Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“Oh, shit,” she breathes, her brows pinching together. “I didn’t know. I swear.”
“Son of a bitch,” Tatum growls. “You stupid fucking prick.”
“No!” Lucas whines, his face becoming as white as a sheet. He shakes his head profusely, like he can sense the impending doom that lies ahead. “No, it’s not what you think, Bianca.”
The nameless redhead frowns. “I’m really sorry. I had no idea. I’m not…”
I could be mad at her, but that would be the easy way out, because none of this is her fault. Even if she knew and still slept with him, the only person at fault is my boyfriend. For him to even consider sleeping with someone else, for not having the impulse control to keep it in his pants, this is all on him.
“Please… you don’t have to explain yourself,” I tell her, and her cheeks grow redder with embarrassment. She nods and slips past us, heading onto the dance floor.
“You lied to me.” I keep my voice low.
“I told you, it’s not what you think. It’s all a misunderstanding. You know I love you.”
He’s trying to soothe me. In the past, it might’ve worked, but not this time. There is an endless ocean of anger and disappointment between us. I can’t believe him, not when I’ve seen with my own eyes what really happened. He reaches for me, and I slap his hands away before he can make contact. Never again will he touch me. My heart feels heavy in my chest, like someone tied a brick to it.
“All this time. All these years, and you do this to me? Things have been hard, and I haven’t been perfect, but…” I can’t even make sense of what I’ve witnessed. Yeah, things weren’t great between us, and we were headed toward ending things, but cheating on me was never necessary.
“You’re right,” he’s quick to agree. “All these years spent together. Do you want to throw away what we have all because of something like this? Something so small.”
Nothing about this is small. Only he would assume cheating on me is a small thing. Only he would expect me to accept it and ignore the bright red flag waving in front of me.
“You’re damn right, she does,” Tatum snaps.
Lucas rolls his eyes. “Why don’t you mind your own fucking business for once?”
“Don’t talk to her that way.” My voice is cold and stony, just like the wall I’m putting up between the roiling inferno of my emotions and the outside world. I will not break down here. I won’t. An icy chill sweeps through my bones, and beads of sweat form against my brow. Something in my gut twists, digging the knife of betrayal deeper. Forcing air into my lungs, I tell myself that I won’t lose it in front of this cheating prick and a bunch of strangers.
Lucas softens, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants when I flinch away from another attempted touch. “Bianca. Please. I’m begging you. I love you.”
I blink back tears. For once, I can see clearly. The sun has pushed through the clouds, shining a light on the things I refused to see or admit. Before me stands a complete stranger. I don’t know him anymore. It’s a mystery what I saw in him. A low simmering rage builds in my belly, replacing the fleeting anxiety I was feeling. I want to scream and claw his eyes out at the same time. It’s ridiculous how easy I made it for him to betray me.
“I don’t think you know what love is, Lucas, but that doesn’t matter because we’re over,” I growl, trembling with barely restrained outrage and disgust. “We’re done, finished. I have more respect for myself than to stay with you, knowing you’re sleeping with other women. So when you leave here, I want you to go back to the apartment we shared and pack as much as you can carry in your pathetic hands and find another place to stay. Because if I get there and you aren’t gone, I’m going to call the cops. You know, the people in blue who know me. The people who respect my father and employ him. I’m sure you can figure out what will happen after that.”
“Better hurry,” Tatum crows. “Maybe I’ll call my dad, too. Just ’cause I’m a bitch like that.”
His mouth opens like a fish gulping for air. It’s clear he wants to offer another excuse, or maybe beg for forgiveness. I’m not sure, and I don’t care. Thankfully, he thinks better of it and presses his lips into a firm line. I watch with a breaking heart as he walks away, and it’s only once he’s out of sight that I lose my strength.
Tatum wraps an arm around my waist to keep me from crumbling to the floor. “I’m sorry, B. I’m so sorry.”