by Ashley Munoz
“Do you believe people can fall out of love?” I asked quietly. The darkness covered enough of the room to hide how much I was revealing in the question.
She waited a breath before answering. “I think so…”
I shifted my left hand until it was resting on her side. “Why?”
She hummed and leaned into me, and her soft skin sliding against mine felt like hearing my favorite song or eating my favorite food. She was an addiction.
“I honestly don’t know. I mean…you would know better than anyone.” She sounded confused, as though I’d just asked her to rotate the tires on my truck, like this was something I was the fucking expert on. My chest tightened with the same regret it had harbored for the past five years.
“Faith,” I whispered, sharing in this tiny cocoon we were creating. My lips fell to the shell of her ear. “I never stopped loving you.”
She stilled. My nerves thrummed with energy at what she might say.
I’d just blatantly thrown my heart out in front of her, and I wasn’t sure what I expected her to do with it.
“Don’t say things like that,” she muttered, her voice thick with emotion.
I turned her until she was lying flat on her back, staring up at me. The darkness covered us, like a blanket of secrets, like the lies that had shrouded our past and still clung to the edges of our future.
“Why not?” I searched her eyes, desperate for some kind of hope to still be lingering there.
“Because”—her eyes went wide, her voice stripped thin—“you ripped my heart out, Jace. I was so in love with you and you…you just stopped loving me back. Don’t make light of it when it hasn’t happened to you.”
She tried to wiggle free of my hold, but I wouldn’t let her go. I moved my hand to cup her hip more tightly while lowering my face until my lips hovered over hers, until I could see the light from outside gleaming in her blue eyes.
“It did happen to me. I had to watch with the rest of the world as the girl I loved walked down the aisle toward someone else. Do you have any idea what that did to me, Faith?” My voice was harsh, desperate for her to understand.
She blinked, causing a few tears to slip free. “Then why? You still haven’t ever explained it to me. Why did you do it?”
I shook my head and locked my jaw, refraining from spilling all the things that had torn us apart over the years—but enough was enough. After silently letting out a steadying breath, I finally confessed.
“Someone caught me…they had video footage, timestamped pictures of me breaking in, stealing my mother’s meds.” I shook my head, leaning back a fraction, but Faith wasn’t having it. Her hands cupped my jaw, keeping me close. “They sent the video in August…before…” I trailed off, hating how all this was coming out. “When he showed up, he gave me a choice: break it off with you or go to jail. If I went to jail, I wouldn’t be able to get my mom any more meds. Even if I didn’t steal, it was still my income with Dad’s that helped get her what she needed.”
Faith let out a shuddered breath, but I wasn’t finished.
“So, I let you go, knowing it was the only choice that could save my mother’s life. I was planning, though. I figured I just needed a little time to figure it out, get leverage on him—which I did end up getting. Got the asshole fired, but it was all too late. You were engaged, and by the time I found out, I was getting arrested.”
“He…but…” she stammered, trying to grasp what I hadn’t said.
“Double-crossed me…yeah. He still turned me in, despite me breaking it off with you.”
Faith sat up, pushing at my chest, her breathing erratic and strained.
“Who did this to you?” Her voice cracked. “To us…”
I shook my head in disgust. I still, after all these years, couldn’t stomach that he’d done it to us, to her.
Too much time had passed for an answer, which must have made it seem like I wasn’t going to give her one. Maybe I shouldn’t have. Did it really matter anymore?
She thrust at my shoulders. “Who?”
Venom laced her tongue, gouging somewhere deep inside me.
Her eyebrows drew together, her face just inches from mine as she again demanded, “Who?”
Finally, with a heavy sigh, I relented. “Your father.”
Thirty-Two
It was two in the morning, but I didn’t care. For years I’d wondered why the boy I loved left me. I’d lost countless hours of sleep, my appetite, my heart. I had blamed myself and discounted my worth over how easily Jace left me. It never made a lick of sense, how we could be so insanely in love, with plans and ideas, then one day it all just ended. No explanation except that we were too young, and he had too much going on with his mama.
It hadn’t been enough then, and it still wasn’t, which was why after Jace made his confession, I threw the covers off, pulled on some clothes and some flip-flops, and stormed out of my apartment, leaving him behind. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.
I used my key, let myself in, and started a pot of coffee. The bubbling brew was atrociously loud, which I knew would wake my father.
I pulled out a chair and situated myself in the old kitchen chair as the aroma of the dark roast filled the space. Moments later a soft glow emanated from the stairs, and my father cautiously wandered down in his striped pajamas and robe. Nice to know if I’d been an intruder, he’d have been properly dressed when he died.
“Pumpkin?” His bushy brows drew together as he assessed my posture. I pushed the chair back, minced to the coffee pot, and poured two cups.
“Daddy, I think we need to talk.” I handed him the steaming mug.
His eyes assessed me warily, but he accepted the cup and sat down.
“What happened between you and Jace all those years ago?” I started, hoping he wouldn’t drag this out with any lies or bring up what had happened the other day with my mother. I didn’t need to hear his side of that; I just needed answers.
His face paled for a brief second, and he tried to hide it by sipping from his cup. “That’s a bit of a complicated story, honey. I think it might be best if we left it in the past.”
Anger took hold of me and shook my soul so hard I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw my coffee at him, because that admission was enough to show he’d orchestrated something.
“Tell me,” I insisted through gritted teeth.
He winced at my tone and stared down at his mug.
“When I married your mother, we were so poor we had to live with your mother’s parents for a while. While your mother was perfectly happy about the situation, I was miserable.” He stopped, taking a small sip.
I leaned back and tried to stay patient as he took the longest route possible to get to his point.
“I was ashamed…and every day I’d come home from job hunting, your grandfather would scold me and tell me how pathetic I was. One time in particular, he told me how much he wished his daughter had married someone else.”
I noticed his eyes misting as he recounted his story. I stayed quiet.
“I was weak back then, so weak. Your grandfather was harsh, both verbally and physically. When I’d get turned down for yet another job, he’d smack me around. All while your mother wasn’t watching, and he knew I wasn’t going to say anything, but it slowly broke me down. I began to agree with him after a few months of failure. I wanted to leave your mother, knowing she deserved better.”
“And did you?”
“Leave her? No. Maybe I should have, but I stuck with it. Finally found a job, saved every penny I made, and right when I was about to rent a small apartment, her father bought us a house—this house…actually, and one we hadn’t even had a chance to look at. And that’s how our relationship went. Her father would buy us things, undermining my position of authority until it wore on our marriage so much we almost divorced.”
I sat back, arms crossed and totally confused.
“What does this have to do with Jace dumping me?” Maybe before the Bry
an thing, I’d have softened and shown him some compassion, but after him hearing Bryan’s side of the story and encouraging him to take me to dinner—not a chance.
My father sagged in his chair, his pinstriped pajamas perfectly ironed, not a wrinkle in sight. “At that brunch…the one where you two were telling us all about your plans for college…I knew I had to do something.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I leaned forward, feeling a fire start to burn in my belly.
“It means he was no good for you. He was dirt poor. If I let you two get married, have kids…it’d be the same exact cycle I fell into with your mother. You’d end up living here with us, I’d resent him for not providing for you, and you’d eventually hate me for undermining your marriage.”
“Dad you have no way of knowing that would have happened!” I stood, shoving the chair back.
“Your mother hates her father, hasn’t spoken to him in years because he was so unkind to me. Her loyalty stood with me, and after we nearly divorced, it only became stronger. That was the final straw for the two of them. He made her choose, and she chose me.”
He stayed seated while I paced around the kitchen. “So, let me get this straight…” I brought my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “You sabotaged my relationship? What exactly did you do?” I was breathless, nearly on the verge of a sobbing meltdown. My hands shook and my stomach churned as I waited for him to explain.
“One of our clients had filed an incident report about some missing prescriptions. We had to look into it. Their assumption was that it was an employee, and I was put in charge of reviewing the tapes. I found Jace in several of them, stealing from the pharmacy, and suddenly it felt like a gift had been dropped in my lap.”
“You blackmailed him?” I whispered, disgusted that I shared DNA with this man.
“I merely told him to break things off with you, and yes, I used the tapes as leverage.” He stood, moving closer.
“Do. Not. Come any closer to me,” I snarled. The rage simmering in my veins could have leveled an entire city. I crowded the counter, holding it to keep myself stable as sharp breaths rattled my chest. “But why…” I tried to force the words out. What he’d done was so terrible. “How could you send him to jail after he’d already broken up with me?”
My father, the man who’d been gentle and kind to me, who’d bandaged my skinned knees and kissed away my tears when I fell from trees, blanched. A lump formed in my throat as I waited for him to deliver the final blow.
His eyes dimmed, hip lips turning down as something like shame twisted his features. “You had met Bryan, which was good, but I knew as soon as Jace saw and found out you were engaged, he’d ruin it. I knew you still loved him, and if he showed up, you’d leave Bryan. So, I sent the tape to the police, made sure he didn’t have a chance to ruin what you had going for you.”
An anger so raw, so violent swept through me. It rivaled anything I had ever felt when being abused by Bryan. This was different. This was a man I’d loved for so long being ruined…this was betrayal.
“You ruined his life.” My voice was a low hiss as I clenched my fists. “You ruined my life…you…” I hiccupped on a harsh sob that was cutting into my windpipe. “How could you?”
“I thought I was doing the right thing. You were better off—”
I put my hand up to stop him. “I can’t… You need to stop talking.” I took a calming breath, which did nothing at all for me. “We’re done. I don’t want anything to do with you. I can’t ever look at you the same after this…you disgust me.”
I stormed out of the house before he could respond.
“Jace, it’s me again. Please call me back, I really need to talk to you.” I pressed the red end button on my phone screen and lowered my hand. I’d driven back home as soon as I left my parents’ house, hoping Jace would still be at my apartment, but when I got home, it was empty. It was still early, so I knew he’d likely gone home to get some sleep, but I couldn’t help the disappointment I felt at knowing he wasn’t here.
I walked toward my coffee Keurig and pushed in another pod, gearing up for my fourth cup of the day. I was restless, desperate to talk to him about everything I had learned, and more than anything, I wanted to finally close the horrific chapter I’d been stuck in for the past five years.
Jace had wanted me. He had never stopped wanting me.
His anger toward my return suddenly made so much sense. He had been blackmailed, trying to find a way back to me while I just ran into another man’s arms, marrying him and removing the possibility of us ever getting back together. I’d unknowingly betrayed him, just like my father had done to me.
I was too keyed up to sleep, so I passed the time reading through the rest of our books with all our correspondence written in the margins. I held a few close to my chest and hoped like hell that Jace would give me another chance. I knew he was still angry about me going to dinner with Bryan alone, but there had to be a way of fixing it. He just needed to give me a chance.
Thirty-Three
The early morning air was balmy and crisp against my skin as I exited my truck. I eyed the three men who were wandering around outside my building suspiciously. Two of them looked like contractors, but the third had on a tailored suit and held what looked like a phone up to his ear. Each of them had their backs turned to me, so I wasn’t exactly sure what they were doing.
I walked up, surveying the man with the notepad and measuring tape suspiciously, and put my hands to my hips.
“Can I help y’all with somethin’?”
The businessman turned and ended his call. I took a step back instinctively when I realized it was Faith’s husband.
Did he know I’d been kissing and holding her at night for the past few weeks?
“Jace Walker?” He stepped forward with a money-making smile.
I was wary already.
“That’s me. What the fuck do you want and why are you here?” I was on edge. He’d hurt Faith and now he was smiling at me like he’d just found his next winning ticket.
“Faith mentioned you might be a little bristly.” He laughed, shaking his head back and forth while he reached into his back pocket.
What the fuck does that mean?
I still hadn’t had a chance to listen to my voicemails from Faith since I told her to go talk to her father the night before. I hadn’t felt right about staying in her apartment while she wasn’t there, so I’d headed home, passing out the moment my head hit the pillow, and then was late getting up.
I had dashed out the door, barely buttoning up my work shirt, grabbing only a banana as my breakfast on the way over. I had an early oil change scheduled for one of my regulars and had never been late a day in my life; I didn’t plan on starting now.
“Look, I’m not sure how much Faith told you, but it’s all here.” Bryan handed me a check. I gripped the thin paper, drawing my eyebrows together in confusion. The amount was written out for one point five million dollars.
“What the hell is this?” I lifted the slip of paper, eyeing the other men, who were watching in silence.
Bryan observed me with a line drawn across his forehead, clearly confused. “Faith didn’t tell you we’d be here today?”
It honestly felt like my heart had turned to stone with how heavy it was thumping inside my chest. She wouldn’t go behind my back. I wouldn’t accept that she was playing me. But then again, that had been my fear when I’d found the drawing of my shop logo. Also, the Christmas text was still without explanation, and she’d lied about going to meet him at dinner. Tiny seeds of doubt began to blossom inside my head.
“She didn’t mention it,” I mumbled curtly. Whatever his point was, I wanted him to make it fast.
Bryan’s expression was pinched as he considered me. “I’m sorry, I would have had more tact if I’d known she hadn’t told you. We drew up some papers the other night at dinner, and she mentioned her idea for Mustard Seed Auto but said we’d be better off investing in your brand, ta
king it national. She wants to grow roots closer to her parents once the baby comes.”
Maybe it was possible to actually go weak in the knees—I felt the entire fucking world shift under my feet.
“What?” I whispered, trying to regain my composure.
To his credit, he seemed surprised by my response.
“Again, I’m so sorry. She mentioned you two were friends, that you’d been catching up this last month, so I assumed she told you. She’s due in February. Anyway, all this drama around our domestic issues has really put a damper on things, but we’re eager to move past it, especially since talking things through the last few days.”
He smiled at me like I was the poor destitute kid asking for a handout. I wanted to punch the smug look off his face, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of pressing charges against me.
“So, you’re…what”—I shrugged—“wanting to buy me out?” I tried to seem unfazed by the bomb he’d just dropped. Faith had said he’d pushed himself on her that night; why on earth did it feel like I was being set up?
“Yes. Would you accept that amount?” He gestured toward the check.
“Sorry, I guess I’m a little slow here. Faith mentioned havin’ a different experience the other night at your dinner. She’s mentioned quite a few things to me, in fact.” I wanted to flip this around on him and make him feel off balance, like he’d done to me.
His armor didn’t crack; he merely looked down and let out a sigh. A second later, one of the men with the notebook walked over and held out a file. I wondered why he seemed so familiar…then realized he had the same build and hair color as the guy we had seen leaving Faith’s apartment building that day.
“I’m sorry, I was concerned she might be leading you on. She set up the dinner, wanted to talk business. Regardless of our marital status, we’re still business partners.”
A flash of color met me with a few pictures of Faith and Bryan at dinner. In the images, they had a few papers between them, lifting and examining them. In one photo, Bryan was examining one paper, and in the second, Faith was smiling and pointing down at another.
