My Pride, His Prejudice (12 page)

“I couldn’t wait to introduce him to Will. I was positive my brother would love him as much as I did.” She sighed. “I was so stupid. I should’ve known then, when he said he didn’t want to meet my family yet. I should’ve seen the signs. I should’ve known what he was and that he was hiding, that he was scared of Will and was hoping to—was hoping to…” She trailed off. Slowly, she turned around and slid down the door to land in a puddled heap on the floor.

Eliza walked toward her, and Georgia instantly tucked her knees up to her face and buried her head in them. Eliza sat next to her on the carpet and wrapped one arm around her shoulders.

“Shh… It’s okay. You’re safe now. I promise he won’t hurt you again.”

“Why?” Georgia sobbed. “Why? What did I ever do except love him? Why would he hurt me so much?”

“Come here.” Tears sprang to Eliza’s eyes as she gently tugged on the girl’s shoulder. Georgia tucked herself into Eliza’s lap and cried.

“I was so scared. I was so alone. And he was s—so mean. Just evil. He took everything from me. Everything.” Her poor, frail shoulders shook beneath Eliza’s hand. “I was too afraid to call Will and tell him what happened. And I was so ashamed of myself for being so stupid.”

“You weren’t stupid. It wasn’t your fault.”

She wiped her eyes and nodded her head. “Oh, yes, it was. This was
my
fault. Yes, I know George Wickham is a malicious,
vile
man—I know what he is! And I don’t blame myself for the monster that he is and will be forever. No, may he die in prison for what he’s done to me. And he will. My brother will make sure he does. But
no
. My stupidity is because I trusted him. My blind, awful trust. I tossed aside any bad feelings I had, all that I’d been taught, and like an idiot, I followed him blindly.

“Eliza, I thought I would die that night. I thought he would actually kill me. Then he threatened to k—kill anyone I told. He took everything—my wallet, my phone, my suitcases, my jewelry—even the engagement ring. And then left me in the horrid hotel room—he laughed at me as he left. Calling me the worst names. And then I didn’t see him again.”

“I’m so sorry.” Eliza held Georgia close again as she gently tried to comfort her. “What did you do?”

“I was so scared and ashamed and mortified. I stayed in the room for two days and cried. By the time I realized how hungry I was, I’d begun to wake up to the reality of what really happened. He’d left me in the room with nothing, but thankfully, he’d used my credit card to sign us in. We’d originally planned to be there a week, so I knew the reservation was for that long. When they didn’t kick me out, I realized that Joe had forgotten about canceling the reservation. So I stayed in the room and ordered food service while I tried to decide what to do.” She took a deep breath and sniffed.

“By then, I was beyond mad and I was ready to fight Joe with all I had. I’d come out of the haze enough to see what was really going on. But by the time I went to call Will and finally figured out what I would say to him, he walked in with the hotel security guards and saved me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:

Eliza and Georgia talked and wept and talked for another two hours before Eliza convinced her it was time for bed. Once she’d tucked her in, Eliza yawned and walked out. It had been one long day, and she was simply exhausted. There on the couch, still dressed in his clothes from the date and Ghostbusters socks, was Will. He was sound asleep and snuggled into an accent pillow. For a moment, she stared at his sweet, unguarded face and marveled at the man in front of her. He was Georgia’s hero. For the last couple of hours, it was all Eliza had heard—how wonderful he was.

It was unbelievably kind of him to let them talk and bond while he obviously still waited for her to come back out. He was patient. That simple act showed wisdom and love beyond what she imagined. 

She sat down on the couch opposite his and began to put her shoes back on. Then she walked over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight.”

His hand snaked out and grabbed hers before she could leave. “Wait,” he said groggily. “Let me wake up so we can talk a minute.” He groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“Will, it’s okay. We can talk in the morning. You’re asleep and I’m exhausted. But I didn’t want to leave without saying a quick good-bye.”

He yawned again, still rubbing his eyes. Ignoring her request, he asked, “How is she?”

She paused a moment and then gave in. “Good. She’s going to sleep now.”

He nodded. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know.” Eliza couldn’t resist and yawned too. “Last I looked, it was close to midnight, but that was a while ago.”

“Did she tell you anything?”

“Yeah, everything.” She kneeled down on the floor next to him. “We had a really nice bonding moment. And hopefully, I’ve set her on the right path to heal.”

“Thank you.” He looked so out of it.

“No problem. She’s an awesome girl. Really bright and fun and…”

Will blinked and actually looked at her for the first time. Then his hands captured her face and slowly and gently, he kissed her, his soft lips connecting with hers in a powerful gift of thanks. “You have no idea what this means to me.” He kissed her again. “I knew if I gave her some time with you, you’d fix it.”

Eliza’s heart was hammering, and all at once, she was very much awake. “I don’t know if I fixed anything…”

He touched her forehead with his and whispered, “Shh… You are miraculous.”

This intimate nearness, the caring voice whispering deeply—it was a trap to tug at her heartstrings and keep her next to him forever. “Will?”

“Hmm?” Slowly, his hands moved from her jaw down her neck to rub her weary shoulders.

Oh, my goodness. Nothing had ever felt so good. She leaned forward and allowed his hands to work their magic.

“Turn around, and I’ll get these kinks out for you.”

She didn’t need to be asked again. She turned around and Will began to knead and coax the stress away. “You are a magician.”

He chuckled. “Oh, you deserve so much more than this.”

She held her breath for a second before grinning and relaxing into his hypnotic trance. “Please don’t stop. I may just fall asleep right here, but whatever you do, don’t stop.”

“Gladly. I’ll keep you here forever just massaging your back.” His strong, lean fingers began to run up the sides of her neck, along her spine, very cautiously working out the kinks under her hair.

“Oh…” Eliza was in heaven.

“So, how did you get my extremely private and proud sister to open up to you?”

The tightness slowly began to melt. There was only a very small part of her that was coherent. It took a minute for his question to make sense in the putty in her brain. “Georgia? Oh, I just told her about my failed engagement, and then we connected.”

His hands stilled.       

“Oh, please don’t stop.” She probably sounded like a baby, but it’d been years since anyone had rubbed her neck, and it felt so wonderful.

“What engagement?” he asked, his voice a bit huskier than before as he began to massage again.

She lolled her head forward. “It was just this guy I thought I was in love with. Collin. Found out we weren’t in love, so I ended the engagement.”

“How’d you find out? Did he cheat on you?”

Giggling a bit deliriously, she answered, “No.” She sighed. “That feels so great.”

“What did he do?”

“He was an emotionally abusive wreck, and he took it out on me and made me believe his way of thinking was the only one.” She shrugged. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” His thumbs began to make small circles at the base of her skull.

She honestly thought she’d succumb to bliss. “Ahhh…”

“What did he say to you?”

Eliza frowned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I know. What did he say?”

“Everything.”

“Like?”

“That I looked bad in certain outfits, and my hair was awful, and I needed makeup, and I wasn’t saying the right things to the wealthy people he knew.” She yawned again. “His whole goal was to become rich and live this snobbish lifestyle and be everything that made me lose me. Nothing was good enough, and nothing would ever be.”

“So he basically said everything I said to you those first few months of working for me.”

“Yep. You were a jerk.”

His hands moved down to her shoulders. “So you were in love with a man who told you that you weren’t good enough or pretty enough, and spent his whole time freaking out over what others thought of him and you.”

“Yeah.”

“And it slowly began to eat you alive until you lost sight of you. And then you eventually had to leave or you’d cease to exist.”

How had he pieced that all together? Her fuzzy mind became a bit more awake. “You’ve been there?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Who?”

“My dad. Old girlfriends I’ve had. But mostly my dad.”

She wrapped an arm around one of his legs that were straddling her as she sat on the floor in front of him. “Oh, Will, I’m so sorry.”

His fingers pulled back. “I’m sorry I acted like him when we met.”

She took a deep breath and turned around. “Me too.”

He stared at her for some time. Those dark chocolate eyes looked so stricken and lost. As if he couldn’t believe he’d mirrored what she was afraid of most in men. “So this is why you turned me down, isn’t it?”

Her chest tightened. “Yes.”

“After all you’d been through, the last thing you needed was another man who wanted his own personal Barbie doll.”

The reality of his words hit home harder than she thought they would. “Please, let’s talk about this later.” She didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to hold on.

“Eliza, you only came to help me. From the moment you stepped into that office, your goal was to make me a better man, a better CEO, and give my company astronomical growth and sales. That was your objective. You are a healer—an angel who can guide and uplift and give back only good.”

Her breathing became more shallow, yet she couldn’t look away from him. Finally, someone understood. Someone saw beneath her strong exterior.

“And I . . . I was a spoiled, selfish brat who’d gone too long doing things my own way. I didn’t want to hear what you had to say. I was afraid you were right. So instead, I mocked you and belittled you, and attempted to drag you down. But you didn’t falter. You gained my admiration and respect and eventually love because you knew I needed you. You saw potential and you stuck it out, despite the pain I caused. You have more integrity than anything I’ve ever known in my life.”

He blinked and looked away, his hand rubbing above his eyes. “Of course you turned me down. It was the smart thing to do. Even a few days ago, I didn’t fully understand who I was proposing to.” Pulling out his phone, he continued, “If it’s after midnight, it’s been one week since that night. There’s so much I wouldn’t have understood if you’d said yes.”

“Will, don’t… It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “No, let me say this. I should at least own this much. I loved you, yes. But I loved you because of all you did for
me
.” His shoulders shook, and he inhaled a shaky breath. “Don’t you see? Even after all I put you through earlier, even after the junk you’ve found out about me, you are still here. Why? Because I needed you. Because you are still the good, incredible woman you are. I’m afraid I would’ve always taken advantage of that.”

And there lay the mockery of her life. “You are wrong, Will. You wouldn’t always have taken advantage of me. I never fully understood you either. And if I’d said yes, it would’ve been for the wealth, the advantages you could’ve given me. The power—the exact things I say I despise most. I couldn’t marry you. I can’t ever marry you because then I’ll become the person Collin wanted me to be.”

“The rich powerful person you’ve always secretly wished you could be?”

“Yes.” One small tear released. “The one person I’m afraid of most.”

“You, snobbish and critical and selfish?”

“Yes.”   

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:

“I can’t become her, Will. I can’t. Then this angel you’ve fallen for won’t exist anymore.”

He shook his head, but he was wise enough not to disagree with Eliza. He could see that she was completely wiped out, and too hard on herself to believe in a happier world at the moment. “Okay. Let’s get you to bed.” He grinned slightly at her confusion. “I meant let’s get you to your hotel room, where you can sleep.”

“I will punch you if I need to.” She closed her eyes.

“And she’s back.” He stood up and held his hand out for her. “It’s time we end this heaviness for right now anyway.”

She groaned. “Why do all the worst subjects come up late at night?”

“Probably because we’re not coherent enough to avoid them.”

“I hate it when you’re right.”

He tugged on her hand and pulled her to her feet. Then, because everything about her was too adorable not to, he wrapped her up in his arms and gave her a bear hug—just placed that ornery head against his chest and allowed her world to center a bit.

He felt her arms wrap around his waist as she snuggled in closer. She smelled so good. He held her like that for a few minutes, just rocking gently back and forth until eventually, she completely melted. Then he knew he’d better get her to her room before she fell asleep on her feet. 

In an odd moment of chivalry, he swooped her up in his arms, cradling her like he would a child, and began to walk out the door.

“Will, put me down. I can walk.” Eliza yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.

He pushed the button of the elevator and walked in. “I swear, you’d protest food after being stranded on a deserted island.”

“But I
can
walk.”

“Uh-huh. I’ll bet. Now be quiet and let someone think of you for a change.” Tapping her floor number, he leaned back against the wall and waited.