I’m going to be sick.
By the third time, I’ve had enough. The moment the last note plays, I storm out.
I’m almost to the main door of the building when I hear Jace behind me. “Rory, wait.”
I hold up my middle finger and keep going.
When I’m on the sidewalk outside, he turns me to face him. “Let me explain.”
“Explain? Let me guess. You’re just doing your job, right?”
“Pretty much, yeah. But?—”
“Nope. I don’t need to hear anything else.” I pull up my Uber app to get a car. “Go do your job because I need to go do mine.” I wave my phone at him. “Have to go post those flirty little videos. That’s going to be fun.” I almost choke on the sarcasm in my voice.
“Baby—”
“Don’t fucking call me that. Not while you’re pretending to the whole world that you’re screwing her!” I point at the building. To my horror, my eyes well with tears, and I swipe them away. Then I utter the most ridiculous grievance from this afternoon. “Why were you sharing a drink with her?” Surely there were worse things that happened, but that’s what comes out of my mouth.
His brows tighten. “What?”
“You shared her drink. Why?” I press, my voice hardening. The longer the image sits in my mind, the hotter I get.
He runs a hand through his hair. “She knocked hers over and asked if she could have a sip of mine. Said her throat was hoarse from singing.”
That woman has an excuse for everything. I take a deep breath, hoping my voice doesn’t crack. “If Marlowe asked you to light yourself on fire to keep her warm, would you agree?”
His frown deepens. “Rory, I’m so sorry about all of this. I wanted to explain everything last night, but…” He moves closer, and I hold up my hand.
“You know what? If Marlowe is who you want, go for it. You hired me to be your nanny. Maybe you didn’t want more than a friend with benefits to break your sex fast, and I was convenient. Except you didn’t think this through. You didn’t realize howintense everything would be since we lived together. You didn’t even sign a damn prenup.” I laugh so I don’t sob. “I’m going to make this easy for you. When we get back to Wild Heart at the end of the summer, I’ll file for divorce. Then your bandmates won’t hate me because they think I’m with you for your money.”
The Uber arrives, and I open the door, but Jace slams it shut. “It wasn’t like that. Don’t fucking walk away, Aurora.”
Why does he sound pissed? I’m the aggrieved partner. “When I agreed to marry you, you swore you wouldn’t humiliate me. What do you think happened back there in the studio?”
His eyes clench shut. “Give me a chance to explain. I swear it wasn’t what it looked like.”
My ex said those words right after he pulled his wet dick out of my stepsister. I whisper because I can barely get the words out. “Jace, I can’t go through this again.”
“Please, Rory. I swear I’ve been faithful to you.”
I stare at my feet as tears drip down my face. When I look at him, my heart breaks. His eyes are shiny, his face ruddy. God, am I really going to give him another chance? I’m an idiot, so yes. “Will you be home?—”
“Jace!” Cooper shouts behind us. “Get your ass inside before Niles loses his shit again.”
My heart sinks because I already know what he’s going to choose. What Jace will always choose.
I smile through my tears. “Duty calls.”
And I get in my Uber and drive away.
46
RORY
When I get backto our hotel, I pause in front of our door and wipe my eyes. I’m a snotty mess, and I realize there’s no way I’ll be able to hide this from Susan, so I stop trying and unlock the door.
“Hi, Rory,” she says cheerfully as she gathers her things. “Miss Layla had a great day. She wanted to scale the TV console, but of course I didn’t let her.”
