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"Just getting acquainted," I offered.
"And that's how I want you to stay—acquaintances," he snapped, and the mixed look of hurt and jealousy in his eyes hurt my soul. I'd never seen Sawyer jealous or feeling threatened by anything until then, and I felt it necessary to reassure him.
"Don't speak to me as if I were one of the Charlottes of this world, Sawyer. I deserve better than that. When all is said and done, he's still your brother. What happened is why we're together. My view of him compared to yours differs significantly because of this. I don't condone for a minute what he and Charlotte did, but like he said, there were two of them, not just him. Charlotte still has her family, but what does he have? I'd say he's taken his punishment and in the short time, I've met him he's readily poured his heart out, like he needs someone to listen. If as you say there is truly nothing between you and that girl anymore, it may be the time to hear what he has to say."
"Seriously, Billie? You have no idea…"
"That's right, I don't. I'm trying to be objective. Bear in mind how I've seen how Charlotte has tried every which way to monopolize your time this evening, while James has stood on the sidelines. His actions say a lot more about him as a person than hers do, yet she's the one you appear willing to make all the concessions toward."
"We're not doing this, not today," Sawyer snapped again. I knew Charlotte and James were a touchy subject, but from my perspective, I also had information Sawyer hadn't been told on the matter. I figured it might have made a difference and could pave the way to him listening to what James had to say.
"You're right. We're not, but this conversation isn't over. I'm a big girl, Sawyer. What James did was a monumental betrayal, and it created a massive family feud, but if you're determined to make it with me, maybe you need to consider if this thing between you and James can ever be reconciled. Because like you said, you and I are all that matter now."
The furious look he cast was alien to me, but after my pointed comment, the one he used on me when my confidence waned, I felt determined to hash out our feelings about James and Charlotte once and for all. Otherwise, I'd be forever wondering when the day would come when she'd wear Sawyer down, just like James said she did with him.
Moving around the social groups, Sawyer chatted as if the exchange between us had never taken place until I slowly relaxed again, and we slipped back to the feeling of closeness I normally felt when we were together.
Ronald called Sawyer over and they were soon deep in conversation with the two older men besides his father. I was finishing a conversation, so I didn't go with him. Seeing him deep in discussion, I slipped out for a trip to the half bath restroom down the hall.
I was under the impression Charlotte and James had gone because I hadn't seen them since my brief conversation with James almost an hour earlier. This was my mistake; I should have known she was watching me. As soon as I left Sawyer's side, Charlotte attempted to hijack my bathroom break for the second time that week. This time, I was better prepared and the resistance she met wasn't as expected.
Eventually, she stopped trying to push me backward and I let the door close behind me, effectively pinning myself against it. Using her height to tower over me, she began to tell me my fiancé belonged to her.
"Why are you persisting with this? I mean, you made a choice when you slept with James. Hell, you almost had a child with him." My breath caught in my throat as I hadn't meant for Sawyer's brother's disclosure to pass from my lips.
"Ha. Really? James told you of all people about that?" she hissed, her face close to mine. "You think I really would have had the wrong brother's baby? He thought I'd gone to an OBGYN prenatal appointment, but I went to have a chemical abortion instead. They told me it would be a day, maybe more, before it passed, but that night he insisted eating before we went home, and the meds worked a lot faster than I expected."
"Did all of what you just told Billie happen, Charlotte?" The revulsion in Harriett's shaky tone hinted at how hard she found it to contain her disgust at Charlotte's unfeeling disclosure. The directness of her question cut through the thick air of tension that existed between us. "Back away from Billie right now," she demanded through gritted teeth.
"What the hell is going on?" Ronald's low authoritative tone asked as he strode out of the great room and stopped in the hallway beside us.
"Stop," Harriett said to Ronald, holding her hand up before whipping her head back around in our direction. Fighting to contain her fury, she took a deep calming breath to maintain her composure before casting a hurt look at the girl again. "I need you to leave my home, Charlotte." Harriett's voice was measured and deliberate but with an angry undertone, and the look on Charlotte's face was one of sheer and utter shock.
"What the fuck is going on?" I heard Sawyer say as he came into view with one of his cousins. Ronald looked at his wife as if he'd never seen her so mad, and I wanted to shrivel up in a corner for having resurrected an old family feud again.
"I want her out," Harriett, said again.
"I'll go and find James," a young female bystander, said.
"No, get Carter. He can take her. Please ask James to stay. I want to speak to him later."
"It's not true, Harriett, I only said it to—"
"Quiet. Not another word," Sawyer's mom hissed in response to her protestations, as Carter, an elderly gentleman in a pristine black suit, white shirt, and black tie, came from behind the cousin sent to bring him to Harriett.
"Please, take Charlotte home," she instructed him. "And tell your parents to expect a call from me first thing in the morning," she added to her.
"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" Ronald hissed under his breath, his glare flitting from me to Charlotte, and lastly, to his wife.
"Yes, of course, Ronnie, but a little later, if you don't mind. We have guests to attend to," his wife told him before inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly, and slipping effortlessly back into her cool, sophisticated manner. We watched as the door closed behind Charlotte, the woman who had caused an untold amount of damage to her once close family.
Without being told, the small crowd of people who had gathered in the hallway dispersed, some back to the great room, some to the entertainment tent, while I stepped back into the restroom and quietly closed the door.
Less than ten seconds later, Sawyer knocked on the bathroom door. "Billie?"
Swallowing roughly, I cracked it open and he pushed it wider. "You mind telling me what happened out there?"
"You know what, Sawyer? I'm tired of the world revolving around Charlotte. This was supposed to be our time together. Our engagement. Instead, I feel like I've stepped into a war zone, but with people who behave polite and restrained when they should be kicking the crap out of one another."
