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I sigh as I scrub my hand down my face before I put my biker boots on, tying them up. I grab my cut off the bed before I look at the picture of Sophie and me on the oak bedside table where she's in my arms, her legs wrapped around my waist as we grin at each other. Leah took it before I ended things with her.
Sighing, I shake my head before picking up the picture, adamant I will throw it away. She cheated, right?
So why can't I bring myself to throw it away?
Why does the thought of anyone else touching me make my skin crawl?
Fuck.
Shaking my head, I put the picture back when there's a knock on my bedroom door, and I furrow my brows before opening it. Axel gives me a grim smile before clearing his throat. "A Todd is here; he says he needs to talk to you and that he's not leaving until he does; he's in Dagger's office."
My anger spikes at his nerves before I take a deep breath. It's not his fault Sophie was a fucking whore who slept around, so I nod. "You have twenty minutes before you leave for the run. Good luck, brother." I chuckle at his words as I walk past him, ensuring my door is shut and locked first.
I bypass Clitter, who tries to make a beeline for me, but I just shake my head at her. She's been trying to get me to fuck her since last month when she realized Dagger only wants Mel. Out of fucking nowhere, she kissed me. She nearly fell on her ass when I shoved her away, though, so there's that for instant karma.
Shaking my head, I walk to Dagger's office and scowl when I see Todd leaning against his desk.
He smirks at me, and my anger spikes again.
"Close the door, Ink; I've got a story to tell you."
I growl at his nerves, but he just puts his hand up and says, "I have twenty minutes until you're apparently leaving for the day, and I cannot and will not watch my best fucking friend go through another night of pain and fucking sorrow, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"
Axel rushes in when he hears Todd raise his voice, who was clearly hanging around in case I blew, while I raise my brows at him before I turn and nod back to Todd, "Alright, I'm listening; why don't you tell us a story then?" The way I worded it was so Axel could stay, and he does; he shuts the door and leans on it while I take a seat, leaning back before crossing my arms over my chest and giving him the floor.
He nods,
"OK." He makes himself comfortable sitting on my brother's desk before leaning on his knees and clasping his hands together. I instantly feel tense seeing a wedding ring, and he just smirks at me but shakes his head.
"Don't worry, Ink, I didn't marry 'your' girl."
I furrow my brows in confusion while Axel sits beside me, knowing things will probably get heated. "Say what you need to say, Todd; you're outstaying your welcome."
Todd chuckles, not caring about my Pres's threat, "Once upon a time." I narrow my eyes at him while Axel snorts before coughing to hide it, making Todd chuckle and raise his hands. "OK, OK, sorry, I couldn't resist. Right," he takes a deep breath, "nine months ago, a girl—a woman, I should say—who I treated like shit in high school came to see me. Her Momma was struggling financially after losing her husband three years prior, and she wanted to help; she wanted to take over her mother's mortgage, even if it meant facing a man who was a prick and best friends with her ex, who cheated on her the day after she gave him her virginity at their graduation ceremony no less."
I sit up straighter; he has my attention now, and by the looks of things, he now has Axels.
This is about Sophie, but the question is: why?
"She was worried about her mother and the man, which is me, by the way, if you're not keeping up." I roll my eyes while Axel chuckles. "Well, the man, me, had a secret, but he needed to keep it hidden for six more months so he could take over his father's bank, which he has worked his whole life for, having it shoved in his head that it's his legacy, and because he had worked so hard, he decided he needed to keep his secret until he'd signed the papers, but his father wasn't happy. For him to sign the bank over, the son must date the same woman for, as you guessed, six months, and then walk in this amazing girl willing to do anything to help her Momma."
I cut in, getting fed up with this third-person point of view, "OK, just talk normally, will yah."
Axel chuckles while Todd grins and nods.
"Sophie, sweet Sophie asked if she could take over her momma's mortgage, and I knew it would even be too much for her, but my father was an asshole not willing to budge, so I made her a deal." I furrow my brows, "to take over my father's bank, I asked her if she was willing to date me for six months so my secret would be safe, and I'd lower the mortgage rate and transfer it into her name so my father wouldn't notice, and she agreed, and in that time she became my person, my best friend. I love her dearly."
I fist my hands, my anger growing, making Axel tense, wondering what Todd would say. He said he never married Sophie, so he's not lying, right?
"Last month, my best friend was my best woman at my wedding... to my husband."
My eyes shoot to his in shock while Axel's mouth hangs open, and I instantly feel dread, knowing I fucking fucked up.
Shit.
He nods, "Yep, you guessed it, gentlemen, I'm gay, and you, Ink, you fucked up. I have been with my Alex for five years now behind my father's back; my father is set in his ways, and as soon as he found out I was into men, well, he disowned me and tried to sue me for the rights of the bank back, which failed epically, I would like to add." He looks at me. "When Sophie told me shemet someone who made her feel the spark—like he was the one—I offered to cancel the arrangement but agreed to keep the mortgage low because she had become my person."
He takes a breath. "She said no; she was willing to wait for me but also wanted to see if you actually wanted her, and when you kissed her Ink, I was her first phone call. She was so scared but also excited because she knew what she had felt with you was what her Momma had felt with her father—something consuming."
