He was the guy I thought I was going to marry. The only man I’ve ever truly loved.
“Just go, Call. I don’t want you here. I don’t want to be married to you, and I don’t want you in my life anymore. If you want to fight the divorce, fine. But I’m done.” I don’t even care how much it costs; I just want him out of my life.
“Does your dad know you’re seeing one of them? One of those lowlife thugs?”
He’s not a thug. He’s the best man I’ve ever known. Better than the one standing before me.
“He doesn’t, does he?” He laughs coldly. “Oh, that’s fucking rich. Payton Ellicort, the town’s princess, is in bed with a criminal. Bet Daddy’s going to be so fucking proud when he learns the truth.”
“Get the fuck out!”
My heart is in pieces, and I can’t even look at him anymore. He just ripped everything away. Stole the one and only dream I had left.
“Fine, I’ll go. I need to go pay your dad a little visit and let him know what his eldest daughter has been up to since she left our marital bed. I’m pretty sure he’ll be taking my side on this one and make you reconsider your choice. Though, I’m not sure I want to be with your skank ass after you slept with that trash. He’s probably carrying a disease.”
“Go!” I barely get the word out. I can’t take anymore. “Leave or I’ll call the cops!”
As soon as he storms out the door, I crumble, falling to the ground and curling in a ball. The pain slices through me. It’s beyond anything I’ve ever felt. It actually feels like my heart has been severed down the center and my soul has been ripped out. Nothing has ever hurt this much.
“Payton.” The soft voice barely registers through my wailing sobs. “Payton, it’s okay.” I open my eyes and see Kota kneeling next to me. She looks terrified. “I’m here. It’s okay.”
She never speaks. My sweet sister never utters a word unless she truly has to. And here she is struggling past her fears to comfort me.
“I lost him. I should’ve told him I was married, but I was so afraid, Kota. But I lost him. I lost him.”
The sobs break through me again, and they won’t stop.
“It’s going to be okay, Payton. It’s going to be okay.”
I shake my head. It’s not going to be okay. Cage isn’t going to forgive me for this. I saw it in his eyes. It was like the love burned right out. Like a quick gust of wind blowing out a match. He trusted me, yet I failed to share the most important thing. And I hurt him.
“Chass, we need you. Come home now.”
Her voice is so desperate. She’s on the phone and I can hear my best friend panicking through the line. Chassie was out running errands trying to give me privacy while Callum was here. I wish she had stayed. She could’ve answered the door and helped mitigate the situation. She could’ve stopped Cage from leaving.
“It’s going to be okay, Payton. It will all be okay.” She keeps repeating herself as she lays down next to me, brushing the hair off my face. My sweet dear sister who’s scared of the world, who keeps her thoughts locked up tight, is doing everything she can to comfort me. Nobody ever understood why she never spoke, but I did. I knew she was afraid of sounding like an idiot. My dad had told her that enough when we were kids.“Don’t speak, Dakota. You’re embarrassing us. Every time you open your mouth, you sound stupid.”
“You were never an embarrassment, Kota.” I squeeze her hands. “You’ve always had the kindest soul. And you are probably the smartest person I know.”
She overcompensated for my father’s harsh criticism. Spending her time with her nose in a book, always tucked in the corner of the room, out of the way, out from under his cruel attention. I never understood why he was so hard on her.
A lone tear slips down her cheek, and we sit in the pained silence. I’m not sure how long we lay there, both lost in thought, but then suddenly Chass is rushing in, scooping me up andpulling me to her. She hugs me tight, and another wave of tears fall. It feels like they’re never going to stop. They just keep coming and coming.
23
Cage
“Are you doing okay, Cage?”
Been asked that question a dozen times tonight. Don’t think I’ve ever been worse.
“Hand me that bottle, doll.” I point to the Macallan. The expensive one. The one worthy of this pain.
Shayna pulls it down from the top shelf and slides it in front of me along with a glass. I forgo the glass and open it, bringing it to my mouth, welcoming the burn. I’m ready to not feel this pain inside my chest. I’m ready to be blind to her pretty eyes and her smile. By the time I get to the bottom of the bottle, I’ll hopefully have forgotten Payton’s name.
But there ain’t nothin’ strong enough to forget her name. It’s inscribed in my every thought. Into all my future plans. The vows on my tongue and in my heart. She’s everywhere. And she’s fucking married.
I take another swig of the booze, a longer one this time.
