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Oh God, oh God, oh God. That’s… That’s why he hid us.
And I used it against him.
“What have I done?” I cry out, burying my face in my hands.
A warm arm wraps around me, pulling me into their side. I look up and meet Josephine’s watery eyes. I don’t think her tears are entirely for my benefit. Her fingers brush my hair from my face as she shushes me.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” The words are wobbly and as cracked as my heart. I’m surprised I got them out at all. “I thought you went after—”
“He sent me back to you.” She offers a sad smile. “He’s annoyed. He let his temper get the best of him, but he still loves you.”
“I’d be angry with me, too,” I whisper. “I am angry, Josephine. I-I’ve ruined everything.”
“I doubt that. Angel was being an ass.” She tucks my head under her chin and kisses my hair.
“You don’t understand. Months. He begged me for months, and I wouldn’t listen. Not to him or anyone. And what I-I said…”
Her chest vibrates as she chuckles softly. “Oh, Lil, no one understands better than me. Why do you think your brother is so pissed? He’s kind of triggered right now. I ran for years. Almost a decade of refusing to listen to him, remember? And ironically, your fake fiancé’s sister begged me to hear him out. I had it in my head I had all the facts, but I had it all wrong.”
My eyes flick to Thad leaning against a chair with a raised brow and an I told you so smirk. If I weren’t so miserable, I’d smack the smugness off his stupid face.
“What am I going to do?”
“There’s only one thing you can do.” I lift my head, needing whatever pearl of wisdom she has for me. Her mouth twists, hiding her own smirk. “It’s time to turn your story into a reverse groveling trope.”
Liam
My head rests against the back of the sofa, pressing the cold brown bottle to my temple. Moisture from the beer trickles down my heated skin, but the relief only lasts a breath before the dull throb begins again. After sucking it up and calling my doctor, I got the prescription I relied on for years refilled. Now I wait for the meds to do their thing before the pain becomes blinding. I can feel it. It will be one of those headaches that knocks me out for days if it doesn’t.
Soft fur swipes across my face as I sit in the dark room, trying to quiet my thoughts. One eye opens, and I meet the ass end of the gray furball. My fingers stroke down her back, wrapping around her tail before I sigh. “I tried, Giselle.” She lets out a wheezy meow and flicks her tail, slapping me in the mouth. “I said I tried, you mangy little shit.” I drag my hand over my mouth, removing the mouthful of fur from my lips. “I guess I could let her have you.” I run my hand over her back again, getting rewarded with her obnoxious vibrations.
My chest lifts as I blow out another breath. Coming to terms with Lily and me being over hurts, but I have to face reality. She made herself clear at the… the party.
I didn’t think there was anything she could say or do to make me walk away. She’s said plenty of hurtful things over the last few weeks. Threw shit in my face every chance she got. I took it all because nothing she said was undeserved or untrue. She was lashing out at the source of her pain… Me.
Something I never expected from her was to use my past and the insecurities that stem from it against me. No one knows how deep those wounds go. How much Krista damaged my psyche with her narcissistic gaslighting, tearing me down, and keeping me away from my daughter as much as she could get away with, I kept buried. It was my cross to bear. But of everyone, Lily knew the most. Even more than Henry. Perhaps she doesn’t realize how deeply I confided in her, but she knew it wasn’t something I shared lightly. It did prove that she has no idea why I was always so reluctant to tell everyone about us. She doesn’t realize I was never protecting my reputation or anything like that. I was protecting my heart.
I shake my head, refusing to go back there. Nothing I did protected my heart, anyway. Denying her—us—didn’t stop the collision course. It only hurt us both.
But I also had an epiphany tonight. Which is why I have accepted we’re done. Or, at the very least, why I can’t keep chasing her. Maybe if I’d seen it sooner—gotten out of my own issues and paid more attention to her—I could have changed things. If I’d pulled my head out of my ass just a little faster…
The truth is everything with us, from that first night on the beach until now, should’ve been done differently, especially when we went from occasional hookups to exclusive. There should’ve never been hookups. I should’ve been honest from the start instead of running away like a scared little bitch.
Nothing was ever casual for me. No matter what I said or led her to believe, she was it for me the second her head emerged from the water with that smile that lit up the night, full of mischievous seduction and forbidden temptations I couldn’t resist.
But she doesn’t know that either.
“I was chickenshit, Giselle.” She rubs her face against mine. At least I’m not talking to her ass anymore. “I should’ve talked to her instead of pretending. Don’t give me that look. Your mom isn’t innocent in this. Your broken home isn’t all my fault. I have a feeling she has some issues of her own she’s worked pretty hard to avoid. I know she does, and I should’ve made her talk to me.”
She meows and darts off like I just offended her delicate sensibilities. And not for the first time, I wonder if my conversations with a cat are proof of how pathetic I am. Or evidence I’m losing my mind. I could always keep Maddox company.
I cringe. It’s a poor joke, even if I only thought it.
I rub my hands over my face and growl. Sitting here is eating me alive. A few hours—or days—out of the city will… Well, it won’t do much, but at least I’ll be out of this prison where I’m held captive by her memory.
A knock at the door forces me to move my ass from its favorite moping spot. When I get to the door and look through the hole, my head drops against it.
“Please open it.” Her voice is as raw and broken as my heart.
