Page 73 of Ruin Me
Enclosed in his embrace, I could forget almost anything, and I hoped he gained more from our hug than I did.
“Times up.” The officer who’d led Kent here entered the room to escort him out.
Behind him, Ife stood, staring at me and Kent, still in each other’s arms.
I stepped back, bereft of his absence but with a new mission.
“What will you do now?” Ife asked once Kent and the officer left.
“Take Hal down. Do I have to do it alone?”
“Your priorities are whacked. My dad’s in jail for murder.” Ife sneered at me, and I felt it slither down my spine and settle in my heart.
“You don’t think I know that?” I whispered fiercely, upset by her accusation. “Kent wants him handled while Quarren takes care of the case. And I only want him focussing on getting out of here, so I’ll take whatever task he needs me to take off his plate as quickly as possible so I can spend all my energy on proving his innocence.”
Ife folded her arms and avoided eye contact with me. “So what’s your plan?”
I glanced at our surroundings. “Not here. I’d rather not have anyone listening in.”
“How about Dad’s old penthouse?” At my frown, she puffed a put-upon breath and rolled her eyes. “We agree we don’t want to be seen talking in public, right?”
“Right…”
“I don’t want you in my childhood home. I don’t want to be in your love nest. So the top penthouse makes more sense.”
Instead of addressing her acerbic tone about my current home, I brought up a potential issue. “Someone might see you on the grounds. Without knowing who Hal has in his corner, I’d rather not risk you showing up on the property.”
“Then where do you suggest, Mads?”
“No need for the attitude, Ife. We both want to look out for your father. How about my mom and dad’s place? We can trust them, it’s private, and I doubt anyone would check for you there.”
“Your parents know about you and my father? They approve?”
“After Carol abducted me, Kent and my mother had words about my living situation. There was no hiding our relationship after that. Plus, Mom’s approval comes with conditions. You can ask her yourself when we get to the house.” I passed Ife, having had my fill of her judgmental looks and silent accusations.
Part of me wanted to escape before she brought up her ultimatum again. I never answered her the first time, however, the what-ifs kept intruding on my thoughts.
What if Kent and Ife never reconciled because of me, could I live with the consequences? I would be depriving him of a relationship with his future grandchildren, and that would be unforgivable. What if the stress from their estrangement destroyed his love for me over time? Could I survive after sharing a life with him? I was confident in his devotion, but love wasn’t always the solution, and I never wanted to be the reason he lost anyone he loved.
At my parents’ house, Ife disappeared into the kitchen to help my mom. When she reappeared, we brainstormed various ways to expose Hal’s dealings with the mystery shareholder until we landed on one.
Exchanging ideas almost felt like the days we used to plot shenanigans we had no business being up to, or dream up our future lives and how we’d always be a part of each other’s families no matter what. Hope kindled in my heart that Ife could one day accept my new role in Kent’s life.
“This is the most perilous option,” Ife said with a satisfied sigh. “You’d bear all the risk if he caught you. Maybe we should hire someone to do the dirty work.”
Her suggestion stumped me. “Do you have someone in mind you can trust? After all, we’re talking about the company your dad built from scratch. Your inheritance. I don’t know about you, but I doubt anyone but us would work as hard to ensure he keeps his life’s work.”
“You have a point.” Ife bit her bottom lip as she contemplated our plan. “Okay, but nothing you said saves you from the risk you’ll take.”
“True, but as long as you distract him, I know I’ll find what we require. So all we need to decide is when you approach him.” I stretched out on the floor, surrounded by Post Its.
Ife twisted her lips. “That’s not all we lack to decide.”
“Huh?” I raised myself into a seated position, surprised I’d missed something.
“Without me, this plan won’t work. And everything else we thought up and discarded, we did so for a reason. They were shitty ideas.” Ife sat back on the sofa and folded her arms with a gotcha smirk on her face.
“What am I missing, Ife?”