Does She Know??

 

Ryan Edwards

She knows.

I don’t have proof, but I’ve been in too many boardrooms and survived too many interrogations to ignore gut instinct. And mine was screaming at me now.

Lily knows I’m hiding something.

She didn’t say anything outright. She didn’t throw accusations or slam a door. That’s not her style. But the shift in her energy since yesterday afternoon was too sharp to ignore.

She was fine in the morning—flustered, yes, adorably so after our accidental sleep-cuddle—but then she went quiet. Not just annoyed, quiet. Suspicious quiet. The kind of quiet that hums with unsaid questions and unspoken conclusions.

She didn’t meet my eyes. Barely mumbled goodbye as she hopped out of the car. And at the office, she avoided me with precision.

At first, I chalked it up to our… proximity. Maybe she was embarrassed. Maybe she was finally drawing a line. But when I got back to my desk that afternoon, I noticed the drawer was ajar.

The leather case inside—the one holding the Lang & Peregrine watch I had bought as a gift for her was tilted just enough to tell me it had been touched. I left the drawer open. The watch case was right there. Fuck.

Shit.

She saw it.

And now she’s connecting dots I prayed she wouldn’t.

I leaned back in my office chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. Theo, sitting across from me, raised a brow.

“You good?”

I dropped my hand and forced a shrug. “Just tired.”

“Of lying?” he asked dryly, sipping his coffee.

I glared at him.

He leaned forward. “You’ve got a ticking time bomb in your office. You planning to tell Lily the truth anytime this decade?”

“She’s not ready.”

“Or you’re not.”

I didn’t answer. Because he wasn’t wrong.

Telling Lily the truth wasn’t as simple as blurting out, ‘Hey, surprise, I own the company and several others and wear watches worth small countries.’

She already resented me for the past. Throwing wealth into the mix would just cement everything she hated.

I stood and paced to the window. Below, the city stretched like a grid of expectations I could never fully meet.

“I don’t want her to think I came back into her life to flaunt success,” I said quietly.

“Then don’t flaunt. Just be honest.”

“It’ll still blow up in my face. She is going to leave me and never look back no matter what I do. I can’t even bear the thought of losing her.”

Theo blew out a sigh.

I turned from the window, jaw tight. “She’s suspicious. She saw the watch. I need to deflect before she starts digging deeper.”

Theo tilted his head. “How exactly?”

“I’ll say it was a gift. From a client.”

“You think she’ll buy that?”

“No. But maybe it’ll buy me time.”

He didn’t argue.

Because time was all I had.

I couldn’t tell her yet—not until I was sure she wasn’t going to run again. Not until I knew she still had the capacity to forgive me.

Because the truth wasn’t just about money.

It was about her.

Theo leaned back and crossed his arms. “You’re betting a lot on—”

The door opened.

Both our heads snapped up.

Lily stood in the doorway, folder in hand, her eyes narrowing slightly as she caught the end of our conversation.

“You mean this watch?” I asked, looking at Theo as though we had been talking about the watch. “A client gave it to me after I helped him restructure his chain a few years ago,” I said, turning to Lily directly, keeping my tone casual. “Couldn’t bring myself to sell it, even when I thought about it. Guess I got attached to the memory. It’s stupid, but... I’m weird about things like that.”

Theo blinked but went along. “Yeah, he’s a sentimental pain in the ass sometimes.”

Lily raised a brow, then walked toward my desk, placing a folder down. “Sounds like it was an intense client.”

“Months of red-eyes and bad hotel coffee. Guy said I saved his legacy.” I smiled, shrugging. “Still feels too fancy for me. I usually just leave it in the drawer.”

She nodded, no comment. Her eyes lingered on the drawer—just long enough to confirm she’d heard what she needed. But her voice, when she finally spoke again, was detached.

“Well. Here are the vendor quotes you asked for.”

“Thanks.”

She turned, heading for the door.

And paused.

I watched her shoulders tense—just the faintest twitch. But she didn’t turn around.

The door clicked shut behind her.

Theo let out a low whistle. “You’re good.”

“No I’m not. I have to erase her doubts and suspicions completely” I sighed, stroking my chin and suddenly an idea popped in my head and it was perfect. “Hey, you still got that small budget apartment I told you to get me?”

He furrowed his brows but nodded. “Yeah. The keys are in my office.”

“Great. I knew it would come in handy”

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