Chapter 42: The Diamond Ring and the Scars
679 Words
Allie Brooks stared at Adam Hart in disbelief. "Your mother wants to meet me?" she repeated, her voice teetering between shock and dread.
Adam nodded, his expression unreadable, but his tense posture betrayed his discomfort.
"Why?" Allie pressed, crossing her arms. "I don’t even know her."
"She thinks you’re my girlfriend," Adam admitted, his voice quieter now, as though saying it out loud made it all the more absurd.
Allie froze, her stomach twisting. "What?!"
Adam’s piercing blue eyes met hers, his tone firm despite the faint blush on his cheeks. "She doesn’t believe me when I say we’re not together. You’re the first girl I’ve ever brought home."
Allie’s mind raced back to Robert Hart’s birthday banquet. Adam had dragged her along, a ploy to deflect attention and fend off Felicity Montgomery’s advances. At the time, she’d thought little of it, but now it was clear how the Hart family had interpreted things.
"Adam, you’ve got to be kidding me," Allie said, exasperated. "You need to tell her the truth. Explain it, deny it—do whatever you have to, but fix this!"
"I tried," Adam said, his voice sharpening slightly. "She doesn’t believe me."
Allie groaned, running a hand through her hair. "Then keep trying. Explain it ten times if you have to."
Adam’s gaze darkened, his expression unreadable. "You just don’t want to be associated with me, do you?"
Allie blinked, taken aback. "What? That’s not—"
"Never mind," Adam cut her off, his voice cold and clipped. "I get it."
Without waiting for her response, he turned on his heel and walked away, his shoulders stiff with tension.
"Adam!" Allie called after him, but he didn’t look back.
She stood there, stunned, the sting of his words settling over her like a cloud. Why did every interaction with Adam feel like walking a tightrope over an emotional chasm?
Shaking her head, Allie decided she needed a break. Lunch had been a bust, but the thought of a steaming bowl of beef noodles from the snack street just outside campus lifted her spirits slightly.
As she approached the school gates, however, her steps faltered.
A sleek red Ferrari was parked nearby—a car she’d recognize anywhere.
Nicholas Lawson leaned against the hood, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The sight of him smoking was jarring.
When had he picked up that habit?
He saw her immediately, his dark eyes locking onto hers.
Allie’s heart clenched, but not in the way it used to. The raw, gut-wrenching pain of their past had dulled into a distant ache. Seeing Nick now didn’t send her spiraling; it only reminded her of what once was—and what could never be again.
Nick stubbed out his cigarette and walked toward her, his movements deliberate.
"Allie," he said, his voice calm but heavy with something unspoken.
"Nick," she replied evenly, standing her ground.
For a moment, they just stared at each other, the silence between them stretching like a taut wire.
"I was thinking about when we were kids," Nick began, his tone soft but laced with nostalgia. "Do you remember the diamond ring I gave you?"
Allie blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift. "The one you stole from your mom?"
Nick smiled faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. "Yeah, that one."
She did remember. They had been kids—Nick just thirteen, and she ten. He’d presented the ring to her with all the seriousness of a real proposal. At the time, it had felt like the most romantic gesture in the world.
"That ring got me into so much trouble," Nick continued, his smile fading. "My parents thought I sold it. I didn’t tell them I’d given it to you. Took the beatings and the grounding without a word."
"Why?" Allie asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Nick’s eyes bore into hers. "Because you were worth it."
The words hung in the air, heavy with implication. Allie’s breath caught in her throat, her mind racing.
"Nick, I…" she began, but her words faltered.
- Writer
