Chapter 347: I Will Never Betray You

"I don’t want anything from you. Do you believe me?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I don’t," Edie said.

Clyde smiled deviously. "I guess I’m going to have to show you that I’m telling you the truth. You know I would never hurt you. Right?" he said.

Edie couldn’t help but think. ’How can I believe a word he says? He always talks around the truth.’ She turned away, so he couldn’t see her face.

"We haven’t really had a chance to talk," he said. "After all this time, how are you and the Greg’s been?" he asked.

Edie quickly turned her head and glared into his eyes. "Don’t you know all of this already? I thought you had me investigated," she said, her voice quavering.

"You can thank your husband for that. I couldn’t find a thing about you. It’s been erased as though you don’t even exist," Clyde explained.

Edie’s blue eyes widened. "I didn’t know. How do you know Stuart did it?" she asked.

Edie remembered how Stuart looked at her this morning. ’All that remains of our marriage is a cold war.’ She thought. She closed her eyes and searched for her heart. She could feel so much sadness. Edie tried to answer Clyde’s questions calmly. "My mother died ten years ago, and on her deathbed, she begged Stanly Greg to take off me." She paused to take a breath and continued as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "The whole family, except for my grandpa, hated me, and when I was eighteen, I left as fast as I could without looking back. After that, I went to college, and here I am."

"I’m sorry. I had no idea how hard your life has been," Clyde said in a sympathetic voice. He clenched his fists together and fell into silence.

"What about you?" Edie asked.

Clyde was a little surprised. "I...never expected you would want to know about my life," he said. He was silent for a moment. "My life’s been rather simple. I studied abroad, got a band put together, held a painting exhibit and then a concert," he said, sounding full of himself.

"You’re one of those upper-class people. Having everything you want." Edie smiled and said, "We live in different worlds. What did our parents think when they made this arrangement?" Edie asked, sounding suspicious of their motives.

Clyde stopped and stood in front of her. "No, you don’t understand. Your life should’ve been like mine," he said with excitement in his tone.

"What’s the deal?" Edie said, looking confused. "Are you saying, if my mother hadn’t lost contact with your family, then she wouldn’t have been poor? Is that what you mean?"

"Didn’t your mother tell you anything about your past?" Clyde asked.

Edie shook her head. "No, not really. All I know is she broke all ties with her family because of Stanley. There was never anyone from the Lara family that came to visit her." Her voice got lower and lower as she finished her sentences. "I don’t even know where my mother was from."

"We’re here," Clyde said as they stopped in front of the hotel. Suddenly he got a strange look on his face. "I have to go. There’s something I need to do," he said as he lowered his head to hide his face.

"Wait...." Edie said softly. There was so much she wanted to know about her mother, but right did she was asking Clyde about her personal life. She went straight to her room and laid down on the bed. She fell asleep quickly and slept for several hours before waking up. Her first thoughts were of Stuart. ’I miss him so much. He must be so disappointed with me. I let him down not only last night but this morning too.’ Edie looked around for her purse and realized, and she had left it in the dressing room with her cell phone. She reached over for the phone on the night table beside the bed. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her wits and dialed Stuart’s number.

"Hello," he said. His voice sounded cold and strained.

"Stuart," she said, her heart racing.

Hearing Edie’s voice, Stuart’s tone changes to one of deep concern. "Did something happen? Are you okay?" he asked. "Did someone hurt you, I’ll kill them!" His eyes became slits of fury, thinking someone may have hurt her.

"No, I’m okay. I have something I want to talk to you about," Edie said in a low voice.

Stuart narrowed his eyes. "Okay, I’m listening," he said.

"I want to talk to you about the other night." Edie paused and took a deep breath. "I lied to you. I didn’t go out with Rhonda, I went to the hospital to visit a friend. He made me promise not to tell anyone and that’s why I didn’t tell you the truth." She tightened her hold on the phone. "Are you still there?" Silence. She could hear only his breathing. "I know you must be mad at me," she said, her voice quivering as she spoke.

"No, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself for not allowing you to trust me enough to tell the truth," Stuart said, sounding disappointed in himself.

Edie let out a sigh of relief. "I won’t keep anything from you again."

Stuart’s brows came together as he squinted his eyes, and worry lines appeared across his forehead. "I can forgive you for almost anything, except for betrayal. Please don’t ever betray me," he said.

Edie shook her head. "I promise, I will never betray you," she said softly. "I’m so relieved, and I finally talked to you."

"Me too!" Stuart said. "Are you working?"

"No, they let everyone go early today. I’m in my room, resting," she explained.

"Good! You didn’t get much sleep last night. Get some rest," he said. Stuart’s voice was so deep, so soft, and it was almost lulling her to sleep as she lay in the darkness.