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HUNTER RAWLINGS, NEW MAJORITY STOCKHOLDER OF RENAULT ENTERPRISES.
Immediately, her mind rejected the words on the document. This was some sort of prank, a cruel hoax perpetrated by an embittered Marcus.
“Is this some sort of bad joke?” she asked.
Marcus laughed cruelly. “Why don't you ask your new boyfriend?”
She could feel Hunter's presence behind her before he'd even said a word. Every nerve ending in her body crackled with intensity as she whirled around to confront him. The moment she saw his face and took in his shattered expression, she knew every word Marcus uttered had been the truth. Hunter had betrayed them!
“Tell me you didn’t do this?” she asked in a strangled
voice.
He stared back at her with wounded eyes. “I can’t, Olivia. I wanted to tell you earlier. I’m the new majority stockholder of Renault Industries.” His voice came out sounding strangled, as if each word had been pulled from the very depths of his soul.
He reached out to touch her hand. She drew back, recoiling at the very idea of him putting his hands on her. She felt her legs wobble beneath her and she slapped away Hunter's arm as he reached out to steady her. Wasn't it just last night that his touch had sent her soaring into orbit? At the moment it seemed as if it had been a lifetime ago.
“How could you do this?” The words were wrenched from somewhere deep
inside her. She wasn’t sure how she was still standing, let alone speaking.
He took a step toward her. “Let's just talk about this. You need to listen to me. Please, Liv, hear me out.”
His voice sounded calm, she realized. Way too calm, considering the extent of his betrayal. Listen to him? She scoffed. What in the world could he possibly say to explain his actions? He'd come riding back into town like a conquering hero, full of charm and sincerity. And she'd bought his act hook, line and sinker. Fool, she chastised herself. Sentimental, love-sick fool. He'd used her, pure and simple. His only true goal had to been to get his greedy hands on her father's corporation. It had never been about her.
Bile rose up in her throat, choking her with its bitter taste. A dozen thoughts rattled through her brain. “Why? Why would you do that? You have everything in the world. Success. Money. Fame. Why would you want to own a failing corporation located in a hometown you deserted?”
“It's not that simple to explain. Give me a moment in private so we can talk,” Hunter said in a pleading voice.
Olivia glanced over at her father who still hadn't said a word, seemingly in a state of shock. Mae was comforting him and glaring at her son as if she wanted to put him across her knee and beat him with a switch.
“I'll give you five minutes. I have no intention of making a scene and spoiling this perfect day for Callie and Jax,” she said tersely as she walked towards the ballroom exit with Hunter trailing a few steps behind her. Her stride was filled with coiled anger and a righteous fury. Although a part of her wanted to break down and cry, she knew there would be plenty of time for that later on. For now, she wanted to give in to her anger, this all-consuming black, bottomless pit that threatened to consume her. She wanted to lash out at him, to rip his heart out of his chest and make him feel a small portion of what she was going through. Not to mention the pain he had caused her father.
How dare he waltz back into her life under false pretenses and then stab her father in the back. How dare he make her fall in love with him all over again. Had he been laughing at her this whole time? Had romancing her been part of his master plan?
Once they reached the foyer Hunter pulled her into a dimly lit, private room adjacent to the ball room. She shrugged off his hand, moving away from him and crossing her arms over her chest, her body posture rigid and defensive. She glared at him, wanting to reach out and hurt him in the same brutal way he'd inflicted damage on her and her father. She wished that she could will her heart not to feel anything for this man who now felt like a stranger. But, like it or not, her love for him was still there, mingling with the rage.
He took a few steps toward her until he was standing beside her, gazing at her sorrowfully. “I know this looks bad, but I wasn't trying to hurt anyone,” he said in a humble voice. “I've known the company was in trouble for a while. Things were in motion months before I came back to town, well before I even knew about the wedding. Or about mama and Jack’s relationship.”
“Before? Before we started seeing each other? Before you filled my head with all kinds of romantic nonsense? Before you made me love you?”
“Everything between us has been real. If you believe nothing else about me, please believe that.” He placed his palms on either side of her face and gazed intensely into her eyes as he gently caressed her cheeks with his thumbs.
“You're the reason I came back. In the deepest part of my heart, it was always about you. Seeing you again, reconnecting with you, remembering all the moments from our past...you have no idea what it means to me.”
The expression on his face was remorseful and sweet. She felt a strong pull on her heartstrings as he spoke. She wanted so desperately to believe him, to throw herself into his arms and forgive his heartless betrayal. Just as she felt herself softening towards him, the full impact of what he'd done hit her like a ton of bricks. He'd stripped her father of his life's work and made a fool out of her in the process. He'd used her to achieve his own selfish ends, plain and simple. He'd ruined this day that should have been sacred for Callie and Jax. There was no way in the world she could forgive all that!
She let out a harsh laugh. “Really? You came back for me? Because the way I see it you came back to town to lay claim to everything that it's taken my father a lifetime to build. You must've plotted and planned this for months, all the while knowing that our parents were involved. Yet you didn't hesitate to do this! Are you really trying to tell me that using his daughter wasn't on your agenda?”
He cringed as the harsh words tumbled out of her mouth. “You know it wasn't like that between us, Liv. Whatever you may think of me, and Lord knows I don't blame you for it, you have to know that I -.” The words were caught in his throat and he stumbled badly to finish his sentence.
“You can't even say the words, can you?” she said with a bitter laugh. “Well done, Hunter. That's about the only honest thing you've done since you've been back.”
She pulled away from him, shrinking from his touch as if he'd burned her skin. She shook her head. “Congratulations. You won. Take a bow. You should feel so proud of yourself.”
With one last withering look in Hunter's direction, Olivia marched back into the grand ballroom, her eyes searching the room for her father and Mae. Although her heart was breaking on the inside, she was determined to put on a brave front so no one would know she was dying on the inside. There was no way in creation she was going to allow this to ruin her best friend’s happiness.
For one brief moment in time she'd believed that she had a future with Hunter. Ever since he'd come back to town, everything between them had seemed so effortless, so meant to be. Although he hadn't said the words, she had been under the belief that he loved her. God, she was such an idiot! She'd been foolish to believe that a man like him would settle down with a regular, small town girl like her. Once again, Hunter Rawlings had left her in the dust with her heart smashed in a million pieces.
