Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
That made me wide awake. I sat up on the mattress. “What? What did she say?”
“Well…” He grimaced, which meant nothing good came from the conversation. “She asked if it was me on the dating app the whole time. Then, she asked if it was your idea to come to her family’s place for the holiday… Before I could answer, she knew the truth, and she deleted me from the app.”
I raked my hand through my messy hair. That wasn’t good. I now had two strikes against me when it came to Holly, and it wasn’t even seven in the morning. I plopped back down on the mattress as my mind started to spin.
Before I could catch a break, my father hollered from the living room. “Are you two going to sleep all morning, or can we get breakfast?”
HOLLY
The past few hours felt like a bad nightmare. My stomach dropped when I showed up at Mano’s and saw that woman kissing Kai. It was as if I were right back in time, watching Daniel leave me for Cassie.
An odd ache of a familiar betrayal sat in the pit of my stomach as my mind spiraled into my apartment. Without thought, I’d blocked Kai on my phone. Then, when Mano messaged me on the dating app, I felt even more like a fool. Kai never wanted to attend Christmas with my family in the first place. It was all an act, and I felt like a complete and utter fool.
A high school kid felt so pathetic for me that he forced his older brother to attend the holidays with my family. I couldn’t get over that embarrassment. Even worse was that the person kissing Kai wasn’t some random woman—it was Penelope. His Penelope. The woman he had loved for almost ten years. There was no way I could’ve ever competed with that connection that they’d had.
I’d only known him for a few months, and I annoyed him for half of that time.
She was beautiful.
I hated my mind for how it bullied me. I wasn’t insecure until last December when Daniel and Cassie betrayed me. Now, insecurities seemed to be my best friend. They crept into my thoughts while I searched for moments of solitude. They messed with my work ethic and my self-worth. They bullied me into believing I’d never be enough for another person. Then, those insecurities were proven right.
Seeing Daniel leave me for my best friend hurt me more than I thought possible. I’d never felt so gutted. I thought that was the worst thing that could’ve happened to me.
But when I saw Kai with Penelope?
That cut a little deeper.
Kai saw me in a way that Daniel never could’ve. He saw my quirks and didn’t try to diminish them—he embraced them all. Kai made me laugh in a way I hadn’t laughed in years. He made me feel beautiful on days I felt a mess. He showered me with comfort when I needed him the most.
My heart was already exhausted by the time I met Kai. I was almost certain I wouldn’t be able to let love in again. Yet still, my heart opened for Kai. It was hopeful enough that he wouldn’t break it. It trusted its timid heartbeats enough to let someone else in.
Then, my heart shattered all over again.
I wasn’t certain how many breaks a heart could handle, but mine was on life support.
I became a hermit crab for three days, not leaving my apartment. Whenever I ordered takeout, Curtis was kind enough to bring it to my apartment, so there wouldn’t be a chance that I’d have a run-in with Kai or Mano. I wasn’t ready to stand face-to-face with them both. I was too embarrassed that I let another man humiliate me.
“Are you okay, Ms. Holly?” Curtis asked as he brought me my third delivery of the day. Chinese Express with extra egg rolls and sweet and sour sauce.
I took the brown paper bag from his grip. “Yeah, of course, I am. Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’ve been wearing the same clothes for the past few days.” He eyed me up and down and then frowned. “Plus, Kai has been asking about you. Did you two get into a fight?”
I smiled at sweet Curtis, not wanting to dive into my heartbreak. “Everything’s fine with Kai and me.”
“Ms. Holly?”
“Yes, Curtis?”
“You’re a lot of wonderful things. Kind. Funny. Beautiful. But a good liar you are not.”
My smile dropped away as sadness hit my stare. Curtis leaned in and placed a comforting hand against my shoulder. “Kai’s a good man. Whatever the disagreement or confusion you two had, I’m sure there’s a good explanation for it. I’ve seen you two over the past few months. You had something special. Don’t run from that connection.”
“I’ll be fine, Curtis. Thank you for checking on me.”