#44 (Will makes a decision as Nicholas returns to Kingsport…)
“Nicholas?”
Nicholas Davenport turned around to see Will Montgomery standing behind him at Tiffany & Jo, Kingsport’s favorite coffee shop for those who could afford to sit in a café all day, every day and order ten nine-dollar cappuccinos. “Hey, stranger,” smiled Nicholas as he gave Will a tight hug. It had been years since they’d seen each other, despite the fact that they shared a niece in Faren. “Your big day is coming up, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” said Will in a low, voice. “Happiest day of my life.”
Nicholas gave Will a curious look because Will’s tone as one he knew all too well. “I have a few minutes…if you want to talk.”
“No. Nicholas, I can’t…” Will jammed his hands into his bespoke jeans. “You’re my ex-boyfriend…”
Nicholas gave Will a playful punch on his arm. “That’s why you can talk to me. I know your bullshit better than most people.”
Will placed their order with a passing waiter as they sequestered themselves into the back booth of Tiffany & Jo. “I guess you haven’t heard.”
“Heard what? I got back to town this morning. I’m staying with Dylan.”
“Are you moving back to Kingsport?”
Nicholas shrugged. “I’m not sure. We’ll see. Anyway, what should I have heard about, Will?”
“India leaked a story to the Kingsport Press about the issues and fights Connor and I have been having about the wedding. It was an absolute mess. My parents are livid, Connor is furious, and the whole thing is just one big minefield.” Will clamed up as the waiter dropped off their oat milk cappuccinos and two croissants with extra butter on the side. “Everything was going fine until India came back from Paris and now my life feels like it’s going to implode if I go through with my wedding to Connor.”
“You love Connor, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you letting India goad you, Will? She’s always been this way. No matter what you have, she wants it. I don’t think doubting your love for Connor is the wisest thing to do.”
“But he’s changed so much, Nicholas. With India back in town, Connor has been morose, sullen, quick to temper, and just…prickly… I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“Well, India has done her best to ruin his life, too. Maybe you two should close ranks where India is concerned and forget she exists.”
Will mulled over Nicholas’ words for a long while. He knew his ex-boyfriend had a point. Will also knew that Nicholas only wanted what was best for him without the veil of a hidden agenda lurking in the shadows. “You don’t have to be so nice to me,” teased Will.
“You’re not that bad, Monty.” Nicholas gave Will a wink as he said the nickname he’d bestowed on Will so many years ago. “Look, for what it’s worth, I want you to be happy. From what I’ve heard about you and Connor, you guys are pretty solid. Letting India ruin your happily ever after won’t solve anything. We both know if it’s not Connor, it’ll be someone else who’s the object of India’s obsession. You can’t let her win, Will.”
“I’m not,” protested Will.
“You are,” insisted Nicholas. “If you call off your wedding to Connor, India has won. I promise you that, Monty.”
“Then what should I do?”
“I can’t tell you that,” said Nicholas, carefully. While he loved Will for more years than he could count, he knew better than to give too much of himself to this man. “I think you know what to do.”
Will nodded in agreement. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, his ex-boyfriend, the first man he’d ever loved, was now the only person who made him face the reality of the situation. Despite what India said or did, Will loved Connor and he was determined to make him his husband, no matter what.
“Jill, we need to talk.”
Jill Stanhope Montgomery rolled her eyes as she smoothed the invisible wrinkles from her sun dress in the expansive master suite in the mansion she shared with Warren and their daughters. “I’m meeting Lisa for a late breakfast at the country club. We can talk later.”
“No, we’re going to talk now,” Warren said in a firm, unyielding voice.
Jill turned to her husband with a curious look in her eye. “Don’t take that tone with me, Warren. I don’t work for you.”
“I spoke with India the other day. She told me something very intriguing.”
“God. I don’t know why you bother listening to her. We all know what she’s like.”
“You see, that’s the curious thing. I know exactly what she’s like, Jill. I also know when she’s lying to me.” Warren walked behind his wife and placed his strong hands on her trembling waist. “I know you told India about Billy and Connor’s fight,” Warren whispered into her ear.
Jill did everything in her power to stop from screaming out of sheer astonishment. “That’s a lie,” stammered Jill. “I never…”
“You were at the estate that day. My mother confirmed you were there. I also know that you were in the vicinity of the English garden where my mother and Sheila were having a private conversation.” Warren’s eyes flashed with heated fury. “I want the truth out of you, Jill, and I want it now.”
Jill turned to her husband with fear in her heart. She couldn’t believe that Warren would trust anything India told him, but she had to correct this situation before she lost everything she’d worked so hard to keep. “It…India threatened me. I…only told her about the fight because she was going on and on about the wedding,” lied Jill. “I thought she might want to know that Will and Connor weren’t very in love that day.”
“Do you understand what you’ve done?!? Billy and India have always had a horrible relationship. She’s been after Connor for years and she’s the one who leaked the story to the press because of you! My family has been humiliated! Billy’s been in bits! People are gossiping about my family like we’re some common reality TV trash!”
“Warren, I didn’t know…”
“You knew exactly what you were doing, Jill! Do not insult my intelligence by stating otherwise. You know how unstable India can be and yet you weaponized her mental health because you disapprove of Billy’s marriage to Connor!”
“That’s not true,” cried Jill. “Warren, please! You have to believe me!” She fell into his arms with heavy sobs before he pushed her away from him. “You disgust me. What you’ve done… It’s vile, Jill. I can’t stand to look at you right now,” spat Warren.
“What are you going to do?” asked Jill in a small, pensive voice.
Warren glared at her with vicious contempt. “You don’t deserve my mercy, but you will do two things in return for me not telling my family that you told India about Billy’s private life.”
Jill looked up at Warren, her red eyes on display. “What?”
“You will attend Billy and Connor’s wedding. Hannah and Kate will be flower girls in the wedding, too. End of. We will not have this conversation again.” Warren grabbed his car keys from the dressing table before turning to his wife, who sat motionless on their handcrafted bed. “Oh, and Jill, if you keep playing games with my family, you will lose. I will see to it.”
Jill waited for the sound of her husband’s car to disappear before she rose from the bed, dried her eyes, and began to reapply her make-up. Yes, she knew exactly what she had done when she gossiped to India. And, for a brief while, her plan had worked. However, one thing Jill knew for sure was that anything could happen between now and that infernal wedding. In that moment, Jill resolved to do whatever she could to ensure Will’s wedding never happened…even if her history with Connor proved to be the final salvo in this deadly game.
In our next installment, Ada confronts Barbara as Alison prepares for the future…
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