I lean forward, resting my forearms on my thighs and glance up.
“The whole thing is a mess,” I say with a sigh.
Too many people have had their lives controlled because Zach and Darra were complicit in her old man’s scheme.
Mary’s words haunt me.Regrets.
Kathryn Frazer will always be my biggest regret. Loving her, never. But, our relationship since that day… Caleb and Elijah weren’t my only friends in the Frazer household. Kat was that, long before Cal. Losing her nearly broke me. It was why, when Dillon Myers offered me the internship, I went as far away as possible.
“Do you know, when you confronted me, I initially thought it was a joke. How could you believe that of me? Then I began to wonder, did you doubt me because you knew I wasn’t good enough for you?”
Kat’s stoic expression cracks, and is replaced by one of horror.
“Not good enough? Why on earth would you think that?” she blurts out. “What the hell, Jax! I truly thought you’d slept with Sasha. When did I ever give you the impression you weren’t good enough for me?”
Kat jumps up and starts pacing. I can almost hear her brain humming. She spins to face me.
“You were my lover, my best friend. Do you know how lost I was without you?”
My heart pounds at her words.
She clearly has a poor memory of past events.
Heat rushes through my body, my muscles tense.
“Lost? Really? Wow, we have quite a different recollection of past events.”
Kat frowns. I stare at her.
Has she really forgotten?
“You were fucking hanging off Zach within a few weeks of us breaking up.”
It’s my turn to get up and start pacing, although the additional bed makes the space small.
“I came back from my interview in the US, and he was all over you like a rash. It didn’t look like you were too lost from where I was standing. It looked like Zach was the perfect replacement. One you later moved in with, need I remind you.”
Kat blanches at my words, her cool exterior finally shattering.
She shakes her head, but the adrenaline rushing through my system has taken over. I grit my teeth and inhale deeply before closing my eyes. I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“You’ve got it all wrong,” she whispers. “He was helping me.”
I growl.
“Not like that,” she snaps. “He was a buffer. After everything that happened, I couldn’t face the parties and the social events alone. He offered to be my platonic plus one.”
“I’m sure he did,” I hiss, having read his fuckingexplanation!
“He said if people saw me with him, they’d leave me alone. I needed space to process, and he was offering as a friend, or so I thought. I was too bruised to argue. It’s not like I could talk to Elijah, he was going through enough of his own shit, and you were gone.”
“How did Zach know about us? Did you tell him?”
Kat’s head shoots up.
“He didn’t. Not as far as I was aware.”
I shake my head.
