wasn’t like that,” he said, standing. “You have to believe me. I was just trying to keep you safe.”
“I don’t,” she said, aware that she had started to tremble. “I don’t believe you. And I don’t trust you. I won’t trust you ever again.”
“If you’ll let me explain—”
She had only seen him look this crushed once before: the last time he’d betrayed her. “No. There’s no excuse you could give me that would justify you lying to me. You doubted me. Again. I’m finished.”
“Gracie, please—” He reached for her again, touched her arm and she ripped it away.
“Get out,” she said.
She could feel it coming on, the total collapse of her soul. She was crumbling from the inside out. She wanted to scream at him, and pound his chest with her fists, make him feel how much he’d hurt her. But at this point why bother? It was over. For good. And with that realization, the last of her will fizzled away. She just wanted to hide. She was so cold and empty she just wanted to curl up in bed, close her eyes and sleep until the ache in her heart went away. But she had the feeling that this time his deceit ran so deep, the pain would never go away. This was her so-called “gift” of seeing the best in everyone biting her in the ass again. She’d believed in Roman when he said he loved her, and had given him the benefit of the doubt when deep down she’d felt as if something wasn’t right. And once again she’d been burned.
“Gracie, please talk to me,” he said.
She shook her head. There was nothing to talk about. It was over. “Roman,” she said, her voice eerily calm, “I want you to leave, and I never want to see you again.”
Unable to even look at him any longer, she crossed the room and stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door and leaning against it, her heart pounding so hard and fast she felt light-headed and sick. So sick that she dashed to the commode, barely making it in time before she lost her dinner.
She sat on the floor, still in her gown, waiting for the tears to come, but she was so dead inside she just felt numb. The perpetual optimism was gone, and in its place something dark and cold took over, making her determined to hold on to and protect her heart, and never let another man hurt her again.
* * *
Gracie had an amazing dream. It was her and Roman’s wedding, and they were so happy and in love, but as she slowly woke and opened her eyes and realized where she was, the memory of last night came rushing back with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. She couldn’t even scrape together the will to lift her head. She’d been depressed before, but right now she felt utterly destroyed. And that was when the tears started, and they didn’t stop again for three days. She spent the entire holiday weekend in bed, sleeping, crying and hating herself for trusting him. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t concentrate and on Monday when she should have gone back to work, she called in sick.
When she finally worked up the will to get out of bed and charge her long-dead cell phone, she was bombarded by dozens of text messages and voice mails. But none from Roman, which made her feel both relieved and heartsick. An Agent Crosswell from the FBI and a federal prosecutor had left several messages. As a player in Dax’s campaign, of course she would be questioned and probably asked to testify. Just one more mess brought on by her “gift.” Or her curse as she’d now begun to see it.
Tuesday she finally ventured downstairs to the kitchen for a bite to eat, barely able to choke down a bagel with cream cheese. The wedding decor had been replaced with holiday decorations that would be up till the first of the new year. But she couldn’t enjoy it.
She was headed back upstairs, when she passed her father’s nurse, who looked surprised to see her.
“Miss Winchester, I didn’t know you were here.”
“How is my father?” She’d been so wrapped up in her own problems she hadn’t even thought to check up on him.
“The wedding took a lot out of him. He’s mostly been sleeping. He feels better today, though.”
“I should probably go say hello.”
“I’m sure he would like that. Your visits always cheer him up.”
“Take a break and I’ll sit with him awhile,” Gracie said.
With a frown, the woman asked her, “Are you okay?”
She must have looked absolutely awful. She hadn’t eaten or showered in days. She hadn’t even looked in the mirror. She was too ashamed to face her own reflection.
“I’m fine.”
“There have been a lot of calls since Thursday. Mostly from reporters.”
Well, that was no big surprise. They had been calling her, too. But she didn’t want to talk about it, or even think about it. “Thank you for the warning. I’ll call if I need you.”
She went to her father’s suite, knocking lightly before opening the door and peeking inside. He was sitting propped up in bed working on his laptop. When he saw her, he smiled. “Princess, I didn’t know you were visiting today.”
He obviously had no idea that she’d never left. And as she drew closer to his bed, his smile began to fade. “Princess, what’s wrong?”
With an ache that was all consuming, she sat beside him, laid her head in his lap and cried while her father stroked her hair. And it was exactly what she needed.
When she was all out of tears, he handed her a tissue and she wiped her eyes. “I suppose you probably heard what happened,” she said. “How stupid I’ve been. How he betrayed me again. I should have listened to you. I should have trusted you when you said he was no good for me.”
“But you went with your heart instead.”
She nodded. “You must be pretty happy that it’s over.”
“On the contrary. I think you’re making the biggest mistake in your life.”
His words took her aback. “But...”
“Be quiet and listen. Do you know why I insisted you attend that initial meeting with Roman, and why I asked you to get close to him?”
“To avoid another scandal.”
“There wasn’t going to be another scandal. I knew that Brooks was working alone to discredit me in the media, and that Roman had no part in his twisted revenge plot.”
Gracie frowned. “I don’t understand. Why did you make me do it, then? Were you trying to torture me?”
“I was trying to make you see what I’ve seen all along. That you still loved him.”
What? “But...you don’t even like him. You never did. You always tried to come between us.”
“I was jealous.”
His words stunned her. “Jealous? Of what?”
“Princess, since the day you were born, you were a daddy’s
