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“He’s no good for you,” he tells me, grabbing my arm. “You need to be taken care of.”
My face drops, and my hand comes up to my mouth. I feel the sting immediately piercing my eyes. “I can’t believe you.”
“Cece, you don’t understand,” he tries explaining, but I shake loose of his grasp. “Cecelia!”
I ignore his pleading and walk through the door. Maddox is about to pull me close when my father grabs my arm from the other side. “Honey, please. All I want is what’s best for you.”
A heartbreaking laugh comes out of me. I feel the tears slide over my cheeks as I pull my arm away from him. “And all I wanted was for you to want what’s best for me, too.” I turn back to Maddox. “Let’s go.”
He nods and takes my hand. We hurry down the hallway toward the elevator. He hits the elevator button, then turns to me, holding my face in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he whispers to me.
More tears fall from my eyes, and his thumbs wipe them away. “Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?”
“Because I didn’t want to make you feel like you had to choose. I thought it was better to make you think I was still the idiot who didn’t care about anything but himself.”
My hands come up and rest on top of his. “So, everything you said that night?”
“None of that was real. Cece, I love you.”
The whirlwind of emotions catches up. I throw my arms over his shoulders, pulling him closer. My lips meet his, and all the confusion and sadness and despair from these past few weeks vanish. I just know I want him, he wants me, and it doesn’t matter what my father says. Maddox is my heart. I can figure out how to deal with my father and the so-called consequences of our relationship later.
The elevator dings, and as the doors open, my mother comes around the corner. “Cecelia,” she calls out to me.
Glancing back at Maddox, he looks like he isn’t sure what’s going to happen. After everything I’ve found out tonight, I’m not either, but I leave his side and approach her. “Mama, please don’t make me choose.”
Her face crumples. She instantly throws her arms around me in a hug. “I would never,” she whispers. Holding me at arm’s length, a sad smile comes over her. “I just want you to be happy. He makes you happy?” I nod with a smile of relief. “Then go, baby.”
“And Daddy?”
“I’ll deal with your father.” She looks over my shoulder, watching Maddox for a quick moment, then gives me one more smile. “Go.”
“Thank you, Mama.”
Turning back to Maddox, I take his hand, and we step into the elevator. He presses the button for the first floor, then he takes me in his arms, holding me again. “I’m sorry,” I whisper to him.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. If anything, I feel like I can never apologize enough. For doing what I did, for tonight. Cece, if you have to choose between—”
“Shh.” I press a finger to his lips. “I don’t. I can’t believe my father did that, but I know what was behind his motives. He may be upset with me for a long time, but I know I’ll still be able to see my mom and brother. There’s only one thing I have to decide on, Maddox.” He quirks an eyebrow. “How much I love you?”
With his arms around me and mine around him, the future seems uncertain, but I know it’s not. I don’t know why I know that, but I do. He trusted me enough to finally tell me the truth and be the real Maddox again. He leans over, kissing me once more. As he pulls away, a smile crosses his lips.
In the crazy world of rock stars and spoiled socialites, there’s nothing more grounding than knowing he loves me. The King of Bad is gone. All that’s left is a real smile after a real kiss from the real Maddox. And I love the real Maddox.
