Chapter 22
I imagined him admitting everything, begging forgiveness, discovering too late that the woman he had thrown away had been the reason his life worked.
In those fantasies, his apology healed me.
The real one didn’t.
It couldn’t.
But it also didn’t destroy me.
That was how I knew I had changed.
“I believe you’re sorry,” I said.
Hope flickered across his face.
I stopped it before it became something else.
“That doesn’t mean I forgive everything tonight.”
“I know.”
“And it doesn’t mean we become friends.”
“I know.”
“And I need you to correct the story.”
His expression tightened.
“The press?”
“Yes.”
“Khloe—”
“Not my medical details.”
He nodded.
“Just the lie.”
He looked at me for a long moment.
“What do you want me to say?”
I almost answered.
Then I realized that would be one more time I wrote Julian’s words for him.
One more time I built the language while he delivered it.
So I shook my head.
“You’re smart.”
His face changed.
“Figure it out.”
For the first time that night, I smiled at him.
Not cruelly.
Not lovingly.
Just finally without fear.
Then I walked away.
Gabriel was waiting near the entrance.
He held out my coat.
“How bad?”
“What?”
“The final conversation.”
I slipped my arms into the coat.
“Strangely civilized.”
“That sounds disappointing.”
I looked at him.
“You were hoping for violence?”
“No. But I was prepared to dramatically remove my cuff links.”
I stared at his hands.
“Why the cuff links?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
I laughed.
He smiled.
Then his expression softened.
“You okay?”
I took his hand.
“Yes.”
This time, it was true.
Outside, the cameras were still waiting.
The moment we appeared, reporters began shouting again.
“Khloe!”
“Gabriel!”
“Khloe, are you and Gabriel engaged?”
“Is the baby a boy or a girl?”
“Gabriel, when did the relationship begin?”
“Khloe, did you confront Julian?”
I stopped at the top of the steps.
Gabriel turned toward me.
I could see the question in his eyes.
Keep moving?
I looked at the cameras.
Two years earlier, I had run from them.
Tonight, I stood still.
Not because they deserved me.
Because I was no longer afraid of being seen.
One reporter shouted, “Khloe, how does it feel to be back?”
That one I answered.
“Good.”
Flashbulbs exploded.
I smiled.
Then Gabriel and I walked toward the car.
Inside, I removed my heels immediately.