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Once I’m at the door, I peek through the crack, but all I see is a big bed. The light comes from a lamp on the nightstand. I fold my arms across my chest, my body tense, and my breathing becomes heavy with dreaded anticipation.
I wait and wait and wait. Waiting for Hunter to appear or for some woman to show herself. I feel like I stand there forever, and I wonder if maybe they’re not up here afterall, but somewhere else in the house.
A tear slides down my cheek, followed closely by another. I let them fall. There’s no way I can stop them now. Not when I’m about to catch my husband with another woman. I do keep my crying silent though.
“You can come in, Cat.”
My teeth cut into my tongue as I hear Hunter’s deep voice coming from the room. I barely feel the literal bite of pain.
He knows I’m here. But how? Did he see me following him? Was I louder than I thought as I walked through the house? And where’s Scarlett? Did he force her to leave when he realized I had followed him?
Dropping my arms to my sides, I take a couple deep breaths before pushing open the door. My eyes immediately focus on Hunter, sitting by a window in a chair. His legs are spread casually as he reclines back, still wearing the same jeans and black Henley he wore when he left. His arms are on the arms of the chair, one hand holding a short glass with an inch of amber liquid.
He lifts the glass to his lips and drains the rest of his drink while his green eyes remain fixed on me.
As relaxed as he appears, I know from the guilty look in his eyes he’s about to completely decimate my heart.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Hunter
Iknew this day would come, and no matter how much I tried to prepare myself for it, seeing the utter devastation in Cat’s eyes will haunt me forever. Every time I close my eyes, I’ll see the look of betrayal and stark pain on her beautiful face. This woman has suffered more pain in her life than any person should, and I hate myself for being one of the people who caused it.
“Why?” she croaks and wraps her arms around her middle like she’s trying to hold herself together. Like if she doesn’t, she’ll fall apart at the seams.
My fingers tighten around the glass in my hand. “I love her,” I say, knowing how much it will hurt, yet refusing to lie.
Her face scrunches and a sob escapes her. She throws one hand up to her mouth, but the sound still slips free.
When it looks like her knees are about to buckle, I set the glass on the floor and get up from the chair. I’m a couple of feet away when she throws a hand up in the air, her palm facing me.
“Stop!” she yells. “Don’t come near me.”
I ignore her request and move closer until her palm touches my chest. Her face is red and her eyes are swollen, indicating that she’s been crying longer than she’s been in the room.
I push against her hand. “Let me explain. There are things you don’t understand yet,” I tell her.
“No,” she says, strength coming into her voice. She moves back, but I just follow her. “There’s no need. Your answer a moment ago was enough.”
“Baby, no. There’s more you need to know. It’s not what it looks like.”
Even to my own ears, my words sound pathetic and cliché as fuck. Don’t all cheaters say the same?
This time she lets out a bitter laugh. “I don’t need to know the details, Hunter.” Anger enters her tone and her eyes flare. “I don’t fucking care how you met. I don’t need to fucking hear how you couldn’t help yourself,” she says mockingly. “Or how it was impossible to not fall in love. Or that you didn’t mean to. Or whatever other garbage you want to say.”
Cat’s pissed. It’s not often that she curses. Only when her emotions are high. Her anger is entirely justified. In her eyes, I’ve betrayed her in the most despicable way. And in a way, I did.
When she turns to leave, I grab her arm, and that’s when she turns into a hellcat. She rounds on me, her other hand striking out to land across my face. I don’t attempt to stop her. I want to feel the heat of her slap. It’s nothing in comparison to what she’s feeling right now, but it’s a taste.
Her palm lands two more times against my face before I spin her around and bring her back against my chest. I wrap my arms tightly around her, trapping hers at her side. She struggles and bucks against me, attempting to stomp on my foot.
“Let me go, you bastard!” She shouts through the broken sobs still leaving her lips. “Let me go!”
“I can’t,” I croak, burying my face in her neck. “I can’t lose you, Cat. I will never fucking let you go. You’re mine.”
She stops struggling, but her chest pumps rapidly. Her hot tears splash on my arm as she sniffs.
“You’ve already lost me.” Her voice is low, but her words blast through my ears like she shouted them through a megaphone.
