Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
I can practically hear Andre’s eyeroll from here. “Always so dramatic. I never laid a hand on you, and you know it.”
“You punched walls! You screamed at me and got into my face. You threw me in that closet and locked the door!”
“That was only once, and I was drunk.”
“Yeah, and I was terrified. After that, I always knew, if I said or did the wrong thing, you might lose your temper and do God knows what to me.”
“You knew I’d never actually hurt you.”
“I did not know that! So, as far as you ‘taking care of me,’ that’s literally the opposite of what you did to me. You terrified me, Andre. I lived in constant fear!”
“Stop being so dramatic. Do you think it’s easy for me to come here and admit I fucked up? But here I am, with my proverbial hat in my hands, admitting that I was wrong. The least you can do is give me the courtesy of seriously considering what I have to say.”
“I owe you nothing. Don’t you realize what you’re feeling isn’t love? It’s jealousy! I’m sure Drew tells you all the time how deliriously happy I am with Grayson, and it enrages you to no end to know I’ve found someone who loves me like you never could. I’m sure Drew even told you about today’s birthday party, didn’t he? So, you came over here to make a scene, to try to ruin Grayson’s happy day, not because you want me, not because you ever wanted me, but because you can’t stand to lose. Because if you can’t have me, then you don’t want any other man to have me, either.”
“Damn straight, I don’t! Especially not some little boy who looks like a fucking paid escort on your arm!”
“What?”
“Everyone can see he’s a loser who doesn’t have two nickels to rub together! I swear to God, I’m sick to death of our son having to witness his mother making a goddamned fool of herself by flaunting her relationship with a nobody. Where’s your self-respect, Selena? Set a good example for our son.”
“Okay, that’s it,” Selena barks. “Get the fuck out—right fucking now—or I’ll call the police!”
And that’s my cue. I burst around the corner of the house, sprint toward Andre, and push on his chest. “The lady told you to get the fuck out,” I yell, as Andre stumbles back in shock. “Time to go, asshole.”
“Grayson,” Selena gasps behind me. She sounds equal parts relieved and alarmed.
When Andre gets his feet steady underneath him, he strikes a laughable power pose across from me. Chest puffed. Chin up. Arms flexed. If we were two silverbacks, Andre would be beating his chest. “This doesn’t concern you, little boy,” he seethes. “This is between me and my wife.”
“Ex-wife,” I shout, as Selena says the same thing behind me.
“Everyone can see you’re a gold digger,” Andre shouts at me. “Must be nice to get to hang out at your rich girlfriend’s house all the time, huh? Save yourself big bucks on rent and food?”
I lunge forward and shove my face into Andre’s, physically quaking with the urge to pummel his face. “I’m warning you, old man. Shut your fucking mouth before I break it.”
Andre smiles. “Do it, gold digger. Show me what you’ve got.” He touches his chin. “Right here. Hit me as hard as you can, little boy. I bet the only thing you’ll break is your hand.”
Trembling, I clench my fist. There’s nothing I want more than to beat the living shit out of this man. He deserves it for all the times he mistreated Selena. For the shitty example he sets for Drew. And for all the years he undeservedly held the title of “Selena’s husband.” I’m not a violent guy by nature, but this asshole evokes a murderous streak in me I didn’t know I had. Looking into his dark eyes and seeing that taunting, arrogant look in them, I want nothing more than to unleash all my rage onto his face.
“Don’t do it, Grayson!” Selena shouts behind me. She clutches my flexed bicep. “He’s baiting you!”
“Aw, come on, little boy. Wouldn’t it feel good to punch me? I dare you.”
I’m quaking. Tingling. But I take a deep breath and take a step back, suddenly realizing Selena is exactly right. This motherfucker is baiting me. Setting some kind of trap.
Andre is a renowned lawyer, after all—one of Seattle’s best. If I beat the shit out of him now, as he’s explicitly daring me to do, he’d surely turn around and gleefully sue me for everything I’ve got, including all my shares in my new company. Or maybe his real endgame is finding a way to keep me away from his son by turning me into a supposedly violent lunatic? That’d be a clever back-door way to keep me away from Selena, too, at least whenever Drew is staying with his mother. Fucking hell. Whatever Andre’s ultimate goal, it’s now clear to me he’s willing to sacrifice his face to accomplish it. This is most definitely a trap—one Andre is hoping I’m too young and testosterone-laden to figure out.