Page 235 of The Heart You Kept

“There was one night when we were all fried that things got a little out of hand.”

“Like how?”

“Hermione asked us to stop. We couldn’t.”

I get another visual, I know how Edward gets when he’s fucking hard and in the moment. He’s like an animal.

“God,” I whisper.

“Anyway, the next day I was horrified by Hermione being upset and I called Isadora and I told her it was never happening again and that’s when things turned ugly.”

“Ugly how?”

“She told both me and Hermione that she was in love with me.”

Of course she did.

“When I told her that it was just a purely sexual thing for me she exploded and demanded I end it with Hermione for her.”

I stare at him, shocked to my core, what the ever-loving fuck is this story?

“Around this time I had already made my decision that Hermione and I needed to end. This was toxic for both of us, we were both trying to be something we couldn’t. But then Isadora threatened to go to the press and so I stayed to support Hermione through it.”

I blink, just when I think this story can’t escalate…. Up it goes.

“You must understand, Alora, Hermione is the Crown Princess of Switzerland, can you imagine the absolute fucking nightmare if this gets out?”

“My god,” I whisper.

“Hermione’s father, the king, has already threatened to kill me for hurting his daughter when I broke up with her. Can you imagine the carnage if he finds out what has actually gone on?”

“Fucking hell, Edward,” I whisper.

“So basically the story in a nutshell is, at the time I thought we were having harmless fun and that Hermione was enjoying it too. Looking back, though, that wasn’t the case, and I was absolutely in the wrong and that is why I have tried to protect Hermione from the press. That is why I have kept you hidden. She has been through enough.”

“Does anyone else know about this?” I ask.

“No. My closest friends. That’s it.”

“And your staff?”

“They don’t know the details, none of them were ever around and we were always very discreet.

“But they do know that Hermione and Isadora had a falling-out because she professed her love for me. The day Isadora lost it she was screaming the yacht down and everyone was there.”

I take a huge gulp of wine, unsure what to even make of this situation.

Just what the actual fuck?

“Here you are.” The server puts a big bowl of pasta down in front of me and I look down at it, I just lost my appetite.

He begins to eat while I sit and watch him.

“I feel so out of my depth here.”

“Do you not remember where we met?” He takes a mouthful of food. “You’re not exactly an angel, Alora. Like I said, if I had an inkling that this was ever going to hurt Hermione, I would never have done it. She’s a beautiful person, she doesn’t deserve to be blackmailed by a former friend.”

“I know, but….”