One week. That’s how long it had been since I lost the one happy thing I had in my life. Richard had texted. He’d called my flip phone, over and over. He’d left messages, long ones, letting me know that he knew what Travis did, and that he was so, so sorry. It was a relief to hear his voice on the messages.
It was a relief to know that he didn’t blame me.
But I couldn’t talk to him.
I was terrified that if I went back to him, I’d commit myself — and Bella — to a life I didn’t understand. A world full of millionaires and billionaires. And people who’d judge me, and look down their noses if they found out about my agreement with Richard.
That’s what Travis had done. He thought because I let Richard pay me to be his companion, that I was up for grabs. That I’d lie down for any man who’d pay me enough money.
It made me feel cheap and ashamed. I was lucky that Richard knew what happened. What if he’d believed Travis’s lies? One rich person’s lies could ruin my life more than it already was.
Bella and I had escaped one life full of lies and deceit. I would not take us back to another.
Lily pounded on my door. “It’s been a week. We’re going out. You have got to take a break from that apartment.” She rattled the door handle. “Open up, or I’m using my key.”
I cracked the door. “Hey. I’ve been going to see Bella everyday.”
“That does not convince me that you’re not depressed.” She shoved her leg into the door, forcing it open. “Let’s go.”
I let Lily drag me to the Sweet Lime Café. My former boss had been kind to me, even though I hadn’t gone back to work yet. I still had enough of the money Richard had given me to coast for a little while. I still hadn’t decided if I was going to save it, or use it to pay tuition, or if I was going to quit school all together until Bella was older.
The thought of making any decisions exhausted me. Maybe I was depressed.
Lily put a glass of orange juice down in front of me. “Okay. You’ve got your citrus now. Start talking.”
So I did. I told Lily everything, only leaving out a few of the most private details about the club that I wasn’t allowed to share. She soon got the gist of our arrangement, that Richard had offered me a life of comfort in exchange for my submission.
“You. You, Chrissy Evans, straight-laced, rule-follower, all-around good girl extraordinaire, had a Sugar Daddy.”
“Lily!” I swatted her arm. “Keep your voice down. It wasn’t like that.”
“It was very much like that. You meet a very rich man at a place you won’t mention, he liked the look of you, and you agree to sleep with him in exchange for living in his mansion and receiving his gifts. Sugar. Daddy.”
The server stopped by to deliver bagels to both of us, and thankfully Lily quit yelling about sugar daddies. But she wasn’t done. “I can’t say that I’m not shocked. I am. I am very shocked. But from everything you’ve told me, Richard is a decent guy. Maybe you should consider giving him a second chance.”
I grabbed my bagel and started spreading on the cream cheese. For the first time since I left Richard, I was hungry. Being out with Lily was clearly good for me. “Are you kidding me?” Lily was the last person I would have expected to advocate for Richard getting a second chance. “I thought you were supposed to be on my side.”
“I am on your side.” Lily took a bit of her bagel. “That’s why I’m telling you to re-think this. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would allow his best friend to behave like that, if he’d had any idea that was possible.”
“You might be right. But you and I both know that if I don’t take care of myself, no one will. This was just proof of that. I was in a mansion with a billionaire, and had staff all around us, and I got attacked. There was no one to help me.” I rested my elbows on a table that I’d spent many hours wiping. The life I’d had before wasn’t fancy, but it was mine. I could live it again. “And Bella is too young to take care of herself. It’s up to me. No one else is going to do it.”
“I’m not telling you to throw caution to the wind and marry the guy. I’m just saying maybe you should date him. Give it another shot.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I need to focus on Bella, and on my school work.”
Lily threw her hands up. “Fine. I’m not going to bring it up again. You’re responsible, you know what you’re doing. Just think about what I said.”
I scooted my chair closer to her. “I will. Thank you for always being there for me.”
“Always,” she said. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
After Lily left, I asked a refill on the orange juice and settled myself into my chair. I felt comfortable at the café, and Lily had given me a lot to consider.
