The Liberation of Alice Love - Abby McDonald [139]
She nodded, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.
“Right, then.” Nathan let out a sigh, and for a moment Alice hoped he might reconsider, just calm down and try to understand.
Instead, he walked away.
She turned back toward the restaurant, clutching her jacket forlornly in her hand as her dress clung to her in wet patches and water dripped down her face.
“What did he mean, your name is Alice?” Nadia was sheltering in the doorway, arms folded.
Alice stopped. “I’m sorry.”
Nadia’s eyes widened. “You mean—it’s true? But…why?”
“I got, carried away.” Alice felt even more shameful than ever. Nadia was blinking at her from behind her thin glasses, utterly confused. It was a feeling Alice knew all too well.
“I don’t understand.”
“My name isn’t Ella,” Alice admitted. “And I’m not a legal assistant, either. I just…I made it up.”
Nadia blinked. “But…” She gaped at Alice for a long moment, before finally finding the words. “What is wrong with you?”
Alice dropped her head.
“I thought you were my friend!”
“I’m sorry,” Alice said again, meaning it. “I know how you feel!”
Nadia shook her head. “I don’t believe this. What are you, some kind of con woman?”
“No! I swear, I was never going to do anything. I really like you—”
“Just get away from me!” Nadia recoiled, as if Alice was some sort of freak.
“But Nadia—”
“No, I mean it. I…I trusted you!” Nadia’s voice broke. She backed away, angry. “I don’t understand…”
“Please, if you just listen—”
“No!” She shook her head, recovering. “Don’t you get it? I never want to see you again.” Pulling open the door, Nadia disappeared back into the restaurant. Alice could see her through the window, hurrying back to her table, no doubt to tell her date what a psycho Alice was.
She sighed, slumping back against the glass. Rain was still drizzling in a steady stream, but Alice found that she didn’t care one bit about the damp or cold. It was over now. She couldn’t just flee her lies like Ella had done, easy and quick. No, Alice’s consequences were tangled around her, the wreckage clear in Nadia’s hurt expression and Nathan’s angry tone.
It was over, and she’d ruined everything.
Chapter Thirty
Alice spent the next week wallowing in regret, but the space and time she hoped would give Nathan some perspective had clearly only set him further against her. No matter how many pleading messages she left or explanatory emails Alice sent, he still wouldn’t so much as acknowledge her existence.
“Just call me back, please. I know you’re angry, but I think if we just talked about this…” Alice trailed off, hearing herself uselessly parrot the same lines she’d been cluttering his voicemail with ever since their fight. “I really want to explain, so just…call.”
She hung up. Alice hadn’t thought it possible to feel more wretched than when she stood outside that restaurant in the rain, but she was wrong.
“Still no luck?” Cassie passed her a consolatory cocktail, but Alice pushed it away. She’d done enough tearful drinking: now it was time for amends. If she could even get him to pick up her calls.
“No.” Alice gave a defeated sigh. “Another name for the list of people not talking to me. What is it up to now? Nadia, Julian, my supposed clients…” Even Flora had disappeared to her studio all week for an intense painting session, leaving Cassie the only sympathetic ear around. Well, somewhat sympathetic.
“Aw, screw him,” Cassie argued. She stretched her legs out on the couch, taking a long gulp of her own drink. “It’s not like you broke any laws. I checked.”
Alice shook her head. “I don’t care about the law; I care that I hurt them—him and Nadia. They trusted me, and I…I lied.”
Cassie rolled her eyes, clearly not as concerned about the ethical nuance of human relationships, but she gave Alice a conciliatory pat nonetheless. “I’m sure they’ll calm down eventually.”
“No, they won’t,” Alice answered grimly. “And they shouldn’t, either. I deserve it all.”
***
Alice dragged herself through the next long, lonely days without any of the sparkle and romance she’d