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“If you need me, call me,” Simone said before hugging Royalty’s neck.
Royalty nodded and gave her a quick, quiet thanks before getting out of the car. She grabbed her bag from the back seat, then headed up to the second floor. Releasing a long breath, Royalty tried to mentally prepare to step inside of her home. Between the memories she’d created there with Steven and the fact that’s where she received the news, Royalty had been in no rush to return.
She stepped inside, clutching her chest at the sight of the wrinkled sheets and pillow on the couch. That’s where she’d slept instead of her bed the night everything went down.
Slowly, Royalty made her way down the hall toward her bedroom. When she walked in and saw Steven sitting on her bed, she chuckled.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he announced.
“You’re an intruder. If I shot you, it would be justified.”
With a long sigh, Steven tilted his head and stood. He was dressed in a loose-fitting navy-blue shirt and blue basketball shorts. From his scruffy beard, it looked like he’d been at her place for days, like he said. Royalty wasn’t sure why. As far as she was concerned, they didn’t have anything to talk about.
“I know you’re angry, but can we please talk?”
Her eyes stayed on his. She looked his features over, unsure how she missed the signs of his cheating. Then again, a liar would do whatever they could to hide the truth.
“I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Then will you listen and let me explain?” Steven requested calmly.
“I saw everything. I don’t need an explanation.”
“I just… want to tell you why.”
Royalty chuckled and shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “The why doesn’t matter. I’m not like the women of your past, Steven. I don’t care what sorry ass excuse you plan to give me. You cheated, and you lost—me. Now get the hell out.”
Steven walked over to her, and when their bodies were just inches apart, she held her hands up to keep him from getting any closer.
“Let me apologize,” he demanded, softly but with a stern tone.
“That’s not for me, Steven.” Her chin trembled and eyes watered as she took a step away from him. “That’s for yourself. To make you feel less guilty about what you did to me. To give you closure so you can move on with a clear conscience. I’m not giving that to you.”
“I’m not denying that all of that is true, but I also want to do this for you.” Steven grabbed her and pulled her close. As much as she wanted to fight against him, Royalty couldn’t. She looked up and into his hazel eyes. “You can act hard like you don’t care, but I know this hurt you. I know it’s eating you up. I know you have issues with your sister, and I don’t want this to be yet another thing that makes you feel as if she’s the better version of you. Let me explain. Please.”
Royalty considered his request for a few seconds. As much as she didn’t want to talk to him, maybe his words would help her process everything. She nibbled her cheek before nodding and agreeing with, “Fine.”
They left her bedroom and went to the dining area. Sitting across from each other at the dark brown table, Royalty avoided his eyes. They had been her favorite part of his face, along with his pink lips.
“Have you really been with her for the past six months?”
She saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye. “No. Not the way she made it seem. I told you that the temp agency sent her to my office. As soon as she got there six months ago, she started flirting. At first, I let it ride because I didn’t want to believe she was flirting. When I couldn’t deny it anymore, I called her out on it, and she pretty much got even more relentless with it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You two already had issues. I didn’t want to make it worse.”
Royalty nodded. “How long did it take you to cave?”
Running his hand down his neck, Steven breathed deeply. “Three months. It became an everyday routine. She’s funny as hell, you know that. We started eating together and shit and just hanging out at work. I was able to ignore the flirting and we talked like friends. I started to enjoy her company.”
Royalty locked eyes with him. “You started to enjoy her company?”
Steven looked away briefly. “Yeah. So we started hanging out outside of work. She asked me not to tell you to keep the peace, so I agreed. One night I was out with the guys, and she called. I told her where I was, but I didn’t expect her to pop up. But she did.” He swallowed hard. “We were drinking a lot and… I did some shit I wouldn’t have done sober. We had sex in the bathroom.”
She nodded. “How many times did you have sex with her?”
“One.”
