by Abby Brooks
She had me right where she wanted me?
What in the world was that supposed to mean? Had I been wrong about Kara? Had she been manipulating me this whole time? Had everything she said to me been a ploy to get me to marry her so she and her dirt-bag mother could continue benefitting from my family’s money?
I was tired of getting sucker-punched and this one hit me right in the gut. No matter what happens, whether he loves you or not, you’re going to get him and end up with a very comfortable life.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Kara called me her rock, but what if I had been right that night?
What if I wasn’t her rock? What if I was her mark?
And what if I fell for all of it, hook, line, and sinker?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Wyatt
I couldn’t be there. Not with anger and confusion spiraling into a macabre dance, frantic, laughing wildly, and ever more out of control. I needed to leave and come back when I was calm, so I could ask questions and get answers like a rational man who knew Madeline Lockhart was a horrible woman, but her daughter was not. Unfortunately, good timing was not in the cards that night. Just as I stepped off the porch, the front door opened.
“Well, if it isn’t Wyatt Hutton.” Madeline looked like she had been crying, but nothing about her could be taken at face value.
Just like her daughter, whispered the devil on my shoulder.
“Wyatt?” Kara’s voice sounded from deeper in the apartment, trembling slightly and wrapped in anxiety. She was probably nervous over the possibility that I heard what they were talking about, and rightfully so. Oh, I heard alright. I heard enough to set my teeth on edge and my head spinning in circles.
She was using you…
Just like your father used you…
And you were too dumb to notice, even when it was right in front of your face...
Because you always do the right thing, even when it’s stupid…
Madeline stormed off without saying goodbye and somehow I found myself inside Kara’s apartment. Without thinking, I crossed the room to her and kissed her deeply, my own quiet goodbye. I needed to leave. My mood was swelling and seething inside me, anger feeding confusion feeding anger, round and round until this giant ball of darkness threatened to consume me. But she smelled so good. And she melted into me, her lips parting with a moan that went straight to my dick.
What I felt for this woman went beyond love. Beyond hate. She was every good and bad thing that ever happened to me, wrapped up into one indecipherable package. No matter how much time I put between us, how much she used me, she had a space in my heart and would for the rest of my life.
She told me I was her everything, but it was a lie. She saw what she wanted in me and found a way to take it, to work her way into my heart, knocking over everything in her path. My life was a disaster and my heart was breaking and every time I felt that way throughout the history of my life, she was there.
I wanted it all to come to an end and for sanity to rule again. I wanted to be done with the secrets. The lies. The manipulations. I wanted to know that I had everything under control instead of watching it fall to pieces time and again. I wanted to know, with complete and utter certainty, that Kara was real and honest and true. And the terrible reality of things meant that I never could.
Because of the way we came together…
Because of my father and her mother…
Our lives were a constant question mark. How could I ever have faith that what she said she felt for me was real? After what Madeline said in the office, and after what I heard this evening, there would always be a voice in the back of my head, picking away at my confidence and damn if I hadn’t lived that way for too long. How could we build a relationship that grew into something healthy and strong when the foundation was weak? The doubt my father had in my mother was enough to ruin him, and the rot spread to the entire family. I wouldn’t, I couldn’t make choices that would turn my life into a repeat performance of theirs.
I glared at Kara, so angry I had no words as I stalked back toward the door, ready to leave before I ruined everything. Kara made a face, grabbing my wrist and turning me to face her.
“Uhh, you gonna say anything, big guy?”
The hurt in her eyes added to the hate in my heart. The swirling ball of darkness expanded, and, like water breaking past a dam, surged through me, carrying away any semblance of rationality. I was nothing but pain. Consumed by regret. Her siren call had lured me in and I was dashed on the rocks at her feet, broken, battered, and barely recognizable as the kind of man I thought I was.
And with all that swirling around my heart, I turned to her and she flinched at what she saw on my face.
I said the first thing that came to mind, the worst thing I could have said. “I always knew you were just like your mom.”
The words were sweet, but so was cyanide. And they went about doing their job just as quickly.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kara
Wyatt’s words landed hard. “Excuse me?” I recoiled, adding at least three extra question marks to my voice.
He turned his back to me, his shoulders rounded and pulled up close to his chin. His breath came quickly and all I felt from him was the white-hot heat of rage. “I heard everything.” There was so much malice in his tone that tension climbed up my spine, hand over hand until it could whisper in my ear.
Your mom. He heard your mom and now he finally believes you’re just like her.
His words were a bucket of cold water, dousing the flames of my love. The fact that he still couldn’t trust me had bile rising in my throat.
“You know what, Wyatt? This is the second time you’ve come to my apartment and gotten all up in my face over something you heard. If you don’t trust me, fine. But stop pretending like you do. And never, ever, treat me like this again.”
Wyatt continued as if I had never spoken. “I came here to tell you I talked to my mom. That it was actually really good. That things were finally starting to fall into place. I wanted to take you to dinner and then come back here and fuck you sweet and slow because for one brief moment, everything felt alright.”
I held out my hands, questioning. “Then what the hell happened? Because let me tell you, big guy, none of this feels right.” Fear trailed cold fingers along my neck. How could we come back from this? How could we survive if this was all it took to shake us to pieces?
“I heard you.” Wyatt bit off each word as his gaze darkened, clouds covering the sun, the low rumble of something terrible in the distance. My stomach flipped and flopped and my heart acknowledged the tremors signifying the onslaught of a catastrophe.
“You heard what? Jesus, Wyatt! Stop repeating yourself and tell me what the hell is going on!”
“I heard your mother say that you have me right where you want me. That it doesn’t matter if I love you or not, you’ll end up with everything you always wanted.” Wyatt crossed his arms over his chest. “Does that sound about right? Ring any bells for you?”
My heart sank. That statement sounded terrible out of context, but that wasn’t what had me feeling so desolate. It was the fact that Wyatt was willing to jump to conclusions about my character, based on nothing more than something he overheard.
“Yep.” I frowned, crossing my own arms over my chest. “She definitely said that.” My words were a gauntlet thrown between us.
The look on Wyatt’s face was ugly. “And I’m sure you have the perfect explanation to make it all sound completely innocent. Let me hear you talk your way out of this one, Kara.”
I shook my head. “Get out.”
His brows hit his hairline. “Excuse me?”
“I said, get out. Of my apartment. Of my life.” Of my heart, I thought but didn’t say. “I want nothing to do with you. Not one damn thing. If you can’t trust me enough to know that my mom is the crazy, manipulative bitch, not me, then you are stupider than I thought. And if you’re willin
g to treat me…” I started trembling, my treacherous chin wobbling, but I swallowed that emotion down and buried it deep. “To treat me the way you just treated me, you don’t deserve to be part of my life.”
Wyatt had the audacity to look shocked as he stared at me.
“You heard one thing!” I shouted. “One thing said by a woman who is known for being awful and you’ve already cast judgement. Get. Out.” I stomped my foot and pointed at the door.
Wyatt ran his hands into his hair, groaning as he tugged, but wouldn’t move or speak. Just when I thought he was finally going to say something, he dropped his hands to his sides, turned his back, and left.
I ran to the door but didn’t open it, rage boiling through me as I pounded a fist against the wall. How dare he! How dare he accuse me of using him? How dare he accuse me of using my body as a weapon? How could I ever forgive him?
The answer was simple. I couldn’t. And if I couldn’t forgive him, then that could only mean one thing. We were over before we even began.
Tears spilled down my cheeks as I crossed the living room and collapsed onto my couch, curling into a ball and sobbing into a pillow. Years of disappointment poured through me and I gave in to the sorrow, ignoring my phone as it pinged with messages and missed calls.
Let him call.
Let him worry.
Let him realize what a dick he’d been.
Time passed, though I didn’t know how much. There was a soft knock on my door, and then, when I didn’t answer, another. And another. Finally, I heard my name.
“Kara?”
I recognized Brooke’s voice and sat up, wiping my swollen eyes as I opened the front door, then walked away without a word. It was only then that I realized I’d been sitting in the dark. Night had fallen and I didn’t even notice.
“Whoa,” she said as she took in my appearance. “What happened, babe? Was the conversation with your mom that bad?”
I dropped onto the couch without a word. I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Explaining what happened would solidify it and I wanted to hold on to the last shred of hope that this night wasn’t real. That I was dreaming. That I would wake up any minute, sweating and crying, with Wyatt’s warm arms wrapped around me as he whispered reassurances into my ear…
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for hours.” Brooke sat next to me, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulder. “At first I thought you needed some space after talking to your mom, but then I started getting worried. You gotta talk to me, Kara.”
Reluctantly, I filled her in on what happened with Wyatt, the awful way he treated me, and how easy it was for him to believe the worst of me. “I thought he was better than that. I thought…” I swallowed back fresh tears. “I don’t know what I thought,” I said, hiccupping as I dropped my head onto her shoulder.
That was a lie. I knew exactly what I thought. I thought Wyatt loved me and that meant something. I thought he knew I wasn’t like my mother, but twice now, he had assumed the worst of me because of her. I thought he and I were something beautiful.
I was wrong. Oh, God, I was so wrong and I hurt more than I thought I could ever hurt.
Brooke rubbed a hand over my back. “I don’t even know what to say other than what a dick move.”
I barked a laugh. “Such a dick move.” My voice cracked on the end of the sentence and I wept.
Chapter Thirty
Wyatt
Doubt snuck in before I even made it home, followed closely by fear, and then a sense of dread that buried my heart in my stomach. Not only had I jumped to conclusions, but I let anger take over and said the one thing I knew would ruin us. I stayed when I knew I needed to leave and lashed out because I was afraid.
At a stoplight, I texted her.
When I got home, I texted her again.
When I got no response, I called her, leaving several crazed voicemails before I considered getting in my car and driving right back to her apartment.
Only, I wasn’t calm enough to have a rational discussion and didn’t want to make the same mistake twice. I didn’t want to fight and as emotional as I was, as emotional as she was sure to be, a fight was inevitable. I needed to make things okay between us because Kara was…well, she was Kara. I sent one last text apologizing for jumping to conclusions and begging her to call me when she was ready to talk.
A day passed.
Then another.
Then a week.
Then two.
Her silence was deafening. Kara was always up for a fight, always ready to prove herself right and point out all the ways I had been wrong about any given situation. Her lack of response was a response in and of itself. We were done and she wanted me to stay away. I promised myself I would give her that, at least.
I focused on work and my family, and tried to find solace there. At first, I expected I would hear from Madeline, ready to push her blackmail agenda now that Kara and I weren’t together. There was nothing but silence on that front as well. It was like they never existed. Like the last seven years had been a lie. Like Dad had never called me into his office and brought me in on his secret and now, a huge chunk of my life was missing.
It was everything I always thought I wanted, a life without them in it. But now that I had it, I didn’t know how to exist. Kara wasn’t just a part of my life, she was my life. She had all of me and everything was gray without her around to light up the darkness.
As time passed, I found myself unable to keep my vow of staying away. I drove by her apartment several times, but her car was never there. Each time I swung into the lot, I swore it would be the last, only it never was. The longer I went without hearing from her, the more fear got the better of me. I had to see her. I had to apologize. She didn’t have to accept my apology, but she needed to hear it. I needed to know she was okay, and then, maybe, I could move on.
All I knew about where she worked was that she made jewelry with her friend Brooke, but after only a few internet searches, I had my choices narrowed down to two possible locations. The first one was a bust. I knew it the moment I stepped into the shop because nothing of Kara’s spirit was in any of the pieces.
The second one, though…
Kara’s signature was all over the place. In the window dressing. The logo. The look of the pieces inside. Strong, direct, stunning.
A tall blonde with curly hair and kind eyes looked up as I walked in. A flash of recognition danced across her face and all the kindness drained from her posture. “We don’t serve your kind here.”
“My kind?”
“Yeah.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter. “Assholes who take advantage of vulnerable women.”
I smiled despite myself, admiring her ferocity. “You must be Brooke.”
“And you must be fooling yourself.”
She had a point, but this visit wasn’t about me. “I’m really worried,” I said. “Kara isn’t returning my calls. Her car hasn’t been in the lot outside her apartment in weeks. I’m afraid something’s wrong.”
“Does it really need pointed out that you are the something wrong?” Brooke shook her head, clearly appalled. “Kara looks tough from the outside, but inside? Her heart is like a piece of glass with all these cracks running through it. Doesn’t take much more than a flick of your finger to shatter it beyond recognition. And you? You drove a Mack truck through the thing.”
I closed my eyes against the truth. “Is she here? Can I at least talk to her?”
“She’s not and you can’t.”
“Look, I’m desperate here. I messed up…”
“Again.” Brooke gave me a pointed look.
“Right,” I conceded. “I messed up again. Can you at least tell me if she’s okay or not?”
Brooke frowned. “Let’s see. For Kara’s entire life, she’s been treated like an afterthought by her mother. Everything Kara ever did, Madeline managed to ruin. Or steal. Or just simply fuck up beyond recognition. Enter the wonderful Wyatt Hutton.
A real class act. He swoops in, saving her every time she needs help, slowly but surely working his way into her fragile little heart. And for one painfully brief blip of time, she had everything she wanted. But then, then!” Brooke held up a finger. “This guy reveals he doesn’t trust her to such a degree that all it takes is one out-of-context statement from that monster of a mother for him to say the one thing she spent her life trying to avoid. Now you tell me. How okay do you really think she can be?”
I hung my head, appalled, and Brooke let out a short, cough-like laugh. “Yeah, that look says it all. You messed up, Wyatt. You messed up big time.”
Her gaze darted over my shoulder just as the front door opened. I turned, already aware of Kara even though I hadn’t even seen her yet, and my heart shattered when I did. She looked pale. And thin. And so very sad.
She froze when she saw me, tears shimmering to life in her eyes. She blinked them away and set her jaw as she locked her gaze on a door in the back of the room. Without a word, she strode past me. “I’ll be in the workshop if you need me,” she said to Brooke.
“Kara…” I took a step in her direction and she stopped at the sound of my voice, shoulders raised, posture tense. “Please talk to me. I am so sorry…”
Kara dropped her chin and sighed, slowly shaking her head, then pushed through the door without a word.
Chapter Thirty-One
Kara
Seeing Wyatt hurt more than I thought it would, and I had expected it to destroy me. That was why I had been staying with Brooke. I knew that man well enough to know he wouldn’t stop at emails, texts, and phone calls. The more time passed without a response from me, the more desperate he would get. He would eventually try to track me down. I had hoped not being home would be enough to deter him.
I should have known better.
When I saw him through the front window of the shop, I could tell by the set of his shoulders he was arguing with Brooke. My instant desire was to burst through the front door and bury myself in his arms, but I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t do that. I had to train my poor, traitorous heart out of loving him because as it turned out, my initial assessment was right. If Wyatt and I ever got together, we would combust and it would ruin us both. And here we were, ruined.
