Undressed By His Arrogance-Chapter 255: I Don’t Know

Joey shrugged. "I don’t know. Maybe Trish told her."

Winn nodded once. "Uh...makes sense."

"How are you dealing with that?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I guess it’s for the best. She will be safe from me." Winn sighed.

"You’re going to allow it?"

"What do you want me to do, Joey? Drag her by the hair? Throw her over my shoulder? Lock her in the Orchard mansion until she remembers she belongs to me?"

"What am I supposed to do? I tried to marry her once and look what happened. She almost died. We lost a child. We have both just been pencils in the hands of my family." Winn snapped.

Joey swallowed hard. Even from across the room he could feel that crack in Winn’s armor widening. "Just call your sister okay? I don’t really understand the full gist dude, but she is still your sister."

"Is she?"

Joey shifted uncomfortably.

"Winn... come on. Don’t be like that. You guys have been through some shit together." Joey said.

"I have been through shit, Joey. Not her."

"I protected her so she wouldn’t get shit! I took blames for stuff she did and got hit for it." His chest rose and fell rapidly as old pain clawed its way up. "Do you even remember that my most important criteria for finding a wife was someone who would be able to tolerate her in my life? Your wife hated me because of her!"

"I took hit after hit after hit for her!" he continued. "She knew Tom wasn’t my father. She kept it from me. She knew he was manipulating me, she helped him do it."

"And right now," Winn whispered, "I can’t bring myself to speak to her because I am even more afraid to find out what more she has done... what more she is capable of."

His throat worked as he swallowed.

"I can’t talk to her because I am afraid, Joey, that my sister... could have done more."

He turned his face away, jaw clenched hard. The weight of the truth pressed into his bones until he thought he might crumble under it.

Winn wished to God he could tell Joey everything. Every twisted secret. Every piece of evidence. Every suspicion. But how was he supposed to look his best friend in the eye and tell him that the prime suspect in the death of Joey’s wife—was Sylvia.

His own sister.

A woman Joey had once loved with all of his heart.

And a woman Winn wasn’t sure he recognized anymore.

"I get it, Winn. I do. It just breaks my heart that you both have come to this."

Joey said it quietly, as if raising his voice might shatter the fragile balance Winn was barely holding onto. He stood there awkwardly, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Me too. But I have bigger problems right now."

He rubbed his forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache born from too many sleepless nights and too little peace.

Bigger problems.

Ivy’s engagement.

Tom’s schemes.

Sharona’s chaos.

Sylvia’s secrets.

His family’s shadows.

"Alright. I’ll see if she can give me the message instead," Joey said.

He sounded almost relieved to be escaping the emotional minefield.

"Thank you."

Just then, Lydia came in. "Mr Kane, Mr Everest is here to see you."

"Ok bye!" Joey quickly said.

"What? Where are you going?" Winn asked, eyebrows shooting up.

Joey was already halfway to the door.

"I’m not going to be a buffer between you and Evans this time, dude," Joey finished and escaped from the office as if pursued by the devil.

Winn groaned. "Coward."

"Send him up," Winn said.

Evans Everest.

They had barely seen each other since the day Evans punched him in the face.

Winn wondered if he would have to turn the other cheek now.

Soon, there was a tap on the door and then it opened.

Winn straightened, bracing himself.

But it wasn’t Evans Everest.

It was Sam Everest—in all his immaculately dressed glory.

Sam stepped into the office.

"A multi-million-dollar corporation and you have no elevator. Shame on you," Sam announced as he tapped his cane on the floor.

Winn chuckled as he rose to his feet, smoothing his shirt. "What are you doing here, Sam? I would have come to you if you called."

Sam waved him off, shaking his head as he limped toward the chair across from Winn’s. His cane clicked in annoyance with every step. "No. No. What I needed to say, I didn’t need anyone else around." He sat down slowly.

"What’s going on? Is Ivy alright?" he asked. His heart sank lower with every second it took Sam to respond.

Sam scoffed. "I will not be having this conversation again with you." He pointed at Winn with the tip of his cane. "I am not going to beg you to be with my granddaughter, but I just need to know—before I give her my blessings on this engagement—What the fuck are you doing?"

Winn dragged a hand through his hair and moved toward him, pulling a chair closer so they could speak closer.

Winn sat, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. "I love her, Sam. I’m sure you know that by now."

"Boy, love isn’t the issue. Love is cheap. Everybody loves Ivy—she’s beautiful, brilliant, kind, stubborn...The question is: what are you doing with that love? Because from where I’m standing, you’re doing jack shit except breaking both your hearts."

"Every time I touch her, something bad happens. She almost died, Sam."

"And you think marrying someone else will stop bad things from happening to her? That’s not love—that’s cowardice."

"You love her. She loves you. That’s the goddamned truth."

"I am not done. I am not done finding out what really happened. And I am afraid that the things I plan to do," Winn continued, "will make me... unavailable for her." He exhaled shakily. "It’s okay that she has someone else who seems like he cares for her."

Sam’s eyes narrowed. "You think you’re going to go to jail?" he asked bluntly.

(Yay to 400 power stones. The week is almost over, so i doubt we can get to 600)