Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“You’ll always be my baby girl. I have this. Okay?” Dad kissed my forehead. “Go. Please go with your best friend.”
He’d never called Ethan that, either.
“I’m sorry I failed you,” Dad whispered in my ear before shaking Ethan’s hand to express his gratitude. “Thank you.”
The next thing I knew, I was on Ethan’s private plane…
Still in my wedding gown, veil, and shoes.
Chapter
Thirty
Ethan
One Month Later
“Yeah,” I said to my lawyer on the phone, watching Livvy wake up from her nap on my couch.
We were in my secluded home in the Bahamas. Nobody aside from my team knew about this property. This was where I came to escape the mayhem of my world.
“How is she holding up?” he asked.
“She’s doing better.”
“Does she know about what her father did?”
“Not yet.”
“She’s in for a surprise.”
“I’m as shocked as everyone else.”
“Did you know before the story ran?”
“I didn’t. My job was just to keep her safe and out of the press.”
Her gaze fluttered open.
“She’s getting up. I’ll call you back.” I hung up.
“Hey.” Livvy groggily stirred, sitting up.
“Feel better?”
She rubbed sleep from her eyes. “I think so. I swear, every time I wake up, for a split second, it feels like the past month was just a dream.”
“I know.” I sat down beside her. “It’ll get easier.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it. How could I have been so blind to Beau cheating on me? I feel like such an idiot, and I wasted ten years of my life with a man who didn’t love me when I had you the entire time. I’m never going to forgive myself for that, Ethan.”
“Livvy, there is nothing to forgive. You never led me on. I’ve been here because I wanted to be. They were all my decisions. You never told me not to be with anyone. As a matter of fact, I’m the one who told you to promise me you were mine first… I couldn’t let you go, and I never did, but it was because I wanted to. I don’t blame you for anything. I hope you know that.”
“I do, but that doesn’t keep me from blaming myself. We lost so much time together, and now where does all of this lead us? For the past month, we’ve played house. You’ve been hiding me in your gorgeous estate on this breathtaking island as if we’re on our honeymoon or something. I can’t help but feel like a fool.”
For the past month, Livvy and I just hung out like we used to. I tried to keep her distracted and away from the horrible things the press was saying about her until this morning. At the end of the day, we were best friends first, and it was the core of our relationship.
The rest would fall into place eventually. Especially now that we were both on the same page about our feelings for each other.
“I know, but the media is mutilating me right now. I’m literally the runaway bride.”
“Yeah… about that.”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “What?”
“An article for People magazine was released while you were sleeping.”
“Oh God… did Beau do an interview? What did he say?”
“It wasn’t Beau. It was your old man.”
She winced. “How bad is it? What did he say?”
Until now, all Mr. Collins had done was have his lawyer release a statement asking the media to respect their privacy. The Hunters’ lawyer did the same. The press were the ones creating the fake stories and gossip to sell their lies.
There were a few magazines I was able to pay off and even more reporters I was able to threaten, but I could only do so much. Publications still came out about the situation, and sadly, they pinned Livvy as the villain.
That was until this afternoon.
“What’s going on?” she questioned. “You’re freaking me out.”
“Here.” I handed her my iPad, open to her father’s interview. With a jittery grip, she grabbed it.
There, in front of her eyes, she read the article where Mr. Collins took full responsibility for what happened, telling the magazine that his daughter was marrying Beau because he pressured her to do it. He went on to say that he had planned out her whole life, and it came back to bite him in the ass, hurting Livvy in the process. He then proceeded to show evidence of Beau’s infidelity and how much he regretted letting this snake use his baby girl. Mr. Collins took full responsibility for what happened and the role he played, which only made the public love him more.
He was now viewed as the father protecting his little girl—like every father should. Beau was painted for the piece of shit he was, and I, for one, was enjoying every second of it.
By the time Livvy finished reading, tears streamed down her face.
“I can’t believe he did that for me.”
“I know.”
“I don’t even know what to say about it.”