But then I realize…
It was never love.
It was barely affection.
If anything, it was a need to feel wanted, which he fulfilled—all while he drained me dry. “It’s none of your business,” he spits. “But you’re going to help me. It’s the least you can do.”
“The least I can do?” I scoff. “I would have thought all the liquor you stole from me would have been more than enough. I mean, it was enough to nearly destroy me, so…”
He shifts his eyes slightly, and I already have my answer.
I shake my head in disbelief. “You spent it, didn’t you?”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Pres.”
“You stole my fucking money, Jace!”
“It’s not like you don’t have more. I know you like to pretend to be a regular girl with your beat-up Jeep and hand-me-down couch, but it’s all an act. You’re a Creed. I know you have money.”
God, he really didn’t know my family at all.
“Look, I don’t know what you got yourself into, Jace, and honestly, I don’t really care. It’s not my problem. But I’m not letting you have another free pass in my stockroom. I should have called the police the first time.”
I should have changed the fucking security code the second I fired his ass.
He grins. “But you didn’t. ’Cause you’re afraid of disappointing Mommy and Daddy, aren’t you?”
“Fuck you, Jace.”
His hand grips my waist, and when I try to push it away, he only tightens his hold. “Since you brought it up, I do have something I wanted to show you. Just a little something I’ve kept to remind myself of our happier days.” He pulls out his phone with his other hand. “I’ll text you a copy, but remember, I have the original.”
He taps a few buttons on his phone and then turns the screen toward me.
It’s hard to see at first because of the camera angle and dim lighting, but I’d recognize those pleated velvet curtains and four-poster bed anywhere.
It’s my bedroom.
And in the center of my bed, there’s a perfect shot of me, straddling Jace as his hands grip my waist just like he is now.
I feel physically ill.
“Turn it off,” I beg, pushing the phone away.
“What? No. It’s just getting to the good part, babe. I really do miss those sounds you make.”
I push him. Hard. “I said, turn it off!”
The bar door bursts open just as Jace stumbles backward. The phone clatters to the ground, face up. Tears stream down my cheeks as Hollis steps out, his eyes darting between me, Jace, and the phone.
“Who the fuck are you?” Jace demands.
“I’m her husband. Who the hell are you?” Hollis growls, though I’m sure he already has a pretty good idea. He steps up beside me and gently places a hand on mine. I lean into it, needing the connection. Needing him.
“Husband? And here I thought you were boring.” He smirks just as a moan echoes from his phone and pierces the silence. My whole body tenses. Jace chuckles. “Well, notthatboring.”
Hollis lunges, but I grab his arm, and he instantly stills. “Don’t, Hollis. He’s not worth it.”
Jace’s cold smile turns deadly. “Hollis?This is Hollis? The guy you said was just a friend? Wow, you rich bitches really all are the same, aren’t you?”
