Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 80074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
She gazed up at me, looking exhausted.
Was she even sleeping?
“Is that why you sent Bailey away?”
I nodded.
“Jackson.” She squeezed at her temples. “I can’t do this right now. I have a splitting headache.”
I didn’t falter, pulling Advil from the cabinet. Only to slam it down on the island in front of her, causing Teddy to haul ass out of the kitchen.
Leaving us alone.
“Jesus, Jackson. What’s your problem?”
“You! You’re the fuckin’ problem.”
She grimaced. “Excuse me?”
“Ever since we saw Cash, you’ve completely shut me out! After all these years, he’s still coming between us!”
Her eyes widened, winded. “What do you want from me?”
“Everything! All of you! It belongs to me!”
“See! That’s all you care about! I’m a trophy to you! This competition you have in your head with Cash has been there since we were kids! And I’m so over it! I’m not a prize to be won, Jackson! I’m a human. I have feelings. My own wants and needs. I’m not just your fake fuckin’ wife!”
“It’s never been fake for anyone but you! I’ve tried to give you everything you’ve ever wanted. This house. Your car. Your clothes. Your workshop. Even your fuckin’ dog!”
“What?”
“You heard me. Why do you think he loves me so much? Chooses me over you? He remembers my scent, ’cuz I bought him for you.”
She jerked back, blown away.
“I knew you’d never buy a pure breed, and there was no way in hell one would just show up at the pound you were working at. It was your sixteenth birthday, you were still mad at me, and all I wanted was to make you smile. I found him from a private breeder and paid for him with the money from my YouTube channel.”
“Jackson, that dog costs more than two grand.”
“Twenty-two hundred to be exact. Not counting the two hundred I paid Arnold to say he found him.”
Her pouty lips parted. “I had no idea.”
“I know.”
“He’s eight years old. Why have you waited this long to tell me?”
“You took so much pride in saying you adopted him. I couldn’t take that away from you.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Gremlin, even when we were kids and I was bullying you, it was still my favorite thing to do. You’ve always been the most important person in my life. No matter how many times I tried to make you cry.”
“I cannot believe you’re just now tellin’ me all of this.” She pointed in between us. “Jackson, this is the biggest problem in our dynamic. You keepin’ shit from me.”
“Oh come on! I can’t win with you, Harley! I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. There is no happy medium with you. You’re always against me. No matter what I do, you find fault in it.”
“That’s not true.”
“That’s nothing but the truth. I did right by you.”
“That’s exactly it! You just said it yourself! You did right by me. You married me out of obligation, not ’cuz you wanted me to be your wife.”
“You’ve gotta be shitting me! Do you honestly believe that?”
“You’ve never let me believe otherwise. You’re so quick to forget up until a month ago, I thought you were fuckin’ other women! Your groupies! For over three years, Jackson Pierce! Knowin’ it hurt me! Why? ’Cuz it’s the only way you knew I still cared about you, right?! See, you’re always, always thinkin’ about yourself! To this day, you still think you deserve some sort of award for bein’ a dad and providin’ for us, when I never asked you to do that. You took it upon yourself to take that on.”
“You’re right, I did, and I’d do it again if I had to.”
“Exactly. If you had to.”
“For fuck’s sake, now I’m being punished for whatever bullshit you’ve created in your head to push me away?”
“It’s not bullshit, it’s the truth.”
“The truth as you see fit. How convenient for you. I fucked up, you’re right I should have never let you believe I was fuckin’ around on you, but Jesus Christ, I just wanted you. I thought... I mean... I just thought it would make you realize you love me, and it backfired against me.”
“I spent so many nights thinkin’ of who was in your hotel bed this time around. I can’t just forget all of that at the snap of your fingers.”
“I know. I’m sorry, but you still can’t forgive me for shit that happened years ago.”
“I can’t believe you’re bringin’ that up right now.”
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s where everything started, was it not?”
“Jackson...”
“We’ve never talked about it since the night you trashed my room, ’cuz Bailey happened right after.”
“What do you want me to say? Huh? You betrayed me! I loved you!”
“You still fuckin’ love me. I know that as much as you do.”
“Who cares! My loyalty was to my cousin! My blood! My fuckin’ family! I couldn’t trust you anymore. Shiloh still hasn’t recovered from that. I don’t give a shit who she’s with, she’s never gotten over Trigger and you know it!”