“Pfft,” I scoff. “Let him.” I stare him straight in the face. “I have my inheritance. We don’t need the Stewart money.”
A pained look shimmers in his eyes. “It’s not cut-and-dried. The consequences are far-reaching. He’ll ostracize me from the family and drive me out of town. You know he’s a powerful man with important connections. He will ruin me if I disgrace the family name. Believe me, if there were any way to get out of this, I would. But there isn’t. My hands are tied.”
Hurt comingles with frustration and disbelief as I peer into his piercing green eyes. “So, what? That’s it? What we have means nothing to you? You’re going to marry Julia? You’re really going to do it?”
“Baby.” He reaches for me, but I step back, avoiding Chad’s touch as he reaches for me too. I’m pissed with both of them today. “What we have means everything to me. You know that,” he pleads, beseeching me with his eyes. “I am so sorry about this and the way you found out. That bitch did it on purpose.” He exhales heavily, his eyes still imploring me to understand. “It’s not what I want, Ash. It’s the very last thing I want, but I can’t get out of it.”
“This is such bullshit.” Chad rubs a hand along the back of his neck. “All the plans we had for college have gone up in flames.”
“We still have two months,” Jase says, hope flaring in his eyes. “The engagement won’t be official until then. After that, we’ll have to fully end things. I can’t risk disrespecting my fiancée.”
I suck in a sharp gasp as the words leave his mouth. The pain is like nothing I have ever felt before.
“Baby.” Jase is on top of me before I’ve processed the motion, sweeping me into his arms. “I’m so sorry. I don’t care about her. At all. You’re the only woman I want.”
“Then fight for me!” I shout, tipping my head back to plead with him. “You are giving in too easily.”
“I have spent a lifetime fighting my destiny,” he cryptically replies, peppering kisses into my hair as he holds me tight. “If I could fight for you, Ash, believe me, I would. You are worth everything and more.”
“Clearly not.” I shuck out of his hold, walking straight into Chad’s comforting arms.
“Temptress, please.” Jase’s anguished voice sounds at my back, but I can’t look at him anymore. “Let’s not waste the time we have left.”
“Fuck you!” I roar, spinning around in Chad’s arms. Venom seeps from my pores as I lash out at him. “If you think I’m going to fuck around with you so you can get your rocks off before you commit to her, you have another think coming, asshole.”
Does he seriously think I would be okay with that?
I’m super close to nut-punching him like I just did with Ares.
“That’s not what I meant, Ash. You know how much you mean to me.”
“This changes everything, Jase.” Tears prick the backs of my eyes, and I work hard not to let them fall. “I want you to leave. I can’t even look at you right now.” Snuggling into Chad’s chest, I am barely holding it together.
I stare at Jase—a man I’m deeply in love with—wondering why I ever thought it was a good idea to get mixed up in this shit. I should have resisted him from the start. I should have pushed my feelings down and pretended like I wasn’t lusting after him too. If I had, I might not feel like he’s just taken a machete to my heart.
Jase opens his mouth to interject, but Chad shakes his head. “Just go, man.”
Jase’s Adam’s apple bobs in his throat as he stares at me. “Ashley, I—” His voice cracks with heady emotion, but I get no joy from his pain. What good was any of it if it’s left all of us hurting?
“Leave me alone, Jase,” I whisper, struggling to keep my composure. “Go to her.” My voice cracks as tension bleeds into the air. “We might as well get all the breaking done now.”
ChapterSix
Chad
Ashley is holding it together after Jase leaves, but only just. Her pain is palpable, massively outweighing my own. “I don’t understand him,” I say, steering the love of my life over to the couch. “There is definitely more to this.”
“I know,” she agrees, flopping down on the couch with a strained sigh. “None of it ever made sense, but we pushed our questions and concerns aside because we were having too much fun.”
I crouch in front of her. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be all right.”
Tears pool in her eyes, and I hate seeing them there.
“It hurts, Chad,” she croaks, circling her arms around my neck and hugging me. “It hurts so much.”
“I know, sweetheart. I’m not happy about this at all. I like our dynamic.”
“Me too.” Sadness reverberates in her tone.
