Lightening struck my soul as my entire body trembled as an ominous thought flashed through my mind.
He cast a cold glance at me, then placed a call to the hospital.
"Gilly, If you had just behaved yourself for once and not stirred up trouble repeatedly, I could have ordered the hospital to allocate todays' kidney to your father!"
I threw myself at his feet, desperately clutching at his boots for mercy.
"It was my fault! I'm sorry! I'll apologize to Miss Pruitt right now. I'll get on my knees for her!"
"My dad can't hold on much longer. He's waited so long. Please..."
Clark's hand paused mid-motion.
But Corinne suddenly started gasping for air, looking like she might faint at any second.
"Clark, I'm fine... I just have a weak constitution. It's not her fault."
Maura caught her by the arm and burst into crocodile tears.
"Corinne, the last time you had an allergic reaction you nearly died! She's trying to kill you!"
Clark's brow knotted tight. He stepped back, his tone final.
"What you did today was beyond unacceptable. If you don't face consequences, you are never going to learn!"
He picked up the phone. His voice was ice.
"Cancel the kidney transplant for Gillian Fox's father. No rescheduling for three months."
Those words landed on me like a death sentence. I crumpled to the floor, numb, remembering how he'd finally agreed to help find a kidney donor for my father, how he'd called hospital after hospital on our behalf.
He'd wrapped his arm around my shoulders and whispered reassurances in my ear.
He'd said that once Dad recovered, he'd take our whole family to New Zealand, buy a ranch, and let my parents spend their golden years somewhere sunny and peaceful.
And he'd propose to me in the most beautiful place in the world.
All lies. Every last word. He'd just been stringing me along.
I was locked in the Farley family's basement, thrown into filthy standing water.
My claustrophobia hit full force. I couldn't stop shaking, couldn't stop the tears and snot streaming down my face.
I was on the edge of losing consciousness when the iron door opened.
I stumbled out in a daze and found the living room TV on. Corinne Pruitt's smiling face filled the screen.
She and Clark sat shoulder to shoulder, practically fused together.
Hanging from her earlobes were the Farley family heirloom earrings, the ones reserved only for the family's bride. In her hands she held up a document.
"Thank you to Clark for giving me thirty percent of Farley Group shares as an engagement gift. I couldn't be happier."
"We're planning to see the Northern Lights in Norway and have a simple destination wedding. Nothing too extravagant."
Clark tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his face soft with adoration.
I opened my phone. Messages flooded in like a tidal wave.
Friends. Former classmates. Strangers on the internet.
Every single one of them asking me the same thing, barely hiding their laughter.
Mocking me for being the Farley family's unpaid maid for five years, only to be kicked to the curb.
Saying the Farleys' so-called standards for choosing a bride had been a joke from the start, a game played at my expense, and now Corinne got to marry in without lifting a finger.
Saying I was delusional. An ugly duckling who thought she could become a swan, who believed a little suffering would buy her a seat at the table.
The insults and ridicule hit like stones against my face. I was the real clown, a fool who'd spent five years of her youth performing in her own pathetic circus.
My phone rang. Clark's voice came through casual, almost careless like it was even a hassle to inform me.
"Corinne said she needed to put on a show for her family. I was just playing along."
"Once things smooth over with her parents, we'll go to New Zealand and get married."
I hung up without a word. The memories of past sliced through my flesh as if my entir heart was peeled raw.
Clark Farley, did you ever once stop to think about what I've endured? What made you so sure that every time you looked back, I'd still be standing there behind you?
The moment I stepped through the Farley estate's front gate, I saw my mother running toward me with a bankbook clutched in her hand, her eyes red and swollen.
She saw how pale I was and pulled me right into her arms so tight it hurt. Her voice shook hard.
"Gilly, my baby girl. You've suffered enough."
"I sold the family heirloom. We have the money now. Come with me. We're leaving."
I wiped my tears and nodded, firm.
We went straight to the hospital, arranged an overseas transfer immeditely before booking the next available flight.
As the plane climbed into the sky. I finally leaned against my mother's shoulder, holding my father's thin hand in releif before snapping my SIM card in half.
Clark Farley, this is where it ends. I hope, for the rest of this life, we never meet again.
