A Matter of Honesty (22 page)

from her?

Not knowing what to do, Lauryn shakily put the remaining newspaper articles

back in the box and stood up. Steve had been making a fool of her. He could afford to

have any woman he wanted. Heck, he had bought her lock, stock, and barrel. She had

only been a charity case. Pain encased her heart as she thought back to the times she

had poured her heart out to him. The handful of occasions she had almost told him

she loved him, only to stop herself because she was afraid of what he would think.

Scared of how he would respond. Now she knew.

She had been a fool once more. Steve had manipulated her just like her father

had. But she wouldn‘t be taken advantage of anymore. Setting her shoulders, she went

in search of aunt Audrey, finding her in the kitchen fixing lunch. Audrey looked up

with a smile that quickly turned to a look of concern.

“What‘s wrong?”

It took everything Lauryn had to keep her tears in check, to prevent her chin

from trembling, her voice from shaking. “He lied to me.”

“Who lied to you?”

Instead of answering, Lauryn handed the newspaper clipping to Audrey.

Audrey took the article and began to read it. She gasped as she put a hand to her

mouth.

“Is this your Steve?”

Lauryn laughed bitterly. “Not anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

Lauryn shook her head slowly. “He lied to me. He kept this a secret. Now I can‘t

trust him.”

Lauryn took the article back, struggling not to ball it up and toss it in the trash

like she wanted to. Unfortunately she needed it for proof. “Do you mind if I crash here

a while until I get myself together? I have some money and can move out on my own,

but without a job and the economy being in the shape it is, I‘m not sure how long it‘ll

take before I can find something else.”

Audrey nodded. “Sure, hon, you are more than welcome to stay here. Uncle

Frank and I would love to have you. But think this through before you do anything.”

Lauryn squeezed her eyes tight for several moments before opening them again.

She needed to get away. Had to clear her head. Being around Steve wouldn‘t allow her

to. “Thank you, aunt Audrey, but believe me, I already have,” Lauryn said with finality.

There was no way she was going to sacrifice her feelings, her dignity, for

someone else that she couldn‘t trust. In her few short years on Earth she had done it

enough. Lauryn gathered up her purse. “I‘ll be back in a few hours.”

Her aunt placed a gentle hand on her lower arm. “Okay. Just be safe. Make sure

this is really what you want to do.”

Not able to respond, she just nodded and headed out the door. The drive home

seemed quicker than it ever had. Lauryn shook her head to clear it. Steve‘s home was

no longer hers. How could she have been so foolish? The warning signs had been

there. He had offered her an enormous amount of money without blinking. Sure, he

didn‘t throw his money around, but when it came to her he was extravagant at times.

A fresh wave of anger rolled through her. Why had Steve kept the truth from

her? She hadn‘t done anything to make him not trust her. Pulling up into the front

driveway, she turned the engine off and sat there a moment to collect herself. Steve‘s

truck sat in the driveway so she wouldn‘t be able to walk away without him

knowing. Not that she really wanted to. He needed to know why she was leaving so

he never made another attempt to contact her.

A sob threatened to escape when she thought about Hannah. She had grown to

love the little girl, treating Hannah the way she would her own daughter. There was

no use in putting this off. It was going to be difficult either way. She had given her

heart to him, even if she hadn‘t told him so. It didn‘t make it any less true. A stabbing

pain traveled through her heart. She felt like the world‘s biggest fool.

She took a deep breath and got out of the car. Letting herself in the house she

went straight upstairs. Hearing Steve call her name she ignored him and went into his

room, where most of her things were. The items had been moved when he had

convinced her to stay in his room, with him. She set her purse and the newspaper

article on the dresser then began pulling some clothes out of the dresser and the

closet.

She didn‘t even have her own suitcases. She would have to make do with

anything she could find to hold her clothes, even if it were freaking trash bags.

Wouldn‘t be the first time she‘d had to use them because of an impromptu move.

Unfortunately she wouldn‘t be able to take everything all at once. She was on the

verge of breaking down. This conversation with Steve was going to be more difficult

than she‘d thought. She began to gather up anything that her medium-size overnight

bag would carry. Steve approached the entrance of the room, looking at her in

concern when he saw what she was doing.

“What‘s going on, Lauryn?”

She couldn‘t look at him. Never had she thought the sight of him would disgust

her. “I‘m leaving.”

“Leaving? Why? Where?”

Not trusting her ability to speak, she walked over to him and slapped the

newspaper clipping against his chest. “This is why.”

Out the corner of her eye she saw him glance down at what she had smacked

against his chest. He flipped it over and looked at it. His horrified expression told her

everything she needed to know. Steve had lied to her. It hurt even more now than it

had when she‘d first spotted the article.

“I can explain—”

“Save it, Steve. You should have shared the details from day one.” Lauryn

slammed a dress down on the bed. “I have been such a fool.”

He came toward her. She took a step back, glaring at him. “Don‘t touch me.”

Steve dropped his hand back to his side. The guilt she read in his expression

made her want to kick him. Her heart squeezed painfully. How could he do this to

her? What had she done this time to be treated so badly? “What did I do to make you

not trust me? What did I do to make you feel that you couldn‘t be honest with me?”

His shoulders dropped in defeat but she didn‘t care. After what he had done, he

would get no sympathy from her.

“It‘s not that I didn‘t trust you—”

Lauryn had never raised her voice before in her life and she was glad Hannah

wasn‘t around to see her do it. ” Then why didn’t you tell me?” Taking a calming breath

Lauryn laughed without humor. “Never mind. It doesn‘t even matter.”

A flash of panic crossed his expression. Good. He understood the seriousness of

the situation. He took another step toward her, faltering at the look she gave him.

“What does that mean?”

“What it means, Steve, is that we are over. Now if you would let me finish

packing, I‘ll be on my way. Don‘t worry, I‘ll hold up my end of the bargain and watch

Hannah for the rest of the time left in my contract. I won‘t make her suffer because of

you. But you need to start looking for a replacement immediately.”

With that said Lauryn turned her back on him. She expected Steve to say

something else, to attempt to convince her to change her mind. Instead he turned and

left the room. Lauryn felt crushed. He really didn‘t care anything about her. It had

been a game for him. She felt the tears she had been holding back begin to fall and

wiped them away angrily.

He wouldn‘t have the satisfaction at seeing how broken she was over what he

had done to her. She had given that power to her father and he‘d held it against her to

the day he died. No, Steve wouldn‘t have the same opportunity. She finished packing

what she needed and could carry. She found Steve in the living room sitting in the

recliner with his elbows braced on his knees, cradling his face in the palms of his

hands.

“I‘ll need the car to get over to aunt Audrey‘s, but I‘ll bring it back tomorrow.”

“Keep the car. You‘ll need it to continue to take care of Hannah,” he responded

without looking up.

That was all he had to say? The bastard. He really didn‘t care. She stopped herself. It

didn‘t matter if he cared or not. He had hurt her. Lied to her. It wasn‘t important if he

said he cared or not. His actions told her he didn‘t. Not knowing what else to say,

Lauryn turned and headed for the door. “I‘ll be here in time to get Hannah off to

school in the morning.”

“That‘s fine.”

She heard the defeat in his voice but refused to look at him. If she did it just

might weaken her resolve. What she needed to do was get out of there. Lauryn closed

the door behind her, flinching when she heard the sound of glass smashing. Every

fiber in her body made her want to go back inside to see if he had hurt himself. Then

again, why should she? He hadn‘t thought twice about breaking her heart. No, she

had made the right decision. Steve didn‘t deserve her and she didn‘t want him. Now

all she had to do was get her heart to believe what her mind said.

She was exhausted.

To be truthful, she was dragging because of the lack of sleep she had gotten.

Half of her night had been spent lying on her back staring at the ceiling. The other

half had been spent crying into her pillow. The hurt she felt from Steve‘s deception

was indescribable. Never had she imagined he would keep something so significant

from her.

She yawned as she pulled into the Steve‘s driveway. Her goal today was to take

care of her duties like she normally did, without any problems or complications. She

and Steve would have to discuss what had happened at some point, but only after

she‘d had time to calm down and to rationalize what had happened.

Taking a deep breath, Lauryn calmed her nerves before opening the front door.

She called out to Hannah and Steve let to let them know that she was there. When

there was no answer, she frowned. She felt something crunch under her foot. Kneeling

down, she saw it was a rose. Upon closer inspection she realized it was a Sterling

rose.

She took a few more steps and saw another. By the time she‘d made it to the

stairs she had a dozen Sterling roses in her hand. She called out to Steve and Hannah,

again with no answer. There was another trail of roses up the stairs. She climbed,

gathering the roses as she went. By the time she‘d reached the top she held two-dozen

Sterling roses in her hands. There was another trail of roses leading to Steve‘s

bedroom. She hesitated slightly before following the path, picking them up as she

went.

The trail of roses ended. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Lauryn

went still and gasped out loud at the sight that greeted her. The room was filled with

Sterling roses and she was sure Steve had spent a small fortune on them. Her gaze

went around the room and came to a stop when she reached the bed.

The bed held a dozen more roses arranged in the shape of a heart. In the center

of the heart was a small box on top of a note. She picked both up. The instructions

read for her to open the box only if she was prepared to say yes. Not really sure if the

box contained what she thought, she opened it hesitantly. Tears came to her eyes.

Inside the box was a diamond ring so huge, so brilliant, she couldn‘t do anything but

stare. The ring was so beautiful, it was breathtaking.

“So, I take it that‘s a yes?”

She jumped at the sound of Steve‘s voice. It hadn‘t been twenty-four hours

since she learned of Steve‘s deception, but as he walked toward her, she remembered

why she had fallen in love with this man. But she couldn‘t give in so easily. He had

some major explaining to do and even then she would have to think about actually

taking him back.

“I‘m not sure yet. Is there a reason I should say yes?”

He took the box out of her hand. Their fingers brushed and a jolt traveled up

her arm. Even after what he had done, his touch still made her weak.

“I‘m sorry, Lauryn. I should have been honest with you from the beginning.”

Tears sprang to her eyes as the fresh hurt bubbled to the surface. “Why weren‘t

you?”

“Because of what happened between Hannah‘s mother and me. We‘d been

dating a year and things weren‘t going well. I was struggling to hold on to what we

had even though it was obvious Tina wasn‘t. Then she told me she was pregnant with

my child. It meant the world to me. Tina didn‘t want a baby. I don‘t think she fully

comprehended she was pregnant before she automatically stated she wanted to

terminate the pregnancy. I wanted a family. She wanted to get married. I agreed to

marry her if she had the baby. So in a way we were both going to get what we wanted.

Then I played and won the Powerball lottery. Everything changed. Tina literally

walked around with money signs in her eyes. But it all fell apart once she realized I

was going to be responsible with the newly acquired money. Funny thing was I

played on a fluke. In some ways, it was the best thing that happened to me. In others,

it was the worst. Winning the money helped me to get rid of Tina, but it has cost me

you.”

Lauryn shook her head, as she placed a hand against his cheek. “Steve, it isn‘t

the money that is going to cause you to lose me; it‘s your lack of trust in me, your lack