“Why?” I ask Max, pleading. “I don’t understand. Why would you do this to me?”
Max shrugs. “I changed my mind about getting hitched, and I needed the rock back. Thanks for dropping it off, by the way. It’s good to have it back in family hands.”
I can’t believe how cold he’s being. All those sweet things he said to me, he never meant a word.
“Get out,” I tell him, on the edge of tears.
“Aww, was it something I said?” Max smirks at me, and I wonder how I ever found that smile attractive. Who is this man standing in front of me? I don’t recognize him at all.
But I thought I knew Jase, too. And look how wrong I was.
“Get out!” I yell, louder, trying desperately to keep the tears back. “You got what you came here for. Now leave me alone!”
Max smirks. “You would have been lucky to have me,” he says. “Enjoy your whore, you deserve each other.” He turns and stalks out.
I gulp for air, but I can’t hold back the tears. Jase lied to me. They both did. But somehow, Jase’s betrayal cuts so much deeper.
I thought our connection was real. But every time he touched me, every time he kissed me—it was all a lie.
I rush to my bedroom and grab a bag. I don’t know what I’m doing, or where I’ll go, I just know, I have to get away. Sobbing, I throw clothes into the case, then grab my keys to leave.
Suddenly, my phone buzzes. Jase is calling, right now. Just the sight of his name on the caller ID cuts me to my core. I still want him so badly, it makes me ache. Imagining his hands on my body and the way he feels, thrusting deep inside.
I want him.
But you can’t trust a single word he says.
I pause, agonizing. It feels like I’m torn in two. The phone keeps ringing, and even though my heart is broken, every instinct in my body is telling me to pick up. Don’t throw this away. There has to be some kind of explanation.
But all the explanation I need is in that file. He betrayed me.
And I still want him.
What am I supposed to do now?
TO BE CONTINUED...
