Tomorrow Will Be Too Late by Ellen Wolf

will have enough occasions to discuss it further in the future, my sweet . ’
    This was insane , and she had to stop it, Kate thought desperately, a sense of foreboding making her whole body shake uncontrollably. He meant it, she could tell. He really thought they would meet again, and something told her he had a perfectly good reason to expect it. Whatever it was , he would share it with her now, her anticipation almost too much to bear.
    ‘ You see, I got your number from my friend , ’ he said quietly, his voice almost pleasant if not for the note of steel that was woven through it. ‘ This and an assurance what a wonderful girl you are, Kate . Hard - working, pretty , and creative.’ He saw her blank expression and shrugged, his features almost regretful. ‘ All true, as far as I can say. Because you are pretty, very much so.’ The way he said it made it almost an insult , she thought, her heart sinking even lower. ‘ And you are hard working and creative, I can attest to that as well . ’
    ‘Look, I don’t know any of your friends, Justin , ’ she interrupted, unable to take it any longer. ‘I ’ m very sure that we don’t really frequent the same circles now , do we? ’
    ‘But we will, very soon , too.’ His smile never wavered, his handsome face serene. ‘ Or rather, you are going to be a part of what you so pleasantly called my circle, Kate . Indirectly and through family, but nevertheless, you are moving up on the social ladder.
    ‘You see, one of my very good friends had decided to marry a very sweet and loving girl, much to the chagrin of his mistrusting family, I ’ m afraid to say. They think she might be after his money and position, Kate.’ He could see the realization dawning upon her face, because he nodded, unperturbed. ‘ Yeah , I think you ’ re starting to get it, sweetheart. So, as I said, he has decided to marry her anyway, and he asked me to be his best man. He understood it was a rather sho r t notice, but explained that the maid of honor would be equally new to the process, having just come back home after a rather long absence. It was supposed to make me feel a bit better, I think. ’
    He paused and looked at her as she stood speechless, her head spinning. It was impossible, completely and utterly impossible, was all that she could think, over and over again. C oincidences like that didn’t happen , not in real life anyway .
    ‘ Thomas really insisted on me being the best man, Kate . ’ His words reached her and she blinked, trying very hard to appear equally calm. ‘ Told me about this great sister Alice has. A very professional and artistic woman who h ad just returned from Australia . I would even risk say ing he was attempting a bit of matchmaking there. He went as far as to show me a photo of her, together with his fiancée. A very nice shot, if I say so myself. ’ His voice cooled even more, something she would have consider ed impossible up to this very point. ‘ Poor guy has no clue that we already have some history together, does he? I wonder what he would think if he knew that his fiancée’s baby sister is really very different from what he has been made to believe? I wonder if he would start to doubt his judgment al together , by any chance?’
    That was it. She could see it with brilliant clarity now. If she wasn’t sure before what made him come to her house, gloating like a conqueror dealing with the spoils of his won wars, she didn’t have to wonder any longer. He had come here to make sure she knew how vulnerable she was to him and whatever he decided to do next. Not directly , of course, but then again , her sister’s future was as close as it got to her own skin. If he hoped for her to beg him to keep his mouth shut , he had another thing coming . Her rebellious spirit might have suffered a major dent, but she was nobody’s pushover, not even the man whom she had helped to destroy .
    She paused, appalled at her own thoughts. She had done the