Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“That wasn’t your choice to make.” My fists are clenched at my sides, my body vibrating in anger. Everything I thought I knew was a fucking lie. I was manipulated, tricked...
“You were young and not thinking clearly,” my dad says like he’s talking to a child. “I had to do what was best for you.”
“Fuck that!” I bark. “You knew how much I loved her. She was young and impressionable, and you used that to your advantage. You knew she would do anything to make sure I was happy because I would’ve done the same for her.”
“Women come—”
“No.” I step into his face, cutting him off. “Don’t you fucking say it. You need to go now. I need time to think. I can’t believe you did this.”
“Braxton, please...”
“Go!”
With a sigh, Dad does as I demand and walks away, leaving Kaylee and me alone. Realizing we’ve made a scene, I head to the elevators, and she follows. The ride up is filled with a silent, stifling tension. I can tell she wants to say something, but she keeps her mouth shut, which is good since I have a million thoughts whirring around in my head, and I don’t know where to go from here.
When we get up to her room, she stands in the corner, remaining quiet while I pace back and forth, trying to figure out what to say first. When my anger and frustration finally boil over, I stop and lock eyes with her, settling on the one thought that keeps circling around in my head. “You fucked it all up. You should’ve come to me and talked to me. Instead, you fucked everything up.”
I stare at the woman who was my entire world, wanting to shake her, wanting her to make me understand why she would do this to me... to us. She didn’t have the right to make that decision for me. I loved her and wanted to spend my life with her. And she pushed me away.
“You wouldn’t have listened,” she whispers, her voice clogged with emotion. “You wouldn’t have gone to LA.”
“That’s not how relationships work!” I pick up a vase and throw it against the wall, making it shatter into pieces. Kaylee jumps in fear, but I don’t have it in me to care. The anger and betrayal running through my body has nowhere to go. Somehow, this feels worse than her cheating. Because at least then there was a valid reason we broke up and went our separate ways. Why I spent the past several years hating her, missing her, forcing myself to live without her.
“Braxton,” she cries, tears pouring down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” I scoff. “Sorry? Fuck being sorry. We were supposed to be a goddamn team. Trust each other!”
“I know, I know,” she sobs. “But I just... I didn’t want to be the reason you lost everything.”
“That’s what you don’t get,” I say, walking over to her. I palm her cheek reverently, needing to feel her. She’s the best and worst addiction I’ve ever had. “You were my everything, and because of your choices, I lost every-fucking-thing.”
“So where does that leave us?” she asks, her voice shaky.
I back up, dropping my hand, needing to distance myself from her. “First, I didn’t trust you because you cheated. Now, I don’t trust you because you lied and hid shit from me.” I sigh, mentally and emotionally exhausted. “Guess that leaves us right where we were... absolutely fucking nowhere.”
And with that, I turn my back on the only girl I’ve ever loved and walk away.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KAYLEE
“Where’s Braxton?” I search the dressing room. “Have you seen him?”
The guys shake their heads while they quickly change into clean shirts. When they’re on stage, they sweat, and by the end of the show, they’re soaked. So before they head to meet the fans for the meet and greet, they always change. But Braxton is nowhere to be found, which is a problem since the winner of the radio contest picked to meet him.
“Dammit, I need to find him,” I mutter, racing out of the room and down the hall in search of him. I ask everyone I come in contact with if they’ve seen him, and of course, nobody has. Honestly, even if they had, I doubt they’d tell me. I’m the bitch who broke his heart, and he’s the guy who signs their paychecks. Well, technically the label does, but you get my point.
It’s been several days since Braxton found out I didn’t cheat, and while I hate to admit it, Michael was right. He’s pissed. I mean, I knew he wouldn’t be happy that I lied, but I thought he’d at least be less mad that I didn’t actually cheat. Nope. If anything, he’s madder.
When it’s clear I’m not going to find him, I head back to where the meet and greet is being held so I can make up a lie and give the girl who won extra gifts in hope she won’t be too upset that she won’t be meeting Braxton.