Hannah pulled her phone back out. She knew better than to call Will, though she itched to do so. It had taken him being admitted to the ER for her to answer his callsâshe could give him one night. Theyâd still be married in the morning. There was, however, one thing she did have to doâcall Riley. Maybe sheâd gotten the assignment as a stipulation of Jonathanâs money. Maybe not. Either way, the Nulty interview had to be perfectâto prove them right or to prove them wrong.
Riley answered on the second ring. âGood timing. Dannyâs got Cee in the bath, and Jo is in a milk coma.â
âWhich means I have like three minutes before someone is screaming?â
âNinety seconds, if weâre lucky.â
Hannah paused, bolstering her confidence. âWere you going to tell me that my father-in-law was the backer for Boston?â
âWhat? How... oh my god, Iâm such an ass. It was in the chain, wasnât it?â Rileyâs voice took on a weepy edge.
Crap. Hannah hadnât prepared for the baby blues. âIs that why you picked me?â
âNo. Oh, Hannah, no.â Rileyâs voice cracked. There was no doubt about the tears coming. Her boss might even be full-on crying. âHow can you even...? No. You were my first thought when I heard about it, and that never wavered. I told Nate it was yours if you wanted it. He didnât even tell me who the backer was at firstâprobably for that exact reason.â
Hannah breathed easy for the first time in hours. It had been about her. But there was still the matter of how it looked. âPeople are going to talk.â
âFuck âem,â Riley said, her voice suddenly firm.
âRiles.â
âIâm serious. You didnât ask your father-in-law to support our magazine. And anyone who questions your right to run the Boston edition can have a little chat with me. The New York office wouldnât be where it is today without you. You are the only one who knows how to start a magazine, because you did it with me five years ago. Even though your beat is Long Island, you have the most covers of anyone on staff. That isnât happenstance, and it isnât favoritism.â
Okay, she was going to cry too. Dammit.Â
Riley sniffled. âYou are the only one I trusted with this assignment.â
Hannah wiped at the tears brimming her eyes. Riley had always been her champion, but sheâd never had to champion for her before. âThank you for believing in me.â
âAlways.â There was a weighted pause between them. Not uncomfortable, but Hannah could feel a question burning in Riley. âDo you know why he invested?â
Hannah wasnât one for airing dirty laundry, but this was Riley. Did it matter that the investment had been an underhanded attempt to destroy Hannahâs marriage? Jonathan had taken a calculated risk. Heâd had no guarantee that Hannah would be the one sent to run the Boston edition, and he wouldnât have guessed that Hannah almost turned it down, because he still thought she and Will were acting. He was wrong, but his risk had paid off anyway. The truth wouldnât hurt Jonathan; it would only hurt Will.
âNo,â she said finally. âI have no idea why he decided to invest.â
Chapter 49Will
Will stared at the two messages in his inbox from Hannah. They had arrived the morning after their fight. Two days later, he still hadnât opened them. The emails could be about anything. Maybe it was her explanation and apology. Maybe it was her admitting that she wanted out. Either way, he wasnât ready. Everything about that afternoon still hurt. Heâd gone to his apartment only to check that Hannah was officially back in Boston, and then heâd returned to Danielâs love seat to await the call from his real estate agent.
Will closed his laptop and picked up the business card sitting on the table. Someone at Wellington Thorne, probably Grayson, had boxed up everything in his office and sent it to Danielâs place. After years at the company, he had a single box of belongings to show for it. The contrast spoke volumes. Will pulled out his wedding photo. He needed to read Hannahâs emails, and then he needed to talk to his wife. Her silence after the Madison debacle had been thunderous. It had broken him in ways he was still processing. He didnât want to do the same to her.
He pulled a card out of his Rolodex, surprised that it had made its way from his office and hadnât be confiscated as company property. It was another sign that Grayson had sent the stuff over. Jonathan would have included a seething message about how his son was a complete and utter letdown, and Jon wouldâve burned everything in effigy.
Will tapped the card against his leg, working up the courage to pick up his phone. Brady Douglas had been trying to get Will to leave Wellington Thorne for years. His firm recruited the best, and Will was nothing if not the best.
He dialed the number, his hands shaking. Maybe it had all been friendly banter from a competitor, something to ease the silence between opposing counsels. Will hit the call button and prayed for the best.Â
Twenty minutes later, after scheduling a lunch date with Brady Douglas and another with his top competitor, Will reopened his laptop. Hannahâs emails greeted him, bombs waiting to be detonated. It had been Willâs words, his insistence, that led them here. He couldâve heard her out. But her words that afternoon had spread through him like venom, poisoning the faith heâd had in their reconciliation. He clicked, starting the countdown to destruction. His vision blurredâit couldnât be a goodbye.
I wrote this email, deleted it, wrote it again, and deleted it again. Thereâs so much I could say, so many explanationsâexcusesâI could give. But I wonât. You were right to walk away. Youâweâdeserved better than that cruel tirade. Iâm more sorry than I know how to express. I do want to make this work.
If you believe nothing else, believe that I love you.
Will leaned back against the couch, a small smile loosening the tightness in his jaw. If you believe anything I said, believe that nothing is going on with Madison. Sheâd called back to his own sentiments from when heâd been at faultâwhen sheâd had to take him at his word. Hannah was asking him to do the same. Except he didnât doubt that she loved him. He doubted whether she loved him outside the confines of the pact. Those were fears heâd created himself the moment he initiated the pact instead of simply asking her out on a date. They were fears he hadnât anticipatedâthere was so much he hadnât anticipated. Her loving him at all had been wholly unexpected. There was only one fix, but putting it into motion risked the fragile equilibrium of their relationship. It was the only way to save their friendship.
He clicked on the second email, curiosity getting the better of him. What could Hannah possibly have had to add to that first email?
Jonathan funded the Boston project. I know things are a mess, and we have so much else to talk about, but I had to tell you. I didnât think... I was afraid you wouldnât answer, or you would, and weâd get sidetracked on other things. Important things, but not this. I donât know what to do with this information or if it even matters anymore. You left Wellington Thorne, and Riley assures me my assignment had nothing to do with the name of the backer. Do with this information whatever you must, or do nothing. I just thought you needed to know.
Will closed the email. Fucking Jonathan. The man never stopped. Will had thought, for the briefest of time, that the party and Christmas had assuaged his father. But no. Their unfailing love merely caused him to find a new way to get her out of the picture. It had been his fatherâs last attempt after sheâd refused to walk away. Whatever he invested in Deafening Silence was certainly less than Hannah would get in a divorce without a prenuptial agreement, and if she had been the one to leave Will, thereâd be no money going her way. It was quite the move on his fatherâs part. How perfect it wouldâve been if Hannah had turned down the position as sheâd intended. If that weekend in the Hamptons hadnât ruined everything, Jonathan wouldâve funded someone elseâs future. God, he wished he couldâve seen that play out.Â
He hit the Call button, resolve building in him.
âWill?â
âHey.â The sound of her voice was a balm to the scorch marks sheâd left on him. He could just say he loved her and everything between them was okay. It would be so easy. But no, he had to do this.
âIâm so glad you called,â she said, her words tentative but her tone hopeful. âIâm sorry about your faââ
âI want to dissolve the pact.â
Chapter 50Hannah
âI want to dissolve the pact.â
âWhat? No. Thatâs not what I want,â she said, alarmed. He couldnât mean he wanted to end thingsâto get divorced?
Hannah turned to face the ongoing photo shoot. Panic was setting in at Willâs words, but a portion of her mind still needed to pay attention to her crew. Everything seemed to be in order. No expense had been sparedâthanks, Dad. She picked at the fruit sheâd skimmed from the catering cart. Leonard didnât have much of a rider, so theyâd had to improvise. Fortunately, Hannah had read enough Wilderness Weekend interviews and attended enough shows to have gleaned some idea of Leonardâs foods of choiceâat least she hoped. The shoot was wrapping up, and Leonard chatted with the photographer.
Hannah turned away from the scene, wishing there was somewhere more private to have this conversation. âWhy are you doing this?â
âBecause I meant every word of our vows. And Iâm afraid that the pact is all thatâs keeping you in our relationship. Youâre stuck with me for a year, and it helps pass the time if youâre in love with me. Added bonus that the sex is great.â
âYou wrote that clause in the rules, not me,â she said, agitated. How could he throw that in her face?
âExactly,â he said. âI wrote in that we could date. You wrote in that our friendship was the most important thing. I may have needed to get married to get my family to take me seriously, to save my career, but I chose you because for me, there was no one else. I chose you, Hannah. I need you to choose me now.â
Behind her, the sounds of equipment being put away grew louder. She stepped further away, noting that Leonard was still talking to the photographer. Choose Will? Sheâd chosen him when sheâd suggested they share a bed. Then sheâd almost turned down Boston for him. Sheâd even said she loved him first. âThatâs not fair.â
âMaybe itâs not,â Will said softly. At least breaking her heart didnât seem easy for him. âBut this is your out. Choose me or donât. The pact has been this safety net keeping us together, and if weâre going to have any chance of abiding by Rule 5, it needs to end.â
She hadnât thought of the pact as a failsafe, not once. Falling in love negated the one-year clauseâat least, it had for her. Â âRule 5 was a pipe dream, Will! We were always either going to get divorced or fall in love.â Or both.
âI know that! Donât you think I know that?â Agitation finally showed in his voice. He clearly hadnât thought this through before calling her.