But, as my life had proven time and time again, luck wasnoton my side, because Garrett arrived home before I could make my escape.
“Gwen?” His shout was followed by a quick slam of the front door. “Gwen, baby, where are you?”
I ignored his voice and the way the deep baritone made me shiver and continued throwing clothes into suitcases. The soundof his thick-soled boots hitting the ground grew closer as he rushed up the stairs and down the hall.
“Christ, baby,” he sighed when he reached the threshold of the bedroom door. “Are you okay? I’m so goddamn sorry.” I jerked away from his touch when his hand landed on my shoulder and kept packing. “Gwen, will you fuckin’ look at me? What are you doing?”
“What’s it look like?” I bit out, rage still roiling in my blood from everything that had happened.
“Why’re you packing? Where the fuck are you going?”
“To Corrie’s,” I answered shortly, still refusing to meet his eyes.
“Goddamn it!” he barked, grabbing me by the shoulders and spinning me around. “Will you fuckin’ stop? Talk to me, baby. What’s going on?”
I was too lost in my own anger to notice the stark fear shining in his eyes. “What’s going on is that your little fuck toy decided to get her revenge by smearing my name all over the fucking Internet!” I shouted. “What’s going on is that I’ve got people threatening me, accusing me of being a terrible mother, and saying I should lose my daughter! I’ve had to turn off my phone because those assholes somehow got my number and won’t stop calling, asking how much money I received for your illegitimate child. The paparazzi are brutal, and the die-hard Civil Corruption fans want my head on a goddamn stake!”
“I can fix this,” he insisted. He reached for my hand, but I pulled away. “I’ve already got my team working on it, and we’ll find out who—”
“Oh cut the shit!” I spat. The thin tether holding my fury in check snapped in two. “Don’t pretend you don’t know who leaked that joke of a story.” I let out a humorless laugh. “You know who it was. This has Kimber’s name written all over it.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Have you lost your fucking mind? Of course I know that! Who else could it have been, huh? Those pictures of Liddy came frommybedroom. This is the exact same woman who kept the fact that your daughter was having surgery from you. But I shouldn’t be surprised you’d defend her,” I hissed, acid dripping from my words. “I mean, even after I told you how I sat in that waiting room alone and scared to death, even after you knew the fucking truth, youstilldidn’t fire her. I mean, she’s probably the only woman besides me that you’ve gone back for seconds with, so it’s no wonder you’d try and make excuses for her. Guess her pussy was just too good, huh? Makes up for the fact that she’s a lying, scheming bitch. Good to know.”
“Stop it,” he growled, taking me by the arms and giving me a small shake. “Fuckingstop. I understand you’re angry. I get it, and you have every right. But don’t say shit you don’t mean.”
I laughed sarcastically. “Oh, you think I don’t mean it? Did you see what they’re saying about me?”
“They’re just fuckin’ tabloids, Gwen! As soon as some new gossip comes along, they’ll forget all about this. If you’d just give me a chance to ex—”
“There’s nothing to explain, Garrett! If you hadn’t gone around sticking your dick into every willing participant that crossed your path, none of this would have happened! You treat women like they’re expendable, and you’re surprised when one of them wants revenge? Come on, you’re smarter than that.”
His entire frame locked tight and his eyes grew as dark as storm clouds. “Are you really blaming me for this?”
“You’rethe one who decided it was a good idea to fuck the help, andI’mthe one dealing with the consequences of your actions. They were at Liddy’s daycare today. Herdaycare! I had to walk through your screaming fans and those goddamn rabid photographers while our daughter shook in my arms. They said the most disgusting things, and she heardall of it. She was terrified, couldn’tunderstand why people were being so mean to her mommy. And. That’s. On. You.” I punctuated each word with a jab of my index finger in his chest. “If you’d have just kept it in your pants—”
“That’s fuckin’ bullshit and you know it! You’re not pissed that I fucked Kimber. You’re pissed that your small, sheltered world got turned on its head, and you’re looking for someone to point fingers at because you’re scared. You’re using the past as an excuse, holding every wrong I ever did over my fuckin’ head because I was getting too close and that freaked you out. You know I can fix this. You know I’ll be able to take care of you and Liddy, but you’re too much of a coward to let me! The first sign of trouble ahead and you’re running.”
My mouth dried up at his accusations. A knot the size of a golf ball formed in my throat, making it impossible to breathe. Because he was right. In the back of my mind, where logic and reason still ruled, I knew he was right. But like he said, I was too much of a coward to admit it. “That’s not true,” I whispered. The words were ragged, like they’d been torn from my chest.
“Yes it is. You’ve been running this whole fuckin’ time, looking for any reason to make me the bad guy once again. Tell me I’m wrong.”
I couldn’t tell him that. My mouth refused to speak that lie, so instead I turned and continued packing.
“Don’t do this,” he pleaded on a haggard whisper. “Please, baby. Don’t do this.”
Tears filled my eyes and spilled over my lashes. A voice inside my head screamed at me to stop, but my pride and fear wouldn’t let me.
He kept going, moving so close I could feel his heat on my back. “We can work this out, Gwen. I know we can. I love you. Don’t walk away.”
“There’s nothing to work out. It’s done.”
I zipped the suitcase closed, pulled it off the bed, and started for the door. My eyes stayed on my feet with each step. If I looked at him, I’d lose it.
“You walk out now and that’s it. It’s done. I can’t keep chasing you, Gwen. It hurts too fuckin’ much.”
“Then stop chasing me,” I said in a weak voice. My heart cracked in two before crumbling to dust as I slowly made my way out of the house.
