Best Kept Lies (Best Kept #3)

Chapter 47: Keep Lying To Me

My chest is hollow and I can hear the sound of my rapid heartbeat through my ears when I reach the Cunningham house. There's a rush of blood creeping up my neck, coating my cheeks until they burn and the tips of my ears too.

            Jasper's off today. I know he has a lot of homework to catch up on, so I wasn't going to bother him, but this realization calls for a little bothering.

I get out of the car and rush up the sidewalk to the front door. I ring the doorbell and knock on the door quickly, hoping to get a faster response. In seconds, the door swings open and Jaylen's on the other end. His brows narrow. "You do not look happy," he says.

            I step inside. "Is Jasper in his room?"

            He nods. "Everything okay?"

            "I don't know," I answer honestly. "Thanks."

            Running up the stairs, I reach the landing in a matter of seconds. I'm slightly out of breath, but it's easy to ignore because my heart feels like it's about to leap from my chest. Right now I wish it would.

            Jasper's door is partially opened and I do the pleasure of opening it the rest of the way. "Tell me she's lying," I say.

            He spins around in his desk chair, confusion written all over his face. "What?"

            "Tell me Victoria's lying. Tell me you're not one of them."

            Jasper stands. "What are you talking about? One of who, Ella?"

            I step closer to him. "One of the guys she tried setting me up with."

            The blood drains from his face the moment his expression falls.

            "God, I'm such an idiot!" I spear my fingers through my hair. "How the hell did I not see this before? You conveniently started working at my favorite diner when she started this..."

            "But there's more to it," he rushes, stepping up to me. "Just please, let me explain—"

            "Explain what?" I explode. "You were in on this with my sister! My sister, Jasper. Is that even your real name? Was your family in on this to?"

            "What? No! Gosh, no, they weren't in on this. That is my real name and this is my real family. They had nothing to do with this. Everything was real, Ella—"

            "And how am I supposed to believe that?" I plea. "You've been lying to me since the day I met you!"

            Jasper closes in on me and takes my face into his palms. "I've never lied to you, Ella, the money meant nothing—"

            My eyes burn with unshed tears. "Money? What money?"

            When he doesn't say anything, I have my answer.

            I brace my hands on his chest and push him away from me. "She paid you to be with me? Is that how you got the money for your computer?" Tears roll down my cheeks freely. "Of course it is. And I thought it couldn't get worse." I angrily swipe at my cheeks. "You were paid to be nice to me and paid to actually pretend we were friends. You...you were paid to kiss me." My chest pinches and I struggle through a quiet sob. "I feel so stupid."

Jasper takes another step forward, causing me to step back. "I never lied to you," he chokes out. "Not once, Ella. I swear to you I never lied."

            "You lied about my sister," I retort. "How did you meet her, Jasper?" I'm still in denial.