TOWARD THE DISTANCE Chapter 15

On the drive back, Cade called Lily. His voice was flat — emptied out, like a building after a fire.

"Where are you? Come to the house. We need to talk."

Lily practically sang. "When? Right now?"

"Now."

He hung up before she could say anything else.

By the time he arrived home, Lily was already there — and already making herself comfortable. She was in the living room, giving orders to the housekeepers with the easy authority of someone who had been waiting for this exact moment for a very long time.

"Take all those paintings down. They're ugly. If we're going to hang art, let's get real art — expensive stuff. And the carpet needs replacing. I'll send you a brand —"

She was wearing one of Elena's nightgowns. Cade noticed it the second he walked in — a soft, cream-colored thing that Elena had never actually worn, still hanging in the closet with its tags on. Cade had bought it for her months ago, as a quiet gift, something gentle and intimate.

On Lily, it looked like a costume.

"What are you wearing?" Cade's voice came out dangerously quiet.

Lily spun around, delighted. "I found it in the closet! How does it look? I think it suits me —"

"That's Elena's. She hasn't even worn it yet."

Lily misread the room entirely — she thought he was teasing, maybe even flirting. She laughed and twirled the fabric playfully. "Isn't that more exciting? Something forbidden —"

Cade crossed the room in three strides and yanked the nightgown off her shoulders before she could react.

Lily shrieked. "What are you doing —"

He didn't look at her. He pulled the fabric free, smoothed it once, and threw it on the floor — away from her, as far as his arm could reach. His face was stone.

The housekeepers fled. Lily stood there, exposed and shivering, and for the first time, something like fear flickered in her eyes.

But she recovered fast. She always recovered fast — it was her greatest talent and her greatest flaw. She wrapped her arms around herself and stepped toward him, smiling again.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. I know what you like —"

"You don't get to wear her clothes," Cade said. Each word was precise, deliberate, like he was reading from a script he'd written in his own blood. "You don't get to touch her things. You are not allowed in this house."

Lily blinked. The smile faltered. "But… I thought —"

"You thought wrong."

"Cade —"

"You sent her those messages." He pulled out Elena's phone — the one with the recovered SIM card — and held it up so Lily could see the screen. Every message. Every photo. Every cruel, calculated word, laid bare in the harsh living room light.

Lily's face went white.

"You told me not to contact her," she said quickly. "I just —"

"You lied to me. From the beginning, you lied." Cade's voice didn't rise. It didn't need to. The coldness in it was enough. "You sent her photos of us together. You sent her proof. You wanted her to find out."

"That's not —"

"You wanted to force the issue. Push her out. Make me choose." He stepped closer. "And I chose wrong. I chose you. And because of that, the woman I actually love is gone."

Lily tried one more time — the tears, the trembling lip, the wounded-bird routine she had perfected over years of practice.

"I did it because I love you —"

"You love the idea of being Mrs. Harrington," Cade said. "You love the money. The house. The lifestyle. You never loved me."

He picked up his phone and called security.

"Remove her from the property."