates me? You will be destroying more than just one life!” she hissed at her.
Eleanor seemed unbothered by anything that Lily was saying. “Oh, I am counting on it. If you do not go through with the annulment, Julian, his mother, and especially his sister will be ruined forever. But you and I both know that you will not allow that to happen, will you?”
The breath left her lungs as Lily froze and pressed a hand to her stomach. How was it possible that anyone other than Oliver could be this evil? “Julian will never believe you. I will tell him the truth, and the matter will be settled.” Her voice came out a little shaky, but it gave her the strength to stand her ground.
Lifting an eyebrow, Eleanor smirked at her. “Oh, do you really think he will believe you?” Something in her gaze made Lily uneasy again.
“He will certainly believe me over you. He knows that you lied about the two of you courting and even wanting to get engaged. There is no possible way that he would believe you ever again,” she said determinedly, feeling as if there were a chance to set things right. All she needed to do was go to Julian and tell him the truth. And then all of the lies and scheming that Eleanor had done would come to nothing at all.
There was an end in sight to all the madness if she could just get past Eleanor and find her husband. She and Julian had begun to understand each other, and she had never given him any reason not to trust her.
I did not tell him from the start…
Her heart raced a little as she thought of how he would react. There had been more than one occasion where she had tried to tell him, but they had always been interrupted.
Eleanor huffed, rolling her eyes as she coaxed Lily back to their conversation. “You are honestly the most naïve person that I have ever met,” she shook her head as she met Lily’s gaze. “Do you think that Oliver would believe you over his own eyes?”
Her palms began to ache as her nails dug into them while she clenched her fists. “Julian never saw anything. I was wrong for not telling him, but he never saw anything. You have nothing to hold over me other than the fact that I did not tell him from the start.”
Eleanor’s eyes flashed triumphantly as her smirk grew bigger. “My dearest Lily, I made certain that Julian saw you and Oliver in the garden. Why do you think I lured you there in the first place? The scene was set for your downfall. Face the facts, I have won.” She gave a satisfied giggle that showed how malicious she had been all along.
Oliver saw us.
Lily thought back to earlier in the evening when Oliver had embraced her. Had Julian been close enough to hear what they were saying, or had he been so far that he only saw them talking? And then Oliver had hugged her. She had pushed him away, but to an onlooker, it may have seemed as if she were complacent in the matter.
Chewing the inside of her cheek, Eleanor unfolded her arms and let out a satisfied breath. “I can only imagine what he must be thinking at this very moment, especially after I opened the ball with him and told him all about your secret little love affair with the man who holds your heart. Poor Julian must be devastated right now, what with everything that Anne put him through as well…”
She looked up with a faint smile dancing around her lips.
“Julian will never want you. Even if he wants our marriage annulled, he will never be with someone as malicious as you. If Julian had wanted to be with you, he would have done so after things had ended with Anne.”
Lily unclenched her fists, feeling more than just the sting of the conversation that had knocked the wind from her lungs.
Anger filled Eleanor’s eyes as she unfolded her arms and pursed her lips. “He may never want me, but he will never want you again either, and that is enough for me. I have had enough of this conversation now. What will it be, Lily? Your ruin alone with Oliver King, or the downfall of the Sinclair family? I wonder what his dear mama will say when she learns of your scandalous past? I will leave you with those questions.”
Eleanor turned from her and slammed the door in her wake, making Lily wince.
I have no choice in the matter.
She realized with sudden clarity that Eleanor had only wanted to destroy her. She may have wanted Julian at the start, but she had changed her motives to revenge along the way. There was nothing in the world that Lily could do but confess and save Julian and his family from ruin.
Chapter 28
I must speak with her.
Julian sat up straight in his chair, looking around the small study where he had spent the night. He had not meant to spend the night in the study, but he had fallen asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness until it was far too late to go and speak with her.
He needed to hear the truth from her lips. He loved her dearly and wanted to be with her, but if she loved another man, he was not willing to keep her in a marriage against her will. Despite everything that had happened, he still wanted what was best for her.
Placing his hands on the armrest of the leather chair behind the desk, he pushed himself up with a plan to freshen up before going in search of Lily.