Destined for Deception ✔️

Chapter 28

"What is so urgent that I had to come all the way up here?" Ryleigh asked, stepping into Julie's bedroom. Julie had had a servant come to the infirmary to tell her that Ryleigh's presence was requested.

Ryleigh stopped to close the door behind her, then looked up. "O, Sky's here too." She waved at the warrior sitting backwards on Julie's desk chair, her arms crossed over the backrest.

"I'm glad you could make it," Julie said.

"If this is an intervention, I'm out of here." Ryleigh let her gaze flit from Sky to Julie, sifting through their memories. She smiled. "Alright. I can get behind that."

Julie procured a bottle of wine from the desk behind Sky, as well as three glasses. "It's been too long since we caught up. It was time the formidable girl squad got back together."

"Formidable girl squad?" Ryleigh said, progressing into the room. She walked to one of the comfortable chairs in front of Julie's fireplace and, with some effort, dragged it closer towards the centre of the room.

Julie shrugged and started pouring wine into the glasses. "We always got along, didn't we?" she said then, handing Ryleigh a glass, and then Sky.

"Yes, which was odd, seeing how we were stuck in a very strange love triangle. It's a bit ironic neither of us ended up with him."

"Unlike you, I'm not a fan of irony," Julie said. She took her own glass and sat down on her bed, her legs folded underneath her. "Nor does Austin appreciate it much."

"Austin made his choices, and so did we." Ryleigh pulled up one of her legs and sipped from the wine. "I must say, I'm a bit disappointed by your memories. That goes for you, too, Sky. I had really thought you two would've caved by now."

"Caved?" Sky said, raising a brow. She was still sitting backwards on her chair, loosely holding her glass in one of her hands.

"Yes. Conall's still chasing after you, isn't he? You don't have to answer that. I've read his memories. I know how he feels about you, and I think you know too. And Ellis is definitely still chasing after you, Jules, and you're still keeping him at a distance."

"Well, he did lie to me," Julie said. "And he tried to sabotage my relationship with Austin. He knows how much I value honesty, and still he chose to manipulate me instead. I can't just forgive that."

"Hasn't he redeemed himself by now? He's trying – you know that. And I remember how scared you were when he was dying. You didn't leave his side a single second."

"He is still one of my best friends," Julie said. "That does not mean I'm in love with him."

"Hmm-mm." Ryleigh swirled her glass around a little, watching the red liquid slosh. "Your rosy-tinged memories tell a different story, though. Come on, Julie. You love him. How much longer are you going to make him suffer before you give in?"

"I'm not drunk enough for this conversation," Julie said, tipping her glass to her lips.

"Me neither," Sky said. "Ask again once we've burned through a second bottle. Not that there's anything to say. Conall's a jerk, and that's that."

"But he's your jerk," Ryleigh said. "Surely that makes a difference."

"Nope." Sky downed half the contents of her glass in one fell swig. "He's unreliable and I don't do unreliable."

"You say that like you've been doing much of anything," Ryleigh said. "You've been standing still since your mate died. You've only ever been with one man. You can't exactly speak of a pattern."

"You know, you're one to talk," Julie said, pointing at Ryleigh with her glass. "Austin told me about your conversation yesterday. He told me about you and Parker."