Chapter 5

• Kate looked at Meghan with a furrowed brow; seeing her hesitate was very suspicious.
• "Well?" Kate insisted, as the young woman remained silent.
• Meghan bit her lip; her hands were clenched into fists, and her nails were digging into her skin, the words stuck in her chest.
• "I, I am..."
• "Kate!"
• Harrison's shout was a relief for Meghan; the air escaped from her lips and a small sigh relieved the tension in her body.
• Harrison hurried over and stood next to Kate, who had turned to look at him.
• "Harrison, do you know this woman?" Kate asked eagerly.
• Meghan swallowed nervously as she waited for a response from Patrick's friend.
• "Oh! Of course, let me introduce you to Meghan Summers, she's a friend of mine," he hurried to say, walking over to stand next to the young woman and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
• "She's your friend?"
• "Yes, she is," Harrison assured, under Kate's suspicious gaze.
• "If she's your friend, what is she doing in Patrick's apartment?" Kate, very intelligent and intuitive, wanted to know.
• Harrison's hand rested on Meghan's narrow waist, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Kate.
• "Meghan has had some trouble with her brother, she asked for my help. I told Patrick about the situation and he didn't hesitate to lend a hand. He let Meghan stay in the apartment."
• Kate looked at them.
• "So, do you know where she's staying?"
• "In the hotel suite," Harrison replied without hesitation, it was no lie. So there was no need to hide it.
• Kate nodded; she wasn't one to go out and look for her cubs, but she also had no reason to. Patrick never stopped coming home, and the few times he did was because he was with Astrid and she couldn't intervene; however, his future daughter"in"law was not in New York.
• "Do you want me to tell Patrick you're looking for him?" Harrison asked with a nervous smile on his lips, hoping Kate would leave.
• "No, it's not necessary. I'll wait for him at home," she replied, giving Meghan a glance.
• "It was nice to meet you, Meghan, right?" she asked to confirm that Harrison wasn't lying to her and giving her a fake name.
• "Yes," the young woman whispered.
• "I'm Kate, Patrick's mother. I'm sorry if I've been a bit abrupt with you, but you caught me off guard. I didn't expect to find a woman in my son's apartment," she hurried to say.
• "It's me who regrets inconveniencing you, ma'am. Your son has been very kind to let me stay," Meghan replied, talking about Patrick wasn't easy, especially in front of his mother.
• Kate nodded.
• "If there's anything I can do to help you, don't hesitate to ask Patrick to take you home," she said, looking at Harrison.
• "I'm afraid there's not much you can do, Kate. You'll be going on your honeymoon," Harrison murmured.
• "No matter where I am, that's what phones are for," she retorted with a slight smile that made Harrison swallow hard.
• "Thank you for your offer, Mrs. Kate, I'll keep it in mind," she replied, hoping that was the ray of light she was waiting for; however, she was aware that it might not be that easy.
• "I'm leaving, I have a dinner to attend," Kate mentioned, turning on her heels and leaving, not without giving a serious look to her son's best friend.
• Harrison let go of Meghan's waist as quickly as Kate disappeared into the elevator; he took her arm and led her inside.
• "That was close," he said.
• Meghan frowned.
• "Why did you tell her we're friends?" she asked, although that had left her with a golden opportunity to ask for help.
• Harrison looked at her, not answering; instead, he walked to the minibar to pour himself a glass of whiskey; he needed it urgently. Lying to Kate Ferreira was not easy, and if she found out, he would be in trouble.
• Meghan followed Harrison as he ignored her.
• "Aren't you going to answer? Did Patrick ask you to do it?" Meghan asked insistently.
• Harrison drank the contents of his glass and placed it on the fine wood.
• "Kate must not find out for anything in this world that Patrick won you in a bet," Harrison said.
• Meghan raised her eyebrows.
• "Why?"
• "Because if she does, she will kill him."
• "Don't be dramatic, she doesn't seem capable of harming her own son; besides, Patrick is to blame for accepting," she said, her rebellious vein making her say things without thinking.
• "You're right, I blame myself for allowing him to do it. Patrick is not a man who enjoys gambling; however, he tried by all means to get your brother to go home and stop betting; Paul is stubborn and didn't want to accept it. If it hadn't been Patrick, it would have been any other man, and I assure you that your luck would be different," Harrison explained firmly in response to the young woman's accusation.
• Meghan swallowed the lump in her throat.
• "Patrick... does he have a girlfriend?" she suddenly asked, as if it were necessary to do so.
• Harrison frowned.
• "Does it matter?"
• "It's the only way I can trust that he won't have any interest in me. You both talk about me falling into the hands of a criminal, but I don't know them and I don't know what intentions they have with me. I have been used by my brother as a bargaining chip in a casino. What do you expect me to think? What opinion can I have of the man who won me in a game?"
• Harrison scratched his head.
• "Patrick is a good guy."
• "And you?" Meghan asked, sitting on the couch.
• "That depends on the moment; nobody is entirely good or bad, Meghan," he said. "Of course, if you attack me, I will defend myself, and the same goes for Patrick; however, you can trust both of us."
• Meghan bit her lip.
• "Did he send you?"
• Harrison shook his head.
• "I came on my own, and I'm glad I did. What were you going to tell Kate?"
• "To be honest, I was about to tell her that Patrick won me in a bet, but the words didn't come out of my mouth; I was very nervous and scared," she replied, shrugging.
• "Are you going to stay with Patrick?" Harrison asked.
• "I don't know."
• "You don't have many options, Meghan."
• "I know that too, but I'm supposed to be your friend, what story am I going to paint in Patrick's life if he's just helping you?"
• Harrison hadn't thought about that when he introduced himself as Meghan's friend; he didn't even consider the fact that Meghan would be with Patrick all the time.
• "I have to talk to him, we need to find a solution to this mess and I have to do it before Patrick goes home or Kate will uncover our lie," Harrison said, walking towards the door.
• Meghan hurriedly got up from the couch to try to stop him, but she didn't make it in time and, once again, she was left alone.
• Meghan's cheeks flushed as her stomach growled in protest; it had been a very long day and she hadn't eaten since noon. So, with all the sorrow in the world, she was forced to raid Patrick's kitchen...
• Daisy checked the time on her watch; it was past eleven at night, and Meghan hadn't returned. She also hadn't heard anything from Paul, and something told her that nothing good had happened after she left them alone in the living room. She had a feeling that her friend's idiot brother had done something stupid again.
• The young redhead stood up when the door opened; she was expecting to see Meghan, but it wasn't her best friend.
• "Where is Meghan?" she asked, approaching Paul. The smell of alcohol repelled her, and she took a few steps back.
• "Don't ask me about her," Paul replied with difficulty, his tongue tangled due to the amount of alcohol he had consumed.
• "Why shouldn't I ask about her?"
• "Don't get involved, Daisy; what happens between Meghan and me is a sibling thing."
• "You're not her brother; you're just a source of problems for Meghan. The cause of her sleepless nights, don't you have a heart?" Daisy criticized him harshly.
• Paul gritted his teeth, as pain pierced his heart.
• "Meghan won't come back, Daisy," he murmured.
• "What? What do you mean she won't come back? What have you done to her!?" she shouted, scared to see Paul's eyes filled with tears.
• "I... I didn't mean to, Daisy. It wasn't my intention," he sobbed.
• The young woman's heart shook, and her mind couldn't help but entertain terrible ideas.
• "Where is Meghan?" she insisted.
• "I bet her and lost her."
• A slap echoed in the room; Daisy's hand burned while Paul's cheek bore the marks of her five fingers, his face turned by the impact.
• "How could you do this!? "he shouted. Daisy was outraged by the way Paul was speaking. Who the hell did he think he was to sell Meghan as if they were in medieval times?
• "I know I shouldn't have done it, but I didn't think I was going to lose. I should have won the game!"
• "You're sick, Paul, and the worst part is that you have turned Meghan into the victim of your damn illness. You have dragged her into misery and pain, filled her life with sadness and anguish."
• Paul fell to his knees in front of the girl.
• "I didn't mean to, I didn't want this to happen. Meghan is all I have, all I have left."
• "You're wrong! "Daisy shouted, tears in her eyes and her throat tight with emotion". Now you have nothing, Paul, you lost Meghan and without her, you have absolutely nothing."
• "What are you talking about? "he asked, bewildered.
• "I don't want you in my house anymore, Paul; I'm tired of you and your nonsense. I have put up with you all this time because of Meghan, but if she's not here, you have no business in my house. Get out right now!" she shouted angrily. Daisy's chest rose and fell quickly, filled with anguish at the thought of Meghan in the hands of God knows who. It hurt her not to have been able to save her, not to have prevented Paul from taking her away.
• "You can't do this to me." Paul whispered, dejected, kneeling on the floor.
• "Of course I can! I am doing it, Paul!" she shouted.
• "I have nowhere to go..."
• "It's not my damn problem!" Daisy retorted promptly. "Get out or I'll call the police!" she threatened.
• Paul didn't want trouble with the authorities, so he got up clumsily and left the apartment, leaving Daisy in a sea of tears, suffering for Meghan's uncertain future.