Bliss is swinging her head between us, almost as if she’s waiting for one of us to laugh and tell her this is all a sick joke.
“You’ve destroyed everything I worked for…and why? Because of that fat bitch?” She eyes me balefully. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. And Marisa…” She huffs impatiently. “Callum wasn’t hers! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Keep Charlie’s name out of your mouth,” I say icily, burying my anger down deep. Bliss is baiting us to get a reaction, but she’s already lost. I know that she’s what she wants. “If you didn’t do anything wrong, you wouldn’t be standing here, holding a goddamn cardboard box. Tell me, Bliss. Was it premeditated that night, you fucking Callum? Or did you see an opportunity and jump right on it?”
Her eyes pinch at the corners as she glares at me, not saying a word.It’s probably the smartest decision she’s made in a while.
“Yeah,” Jack says softly. “We thought so.” He swallows roughly, closing his eyes. “What the hell, Bliss? What did Marisa do to deserve that from you?”
She pins a malicious glare on him, sneering, “She needed to remember her place.”
A bark of laughter bursts out of Jack. “Do you even hear yourself? Fucking hell. What was herplace,Bliss? Marisa thought she was your friend, and clearly, you thoughtsomething different.” Her mouth flattens into a mutinous line. “Nah, she was more like a puppet on the end of your strings, huh? Someone you played with and manipulated until she started talking back.”
“Hope it was worth it,” I cut in. “Your boss seemed pretty intent on making sure no other firms in the city hire you. Not with all the shit you’ve pulled here.” I look over at Jack. “I’m done.”
He’s still staring at her, his brows drawn low. “Yeah, man. I am too.” He sighs heavily. “Good luck with everything, Bliss. Seems like you’re gonna need it.”
Chapter 19
Charlie
Istack the books carefully into the paper bag, sliding them across the counter to the customer, giving her smile. “Thank you for shopping at Spellbound Books.”
She grins back, taking her bag. “Thankyou. I’m always happy to have a fictional reason to ignore my housework.” I laugh as she heads out, leaving me alone with the books and my thoughts.
It’s been six months since I last saw Dillon.
After everything came to a head the night of that party, time seemed to pass by at a crawl. Each day felt like a new challenge for me to face and survive. But just when I started feeling good about myself again—just when I stopped hearing Dillon’s words in my head—I ran out of excuses to stop avoiding my parents.
Kayla dragged me over to their place on a Thursday, as per usual, and my mother made sure that, for the whole evening, I never doubted for a second who the problem was.
“What did you do?”
“It’s probably because you don’t know how to look after yourself. I gave you that gym membership for a reason.”
“You know what, I’ll give you the card for my stylist at the salon. It’ll be a hard ask, but I’m sure she can do…somethingfor you.”
“Stop moping, Charlotte. I’m not sure we can really blame the boy for wanting better for himself.”
I wanted to defend myself. I opened my mouth to do just that, even though I wasn’t sure what I would say. My father caught my eye and shook his head, like I was the one in the wrong.
I am his only child, but I wasn’t worth defending.
Kayla seemed oblivious to how horrible the entire night was for me, but I felt like I was finally reaching a point of acceptance regarding my family.They were never going to accept me forme.My father was never going to be proud of my accomplishments or career, and my mother was never going to be satisfied—not with my looks or anything else.
I still couldn’t understand why it was so easy to walk away from Dillon, but not my family. They were like a healing scab that I just kept picking and picking andpicking, but it never healed. I was so consumed with the idea that, one day, they might realize who I am and that I’m worthy of their love.
The entire night had pushed me right into that dark hole that felt impossible to escape, so I did what I do best: buried it all as deep as I could and avoided everything that hurt…Which also means I haven’t seen my parents since that night—two months ago.
I look up as the door opens, triggering the rain stick, just as Alec strolls inside, a smile already on his face.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he greets, coming to lean on the front counter where I’ve been inputting a new shipment of books into our system for the last hour. “How’re you doing?”
“I’m good.” My brows dip in a puzzled frown. “Did we have plans today?”
I have been spending more time with Barrett since my breakup with Dillon, which, coincidentally, means I havebeen spending time with Alec, too. One night, after just the right amount of wine, I succumbed to the chemistry that had been brewing between us.
I don’t know if it was the right move, but Alec spent the entire night worshipping me, drowning every negative word and thought out of my head and replacing it with pleasure. The next morning, we talked about keeping it as a one-off—I wasn’t in the place for anything more, and Alec wasn’t looking for “serious” either. But it had been all too easy to keep falling into bed together.
