Chapter 202

“Miles fired me,” I explain to Daphne. “Apparently Edward told him that he would back off once I’m gone.”

Daphne gives me a pitying look. “Did you actually believe that?”

“No.” But Miles did.

“He might back off for now. Maybe even for a while, through the election,” Daphne says. “But when he is president… When he has all that power and doesn’t have to worry about consequences… Esther, he will ruin your entire life. That’s if he doesn’t just have you killed.”

“You think he would truly go that far?” Hugo presses.

“I do,” Daphne says. “You didn’t see the way he was when…” She shrunk in on herself, going quiet for a moment. “And it’s not just you, Esther, that he wants to bring down. He’s going to go after Representative Hamilton, and everyone else that has tried to stand against him during his campaign.”

The warning hangs over our table for a moment, no one saying a word. I’m processing it, Hugo likely is too. Only Daphne has seemed to come to terms with the chaos and destruction that is sure to come – likely because she’s already living it.

“I should go,” Daphne says.

“Your food isn’t here yet,” Hugo says.

“I’m not hungry anymore.” Daphne reaches into her purse. When she pulls out her wallet, Hugo waves at her.

“Please don’t worry about that. I can take care of it,” he says.

“Thank you,” Daphne says and starts sliding out of her booth.

Before she can stand, I reach across the table. I don’t touch her. Instead, I grip the edge of her table. It’s enough to get her to stop and look at me.

“You don’t have to leave so soon, Daphne. It’s nice… getting to talk to you again. When we aren’t at each other’s throats.”

“We always argued, Esther,” Daphne says. “How many times did we give each other the silent treatment?”

“Too many to count.”

Daphne and I are very different people with very different ideas about things. Those differing opinions often came to a head when we were children. As impulsive as children are, this led to many disagreements and periods where we would try to ignore each other.

Those periods of silence never lasted for long. Also, they would end abruptly if one of us needed the other.

This feels different than all those times before, though. Living under the same roof then, we were always within reach when we wanted to fix things and make up. Now, Daphne is trapped in a cage in Edward’s mansion, and she’s in very real danger.

“Why don’t you stay with me for a few days?” I ask. “We can catch up.”

Daphne gives me a sad sort of smile, even as she lightly shakes her head. “That will only make things worse, Esther. To keep the peace, I have to go back and act like I never left at all.”

“But he hurt you, Daphne. If you go back…” He’ll hurt you again. I don’t want to say the words aloud, on the chance doing so might bring them into existence somehow.

“I know,” Daphne says. “But if I don’t go back, it will be worse.”

When she starts to stand up, I stand with her.

“Please, Daphne. I’m begging. Don’t go back to him. We could come forward with all the things that happened to us. If we do it together, people might believe us this time.”

We aren’t those mischievous kids anymore. We are respectable adults. One of us alone might not have much influence, but both of us together could pull more sway. Especially with Hugo backing us.

“If we come forward, the others might as well… We could finally bring Edward down. Together,” I say, pleading, my voice filled with desperation.

I can’t let Daphne go back without fighting for her. He might wait until after the election to come after Miles and me, but Daphne has to live with him. He’s already laid hands on her. That can only escalate.

She has to know that, but she still shuts herself off from me and my words, looking away.

“He won’t stop…” I say, my last effort. I want to save her, but I can’t if she won’t agree.

Her eyes damp, Daphne looks at me. “You’ll always be my friend, Esther.” It’s a nice sentiment, yet somehow, when she says it like she does, it sounds like a goodbye.

A bittersweet goodbye.

My chest aches. “Daphne…” There’s nothing else I can say. Short of restraining her, I can’t think of any other way to keep her here. Given our past, I would never try to keep her somewhere when she wants to leave.

Daphne looks at Hugo. “Thank you for arranging this meeting.”

“If you ever need anything,” Hugo says, “You have my number.”

“Thank you,” Daphne says again. She glances at me once more, regret in her eyes. It mirrors my own. Then, without another word, she turns and leaves the restaurant.

I watch her go, then stare at the door even after she’s gone. Leaving is what she wants, but if that’s true, why does it feel like I’m abandoning her again?

“Esther,” Hugo says, bringing me back into myself and this moment. I realize I’m awkwardly standing beside our table in the restaurant.

Cheeks flushing slightly, I sit down in the booth where Daphne had been, facing Hugo.

His expression is grim. “There’s nothing you can do. She has to be the one to make the choice for herself.”

I know that, and I still feel responsible. If I had been a better friend… If I’d tried harder to save her in the past…

“Tell me what happened with you and Miles,” Hugo says suddenly. He could be genuinely moving forward with the conversation, or he could be attempting to pull me out of my misery by diverting my spiraling feelings onto a different topic.

“Miles spoke to Edward behind my back. Edward told him that he’d back off of me, if I resigned.”

“Miles believed that,” Hugo says, skepticism in his voice.

“I think he wanted to more than he actually did.” I sigh. “He said even if it’s wrong, this is the only way he could try to keep me safe.”

“He’s impulsive,” Hugo says, “But his heart is in the right place.”

Like Cynthia, Hugo seems to be defending Miles. “I thought you’d be on my side.”

“I am,” Hugo insists. “But even I can understand the desire to keep you safe.”

“I can keep myself safe,” I say. “What this feels like is that no one trusts me.”

Hugo leans back and considers my words. “Your judgement has always been sound. Miles likely knows that too. He’s letting his fear of your harm dictate his actions.”

“Yeah, well, he should stop.”

Hugo hums. “You are his weakness. You have been for some time, maybe even from the start.” While Hugo thinks another moment, he looks at me as if he’s studying me. “Are you sure you didn’t meet Miles in your past at some point? He never struck me as the type to latch onto someone so quickly.”

“I would remember if I met a congressman’s son.”

“What if you didn’t know he was a congressman’s son at the time?” Hugo says.

“Then, I don’t know. If I did know him, I genuinely don’t remember. But it doesn’t seem likely.”

“Well, regardless,” Hugo says, “There is one thing you can do…”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Talk to him, Esther. You are his weakness. I have a feeling, even to protect you, he won’t be able to say no to you for long. Especially if you tell him what we know now.”

“He won’t listen…”

“He will. Because it’s you.”