My jaw clenched as I held my anger back. I wanted to fucking kill him and wring his neck in front of his entire audience he was trying to impress. I knew the only reason he'd invited Eva behind my damn back was so he could catch me off-guard. I fell into his mousetrap just like he'd wanted to. He didn't give a shit if he embarrassed Gabby, who was innocent in everything; that was most likely his strongest intention. He knew if she found out about Eva, she'd probably dump my ass. Her mom might sleep with married men, but my dad knew how to read people, and I knew he didn't think Gabby was the same way.
I rushed after Gabby's fleeing body, following her into an empty room and slamming the door shut behind us. "Baby," I choked out, hesitantly taking steps closer to her as my heart raced inside my chest. I had no idea how I was going to fix it. I reached for her arm, but she whipped around to face me. I winced at the sudden stinging to the side of my cheek; yeah, she was fucking pissed.
"I deserved that," I said, rubbing my jaw with my fingers and moving it around.
"Damn straight, you did," she hissed, her voice breaking in the end. She was trying to hold back her tears, I could tell. Gabby was too strong to let me see her cry over my deception. "You're getting married!" she screamed, shoving her palms against my chest to push me away from her. "Did you really think I wasn't going to find out? Really?" I stumbled back as she pushed against my chest again.
I grabbed her arms to stop her from pushing me away again. "It's not like that," I croaked out. "I don't want to marry her."
She bit back a laugh. "Then why in the hell are you doing it, huh?"
"My parents set it up years ago and I have no choice."
She pulled her arm out of my grasp. "You're a grown man, Dalton. I'm pretty sure you have the same rights as anyone else to tell your parents you don't want to do something!" She shook her head at me. "Jesus, grow some damn balls and stand up to your dad!"
I held out my arms, ignoring her insult, even though it was true. I knew I should tell my dad to go to Hell, but I was scared of losing everything. "Can we please just figure this out? I don't want to lose you," I begged, running my hands over my face roughly, wanting to pull the skin off to mask the anger.
She sliced her hands through the air and shook her head. "I won't be the other woman. I can't believe you'd even ask me that after everything I've told you," she cried.
I clenched my fist, fighting back the urge to shove it through the fucking wall. "Goddamit, Gabby! I'm not asking you to do that!" I couldn't lose her. I'd be damned if I lost her because of my parents games.
"Then what do you want from me?" she challenged, swiping fallen hair away from her puffy face.
"Fuck!" I dragged my hands through my hair and pulled at the roots. "I don't know. I don't want to lose you."
Her eyes went dead cold. "You get married, you lose me."
My knees buckled. You lose me. "Can't we find a way to work this out?" I begged, feeling defeated.
She pursed her lips, her face laced with disgust. "Absolutely not." I knew she wasn't going to budge. Gabby had a will of fucking steel.
"Do you love me?" I asked, desperately. I already knew the answer. She did. Maybe if she heard herself say those three words, it would change her mind. She'd realize she wanted to be with me and we'd figure it out together.
"Do you love me?" she fired back, her eyes fighting to blink away the impending tears.
"You know I fucking do! You know I love you!" I'd never actually said those three words to her, or any other girl, but I knew I did. You figure out how strong your feelings are for someone real quick when they're walking out the door to leave your ass. I'd never felt anything like I'd felt for Gabby. I knew I was in love with her. I'd finally experienced what that word meant, and it was with a girl I couldn't have. She was getting ripped away from me, and I couldn't do anything about it.
"Then prove it," she said, her tiny body walking around mine to leave, but my arm dashed out, my hand grabbing her arm to stop her. Proving how much I loved her would mean risking my entire future. Could I really give up everything for the girl I was falling in love with? I knew if I broke off my engagement with Eva, my dad would never let me go back on it. If I chose Gabby over her, everything would change.
"Anything, baby," I said, my head spinning. I grabbed her hand and clutched it in mine, never wanting to let it go. "I can do anything but that." The tears finally broke through as I spotted one slide down her cheek. I swiped it away with my thumb, and she flinched at my touch.
She leveled her gaze on me and her voice turned hard. "I'm only going to say this one more time. I will never, and I mean never, be the other woman," she said, snatching her hand out of mine and taking a step back. It was like she'd taken away my entire world with that one action. "Go marry Eva and have yourself a happy little life, because I won't be in it."
"I'll never be happy if you're not in my life," I rasped out, reaching for her, but she was too far away.
"You also won't be happy without power, money or whatever the hell else makes your guys’ world go round."
"Baby," I decided the best attempt would be to grab her again, but she recoiled at my touch.
Turning around, she walked toward the door. Her hand hit the doorknob and she looked over her shoulder at me. "Go be with your fiancée. I'll be sure to send you a nice wedding gift." The door creaked open and she disappeared.
I picked up a chair beside me and threw it against the wall while my heart kept telling me I needed to go after her. I needed to make it right. But my brain was telling me to stay put. What if Gabby left me later and I was left with nothing? No money, no family, nothing because I'd been a fool who risked it all for love. I picked up the chair again and kicked it this time. I should've never fucking lied to her. The chair got thrown again. I should've just told her everything in the beginning, but I was too afraid. I was a pussy. That one lie had cost me everything.
"Okay, killer, let's calm down," a recognizable voice said behind me and I turned around. She grinned. "I like her; she’s a little firecracker. No wonder your parents hate her." Fuck, I'd forgotten there were two entrances into that room. I hoped no one else had heard our fight.
"You like her enough to convince her to be my mistress?" I asked hopefully, even though I knew neither of them would go for that.
Eva snorted. "Hell no. We made a pact that when we got married, we'd be married. No other people. Plus, even if I did, I doubt she'd even go along with it. That girl is headstrong as hell. I'm almost jealous."
I grabbed the chair I'd been assaulting, flipped it upright and sat down. "You can be that way, too, you know."
She grabbed another chair and sat down beside me. "So can you. But you know what the sad thing is?"
"What?" I asked.
"I have nothing to lose with this circus they're calling a marriage. I don't have someone who loves me like she does you. You actually have that. You have someone who makes you happy, but you turned your back on her to make Mommy and Daddy happy. I promise you'll regret that decision for the rest of your life." She shook her head. "And now I'm going to have to deal with it," she grumbled, clearly unhappy.
I huffed and collapsed my head between my legs. "I'd lose a lot more than just Mommy and Daddy's happiness, and you fucking know it."
She leaned forward and grabbed my jaw with her manicured hands, bringing my head back up to look at her. "And look what you're losing if you go through it. If you forgot already, she just ran out the door a few minutes ago in tears."
"I didn't fucking forget." Eva was right. I would never forget this night; Gabby's broken face would haunt me forever. Letting her go was going to be my biggest regret.
"Then go get her," she said, slapping my side and gesturing to the door Gabby had run out of. "Before it's too late."
"You think if that was an option, I wouldn't fucking do it? You think if I had the opportunity to snatch that damn ring off your finger and put it on hers, I wouldn't?"
Eva dragged the ring off h
er bony finger and handed it over. "Then go do it." I looked at her, baffled. "If you don't go find her, and we go through with this marriage, how are you going to feel when you see her with someone else? Someone who took your chance because you couldn't man up? How are you going to feel when she's giving some other guy the attention she had been giving you? She's smiling at his jokes and laughing. She won't even notice you because you ruined her. That will burn your heart, realizing you're not the person who’s making her happy anymore. You won’t be that guy for her again if you don’t go. So here, take this damn thing and go before it’s too late.”
I scoffed. "You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Our marriage would be broken, but she wouldn't be the one to blame. She’d still get everything she wanted.
She shrugged. "To be honest, I don't mind marrying you. Trust me, my parents could have stuck me with someone much worse than you. I'm risking something by giving you this back. They may stick me with some weirdo creep or something. I'm doing this because we're friends and I care about you."
My heart thumped against my chest as I charged out of the room and away from him. Trying my best to control my breathing, I searched through my clutch for my phone as I headed toward the exit, dodging bodies left and right. Screw this party. Screw these people. I scrolled down to Cora's name and smacked my finger against it until I heard ringing come from the other end of the line. It continued to ring until I got her voicemail.
I scrolled down a few more names and dialed Lane's number. Voicemail again. I'd just begun dialing the number for a cab when Lane's smiling mug popped up on my screen with an incoming call. Thank God.
"Hello," I answered, trying to control my shaky voice as I held the phone up to my ear.
"Hey. I saw you called. Where you at?" he asked. I could hear the commotion of the party around him.
"Outside. Can you please take me home?" That moment is when my voice broke. I wasn't sure if it was because I was talking to Lane or I'd reached my limit. The tears came trickling down and I sniffled. I'd let my guard down and gotten betrayed. I was such a fool for thinking it could've been different; for thinking he could've been different.
"Meet me at the front door," he said quickly. The other line went dead. I wobbled over the corner in my heels, rubbing my hands over my face in an attempt to stop the tears, and fell down onto a bench. I bent down and ripped my shoes off my feet. I was sure if anyone saw me wandering around barefoot with my heels in my hands, they’d be horrified, but I didn’t give a shit. I was beyond the point where I’d cared any longer. The moment they began messing with my heart was the moment I realized all of them were dead to me.
"Gabby!" I heard Cora's screechy voice yell, and I pulled myself up from the bench while gathering my clutch and shoes in my hands. "What the hell happened?" she shrieked when I turned the corner and ran into them. Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed when she took in my crying face, unruly hair and bare feet. She grabbed my elbow, pulling me in for a hug, and I shook my head in response. I wrapped my arms around her tighter, feeling defeated as I bawled into my best friend's arms. I wasn't ready to talk about it yet and she rubbed my back in understanding. I was an idiot. I'd pissed off Lady Karma, and now the bitch was coming back with a full vengeance.
"I gave the ticket to the valet and they're getting the car for us. Whose ass do I need to kick?" I overhead Lane's loud voice say behind Cora.
I let out a light giggle at Lane's protectiveness. "No one. I just want to leave," I said, pulling away from Cora and swiping a few more tears off my cheeks.
Cora wrapped her elbow around mine. "I don't blame you, babe," she said. “This party blows.” The valet brought up Lane’s car to the front door, and my two friends settled my weeping body into back of his Escalade.
The car ride was silent. I couldn't help myself from checking my phone every thirty seconds. Maybe, just maybe, if he called it would change things. If he called and apologized, telling me he wanted to be with me, it would have changed things. I might've forgiven him. But as the minutes trickled by, my patience began to fade; by the time we reached Cora’s house, it was gone.
I couldn't go home. I didn't want to face any of the questions about leaving early from my mom or Asher. I'd texted them letting them know I was staying the night with Cora before shutting my phone off. The only people I cared to hear from were with me. Cora had called Daisy and told her she needed to get her ass to her house because we were having an emergency girls’ night.
I stripped out of my dress and another round of tears erupted. I wished I couldn't feel a damn thing. I wasn't normally a crier. I was always the girl who held my emotions in, never letting anyone know I could be hurt. My body felt cold as I threw on a pair of pajama shorts and a tank, shivering as I ran my hands down my arms and studied the dress I threw down. As much as I'd loved that dress, it was never going to get worn again; it was tainted and had entirely too many bad memories.
I scrubbed the make-up off my swollen face, having to spend extra time to get off the mascara streaks running down my sore cheeks. My eyes were red, and I knew they'd have dark circles around them by the time I woke up in the morning. I ran trembling fingers down the curls I'd spent too much time on getting ready. I'd wanted everything to be perfect for me but it ended up being Hell; my life was the perfect Hell.
I flicked the light switch to Cora's bathroom off and walked into her bedroom, avoiding everyone's stares; I didn't want their pity. I collapsed onto her king-size bed and drew my limbs in close to my body to create my own Gabby wall.
"Whose ass do I need to kick?" Keegan asked, his lips pressed flat.
I gave him a weak smile. "No one who matters," I grumbled. I hated saying that Dalton didn't matter, but it was the truth. I didn't matter enough for him to be honest with me. I didn't matter enough for him to stick up for me when his dad tried to humiliate me in front of a room full of people. I didn't matter enough for him to choose me over some stupid business deal. Therefore, he no longer mattered to me. Goodbye, Dalton. Catch ya on the flip side, motherfucker.
He laughed. "If you change your mind, let me know." I squinted my wet eyes over to him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Daisy. I could tell they'd been lying around his house because they were both wearing their pajamas. Keegan's dark hair was disheveled and Daisy's was pulled back at the top of her head. She was wearing an overly-large sweatshirt that I knew Keegan was the owner of that practically swallowed her tiny frame. He leaned down and kissed Daisy on the forehead. "Make your friend feel better, baby," he told her, rubbing her shoulders. She smiled, tilting her head up to kiss him.
"If you two kiss and start acting all lovey, I swear on everything I own, I will kill you all," I threatened, stopping their public display of affection. Shoot me now. I was the love-hater surrounded by lovesick idiots.
Keegan pulled away from Daisy and held his hands up in surrender. "My bad, girl." He leaned over the bed and ruffled his hands through my hair before standing up. “I just want to throw this out there: guys do stupid shit sometimes. Ask Daisy, I fuck up all the time."
Daisy smiled in agreement. "He does."
"I'm an idiot," Keegan continued. "Sometimes you have to understand that's what we are, fucking idiots. We're dumb as fuck and you have to forgive us sometimes." Forgiveness wasn't a word that existed in my book. I'd given Dalton an hour to call me before shutting my phone off. My forgiveness had a time line or it was cut out for good. I picked up one of Cora's pink, fuzzy pillows and threw it at him, his head bobbing to the side as it smacked him in the face. He grinned. "Shit, okay, never mind. Hate the prick. We will all hate his sorry ass. Just be nice to me because you get seriously scary when you're pissed off. It's like you get taken over by demons."
I flipped him off and sagged against the headboard.
Daisy hopped up and down on the bed and motioned toward her boyfriend. "See, I tamed my bad boy!"
My head whipped up to look at all of them. "My bad boy forgot to mention the fact that he was engaged
," I fired back, finally clueing them in.
"Oh, fuck," came out of Lane's mouth at the same time as "dumbass" came from Keegan. It was nice to know they were on my side. I assumed it was mainly because they wanted to keep getting laid by their girlfriends, but I'd take it; the more people on my side, the better.
Keegan tossed the pillow I threw back on the bed. "I think this one is out of my league. I'll let you ladies handle this. Let us know if you need any manly advice; otherwise, we'll be in the basement playing video games." Lane followed him out of the bedroom and shut the door.
"How the hell didn't you know he was getting married?" Daisy questioned as soon as the room cleared. "Don't you have to attend all of their holiday dinners and parties? How could you have not known about her?”
I slouched back against the headboard. "He never mentioned it, and she's never been around that I know of. Plus, it's arranged or something," I answered. I believed Dalton when he said that because I'd overheard Wilson talking about how he'd arranged Leo's marriage for a business agreement.
Daisy scrunched up her face. "What, are we in the fifteenth century? People actually still arrange marriages?"
"They do it as business agreements, sometimes. Your kid marries mine and I’ll merge our companies, or we’ll always do our business with you. Stupid shit like that,” Cora explained for me. “It’s fucked up.”
"You rich people are seriously weird," Daisy replied. She came from a small town. Her mom was a homemaker and her dad was a cop. It took her a while, just like me, to get used to the extravagant lifestyles the people around us had.
I held out my hand in protest. "I'm not rich. I'm only guilty by association." I knew Kenneth wasn't going to support me forever, and I'd eventually be out on my own. I was almost certain I wouldn't have millions lying around to spend when that time came, either. Unlike the majority of the kids I knew, I wasn't receiving some large inheritance.
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