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Shattering right in front of him.
And all I could see…
All I could feel.
Was nothing from him.
“Adrian, please don’t do this…” I begged with tears streaming down my face.
“Out of all the women you could’ve fucked?” Cade spit poison. “Why her? Huh? The one thing that’s mine and you have to steal from me.”
I shook my head, glancing over at him.
Hayley was holding him back by gripping his arm. The sympathy she felt for us was evident in her expression.
Shifting my gaze to Cade, I informed, “That’s not what happened, Cade. I swear it!”
His glare snapped to me. “Then look me in the eyes and tell me you didn’t fuck my brother.”
Adrian
It was the moment of truth.
There was so much I still wanted to tell her.
So much I still wanted to experience with her.
A life.
A future.
Those three little words.
You see, I couldn’t tell her I loved her. Not when I knew all along, I’d have to fuck her over. As if she meant nothing.
When she meant everything.
From the second I heard the window in the hall bathroom break, followed by her screams I hauled ass in there. For the next couple of minutes, I moved in autopilot tending to the cut on her arm. It wasn’t that bad, but it was enough to have me care for her in a tender and loving way.
It didn’t dawn on me until I looked back at Cade and Hayley who were both frozen in shock of how protective I became with her. It was obvious. There was no hiding it anymore.
Despite having prepared for this moment, it didn’t strip away how much this was going to devastate her and kill me in the process. I saw it since the first time she batted her long, dark lashes.
She’d choose me over my brother.
If given the chance, she’d sacrifice him for me.
And I loved her too fucking much to have her eventually resent me for it. This was Cade. Her best friend. Her brother.
He was her family.
I couldn’t steal that from her.
She’d already lost too much.
I had to do what was right.
“Don’t look at her,” I ordered in a rough tone, bringing Cade’s attention over to me. “You look at me. I’m standing right fucking here.”
His stare met mine.
“How could you do this to me? You’re supposed to be my brother, Adrian. Doesn’t that count for something? Or you just have to stick your dick into every pussy that throws itself at you?”
“Something like that.”
“Nice.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “So she’s just another conquest to you?”
I angled my chin higher, expecting his next question, “Do you love her?”
My stare instantly locked with hers.
I didn’t bother maintaining eye contact with Cade. My brutal response wasn’t for him anyway. If I was going to give her back to him, I had to take her heart, which she lovingly handed me, and I threw it back in her fucking face—making her choke on it.
I needed to remain strong.
Act unfazed.
Show no weakness.
Our glass house shattered with five words…
“No. I don’t love you.”
Thirty-Two
Paige
Now
My eyes fluttered, feeling as though I was hit by a freight train. My head was pounding, making it hard to see in front of me. I desperately tried to shake away the haze, wanting to take in my surroundings.
In the blink of an eye, I remembered everything.
My phone dinged with a text message, causing me to stir awake. Slowly, I rolled off Adrian’s chest to grab it off my nightstand. The sun was barely peeking through the open shades of the bedroom.
Through a sleep-filled gaze, I came face to face with a text that read.
Come alone or else. Charlie is waiting for you.
I sat straight up from the shock, instantly shifting my attention to Adrian who was thankfully still passed out. Peering back down at the text in my hand, I contemplated my next move.
I racked my brain for what felt like hours, thinking about all the possibilities of how this could end badly, but I couldn’t keep putting the lives of the people I loved in jeopardy.
Careful not to wake him, I grabbed my sneakers and walked out of the bedroom. I was still wearing his hoodie from earlier with sweats. Wanting to feel his comforting prescence with me, I didn’t change. Instead, I threw on my shoes and met Charlie at the door.
This revelation of Charlie being involved was going to hit Adrian hard.
He didn’t say anything to me, just nodded to follow him. I did and he led us to a van in the parking garage. It was a different vehicle than what he’d been driving us in.
I was about to get in, but at the last second, I looked him right in the eyes and stated the truth, “He trusted you.”
If he gave a shit, he didn’t show it, and shoved me into the seat. After he blindfolded me, he started to drive, and I wish I could tell you that my other senses kicked in. However, all I felt was a terror for what was to come.
