Chapter 45 : He Doesn't Feel the Same

Cat POV I had no idea when Victoria had showed up. Luke's cousins had asked about her, so it made sense that she was there. Sort of. It wasn't like it was her grandfather who was dying. "What are you doing here?" I asked again as she closed the library door. "I told you, we need to have a chat," she said. She pulled out her phone and a thick file folder and set them on a table. She sat down and lifted her feet, resting her ankles on the table. "You might want to sit down for this," she said, motioning to the chair across from her. "No, I'll stand," I said, crossing my arms and glaring at her. "Have it your way." Victoria opened the file folder and pulled out a stack of papers. I saw Luke's company log watermarked on the page, and at the top of the page in bold lettering was the lot number of the land he'd just purchased from Victoria's father in the Caribbean. "I'm sure you know that until everything is signed for and watertight, I can still convince my father to sell off this land to a competitor if I want, right out from under Luke's nose," she said, jumping right into her threats. "Why would you do that? It is a project he has worked hard for," I pointed out. If she was bluffing, I was calling her out on it from the get go. There would be no need to play her games. Did I think she was capable of doing something like that? Yes, I did. Did I think she really would hurt her own career by doing so? No, I didn't. "There's another property here you might be interested in, too. See, I heard your mother's house was in foreclosure. I've got a signed and notarized document from the bank, and all I have to do is sign my name. Then your mother's house will belong to me," she said. She held the paper out, waving it back and forth in front of my face. I got a good look at the address and the notarized stamp. "I don't understand. Do you really think this will help you and Luke get back together?" I asked, shaking my head. Victoria scoffed and threw her head back, laughing. "Well, that's the beauty of it. It might not get Luke to love me back, but the threats are enough to send you running to the hills. Then he will be all mine," she threatened. "What!? You're going to risk your career and Luke's company just to blackmail me into leaving?" I snapped, my eyes nearly bugging out of my head. That was extreme, even for someone like her. I looked over Victoria's expensive Jimmy Choo's, her diamond charm bracelet, and the perfect sheen of her hair and nails. Her bracelet alone cost more than my entire outfit. She was a woman that was used to getting what she wanted and didn't care about paying a high price to get it. "If the land in the Caribbean goes to a competitor, Luke's company will take a big hit. So will the entire Carter resort, and all the little people on the island. That doesn't mean anything to me, but I know it means something to you," she jeered at me. "Do you have any conscience at all?" Her threat would do a lot more than hurt Luke. It could and would hurt thousands of people, their livelihoods, everything. From the crazed look in her eyes, I knew Victoria would do it, too. I was an obstacle to her, which meant I needed to be destroyed. I was nowhere near equipped to fight against a foe like Victoria. But I wasn't entirely defenseless. "You're horrible. What's to stop me from going and telling Luke about your threats?" I countered. "If he finds out you have those contracts and paperwork ready to go on my mom's house, he'll cut you loose." "Oh, honey, you think I didn't come prepared?" Victoria taunted. She grabbed her phone and unlocked the screen, scrolling through her files. "The best thing about this old house is that the stone walls have a lot of weak spots. You can hear everything from certain areas," she said. "So?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. I'd been with Luke the entire time I was here. There was nothing I'd said or done that she could use against me. At least, nothing Luke didn't already know about. "Seeing as I used to stay in that room with Luke, I know where to stand to listen," she said, flashing me a quick, challenging smile. My stomach twisted uncomfortably. I knew that Luke and Victoria had been in a relationship. She was obviously close to his family. Still, hearing about them sharing a room, the same room Luke and I were going to be in, made things too real. "Listen to this juicy gossip," Victoria said. She set her phone down and hit "play" on an audio recording. My voice rang out. *Of course, it's for the money. Why else? He's the type that pays for everything. Expensive trips, the lifestyle. All those things we could never afford. Why else would someone be with a guy like him?* "I think Luke will be pretty upset when he finds out you're just with him for his money," Victoria sneered. Lurching forward, I tried to grab her phone. "No, no!" she snapped. She snatched her phone away and tucked it in her purse, zipping it closed. "That isn't what it sounds like. You took it completely out of context," I argued. "Doesn't matter, does it? All Luke has to believe is that you were talking about your relationship with him," she said, laughing triumphantly. I looped my arms around my waist and shook my head. "He won't believe it." I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince Victoria or myself. It sounded incredibly incriminating, especially since Luke was paying for where I lived, took my on expensive trips, and had bought me nice clothes and shoes. I'd just listed off random things, but they all applied to our relationship. "Are you sure about that? Is it worth risking the project in the Caribbean and your mom's house?" Victoria asked. Sighing, I bowed my head. She had too much to hang over my head. "What do you want?" "Are you conceding already?" Victoria asked, giving a delighted laugh and clapping her hands together. "Tell me what you want," I insisted, glaring at her. Things had just started going right with me and Luke. The horrors of Aaron and Fiona were behind us. I should have known it was too good to last. "I want you to leave. And what I mean by that is, I want you to break Luke's heart, quit your job, and leave town. Never come back," she said. She crossed her arms over her chest, pushing up her breasts. "Wh-what?" I asked. "Why would I do that? If you make good on any of your threats, Luke will get rid of you and fix everything. He has the power." "Sure, he does. But that's assuming he doesn't believe me when I tell him you're a gold digger. With my recorded evidence, it will be hard to ignore," she said. "And if I go, then what?" I asked. "Well, I'll seal the deal for the land in the Caribbean in an ironclad contract so no competitor can ever get at it. Plus, I'll pay off your mother's house, in her name. She won't have to worry about paying a mortgage, and she won't have to leave that dump. Why she'd want to stay is beyond me." Victoria wrinkled her nose and held her hand up, examining her newly manicured, acrylic nails. I could still smell the salon on them. Sighing, I turned away from Victoria. It was a compelling offer. If I did what she asked, Luke's company would be set for a long time, and I wouldn't have to worry about my mom. On the flip side, I'd have to break Luke's heart–and never be with him again. If I stayed, Victoria planned to break his heart for me, anyway. I wanted to believe in our relationship, but I didn't know how he'd react to thinking I was a gold digger. He really didn't like being deceived. He might get too angry at the idea I'd lied to him and tricked him to listen to the truth. "If you leave, your mom is safe, and Luke's dreams in the company are safe. If you stay, your mom becomes homeless, you get fired, and Luke dumps you, and you crush his career dreams. Then, you'd have to leave anyway," Victoria's snide voice said behind me. A shiver ran down my spine as she started tapping her fingernails on the wooden table. I half expected her to scratch them along the wood, making a horrible sound. This was literal torture. "I don't want to hurt Luke. I care about him too much," I said, shaking my head. "Really? And what do you think you're fighting for?" Victoria asked snarkily. I turned to face her, creasing my brow. "You've never been in love, have you?" "Love? Is that how you feel? Because I promise, he doesn't feel the same. He's not capable," she mocked. "You don't know that! You don't know anything about us," I insisted. "You're jealous because we have something you never did." I pointed sharply at Victoria. For a second, a microsecond, she looked stunned. Then she smirked and reached for her phone again. "Let me show you how much Luke cares about you." She opened a video file on her phone. "Well, come take a look," she said, motioning me over. I didn't want to look. After everything we'd been through, I should trust Luke and his feelings for me. Like I was possessed, I walked over to the table. Victoria held the phone up to my eye level, her eyes lit up with hatred and triumph. "Note the date. That's two weeks ago. If I'm not mistaken, you and Luke were already f*cking at that point," Victoria said snidely. The video was really dark, but I could see Luke on the screen. He was walking through a door surrounded in pink neon lights. There was a creepy bouncer outside. "What am I looking at?" I asked. "This is Luke going into a well-known brothel in the city," she smirked. "How do I know that? There are no signs on the building," I pointed out. I stepped back, ready to attack her for trying to drive a wedge between Luke and me. "Look it up. The brothel's name is the Pink Slip. There were pictures online of that door. You'll recognize it," she said confidently. My stomach rumbled, and I turned away again. No, Victoria had to be lying!