Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
“Yeah,” I lie. It seems like that’s all I’m capable of lately.
“Callum talk to you about working with me?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“You good with it?” he pushes.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, seems like you are,” he says, shaking his head as he walks away.
Christ, what does everyone want from me? I’m trying my best to hold the pieces of my life together, but it feels like I’m spiraling out of control.
“Hey,” Mille says, walking toward me.
I’m so in my head I didn’t even notice her coming my way.
“Hey,” I say, keeping my gaze on my sister as she laughs. Seems as if there was an exorcism and the bridezilla is gone.
"Everything okay?" Millie asks softly, her hand brushing my arm in concern.
I pull away instinctively, and the moment I see the hurt flash across her face, regret slams into me. I sigh heavily, scrubbing my hand over my face. Everything feels like it's caving in. Millie wants me to send my manuscript to a publisher, Callum is demanding that I step up at the brewery, and somehow, in the middle of all this, I'm supposed to drop the bomb at Anya and Griffin’s engagement party that I'm dating Brock's ex-girlfriend.
It’s all too much. The pressure’s been building, and I’m barely keeping it together. I’m at my breaking point—ready to explode.
“Sorry, but I don’t think today is the right time to tell everyone about us,” I whisper, staring hard at the chair in front of me as though it holds the answers to all my problems.
Her voice sharpens. “You’re kidding, right?” she asks, her volume drawing a few heads in our direction.
“Millie, please, don’t overreact. Not in front of my family.” My voice is low, pleading.
She lets out a humorless laugh, the sound cutting deep. The anger radiating off her is palpable, and maybe it's disappointment too, but at this point, I can’t tell. Everything’s a blur.
“So when is the right time, Tripp? When I’m pregnant with your child? Because you told me you love me, and I can’t understand why you still want to keep me hidden like a dirty secret.” Her voice has risen, and now heads are fully turning.
My heart pounds as I glance around, my family inching closer, sensing something’s up. “Enough, Millie. Stop. We’ll talk later—in private,” I hiss through clenched teeth.
"Everything’s in private with you." She steps closer, her eyes blazing. "What scares you more, Tripp? Telling your family we’re in love, or admitting that you wrote a book?"
I freeze.
Fuck.
"A book?" Anya says, her eyebrows knitting in confusion.
"You and Millie are together?" Brock asks, his voice edged with disbelief.
"So, when you said you’ve had a lot going on, you meant writing a book?" Callum presses, his eyes narrowing.
"Wait...you hate reading, but you wrote a book?" Paxton pipes in, a grin tugging at his lips. "What’s it about?"
"You’re in love?" my mother chimes in, her eyes wide with shock.
I close my eyes, feeling the weight of everything crashing down at once. All the secrets I’ve been juggling, the walls I built around myself—it’s all collapsing. There's no hiding anymore. I open my eyes, meeting Millie’s gaze, my frustration boiling over.
"Thanks for letting me handle it," I bite out, my words dripping with sarcasm.
Millie crosses her arms, her voice steady but stung. "But you weren’t handling it, Tripp."
"No shit, Millie," I snap, waving my hand at the audience we’ve gathered. "And now we’ve got my entire family staring at us like we’re a freak show. This is exactly how I wanted this to go," I say, sarcasm dripping into every syllable.
"This is the girl?" Griffin mutters, his eyes widening in realization.
“You knew?” Anya’s voice is sharp as she whips around to face Griffin, hands on her hips.
"Millie, you're dating my brother?" Brock asks again, his voice quieter this time, disbelief still painted across his features.
Millie looks at me, then back at Brock, and I see the guilt in her eyes. I can tell she’s torn, caught between us, just like I am.
My family stands around us, waiting—like a pack of wolves closing in on their prey, and I’m the one they’re circling. There’s no way out, no escape. Everything I’ve been trying to keep hidden is now right in front of me, and I have no idea how to fix it.
Chapter 29
Millie
“Not anymore,” I say to Brock.
Tripp looks at me in disbelief. “Millie?” he questions, but I’m too sad to react.
Why is he so afraid of letting people know about us? It can’t be because of Brock, can it?
Brock doesn’t even appear too upset as he holds onto Willow’s hand.
“Just tell me one thing, Tripp. Why are you so afraid to tell your family about us?”
He glances at his mother, and then back at me. “It’s just a lot. You don’t have a family, so you wouldn’t understand.”
Ouch. That stings.
My eyes widen, tears spilling down my face. “I can’t believe you just said that to me.” I spin on my heel, and beeline it out of the room. A few people call my name as I rush out of Atta Boy’s and cross the parking lot.