Page 86 of The Bitter Words

“Cash, baby.” Zara inches closer to me. “You’re so much nicer when we’re fucking. You relax and put all this?—”

“Shut your fucking goddamn mouth, you dirty slut.” My chest heaves. “Get the hell out of here before something bad happens.”

She shrugs it off and side-steps around me.

“Ask him how he knows I’m a dirty slut.” She smirks at Livianna as she passes. “Maybe he’s been on an antibiotic in the past because he thought I gave him something when in fact it came from someone else. He cheats on you all the time, Livianna. You’ll never know unless you ask.”

I see red. My entire body tenses and blood rushes through my ears. I curl my hands into fists. It’s taking everything in me to hold in my hatred. Zara is as horrible of a person as Leon.

Bren braces me by putting his arms around me andholding me in place. “Zara, you know the rules. Leave before we all demand you get kicked off the rest of the tour.”

“You’re all snowed by your supposed good girl. But, Cash…” Zara peeks over her shoulder at me. “Livianna isn’t so innocent either. You and I have our secrets and she has hers.”

Hawke clears Zara from the room and slams the door behind her. “That was a shitshow. What a bitch.”

Livianna’s devastation drips down her face in waves. “You slept with her again. Didn’t you?”

“No! I wouldn’t cheat on you.”Not willingly, anyway.My insides tumble out of me and I die a little more. “Don’t let her get to you and make you doubt us. She wins if you do.”

Livianna’s tear-filled eyes scroll over my face. “You swear on your dad’s grave you haven’t been with her and anyone else since we’ve been together?”

The blood leaves my body. I have lied to Livianna, but I’ve never sworn on my pops’ grave. I can’t. With that, I know my relationship is over.

Chapter Nineteen

CALLUM/CASH

Then

Venomous Lips & Monsters In The Hallway

Some lies don’t scream…they crawl under your skin until you mistake them for your own pulse.

“Livianna.” My legs almost give out on me. I can’t give her the one thing she deserves, the truth. “You know I’d never do that.”

“What wouldn’t you do, Callum? Cheat on me or swear on your dad’s grave when you’re lying to my face?” She wipes her cheek with her hand.

Bren releases me. “I’ll vouch for him. Zara isn’t around us. If she shows up, Cash leaves. They don’t spend any time together.”

“It’s true.” Cooper pops a beer bottle open. “He can’t stand the bitch, and after seeing what she did, I can’t say I blame him.”

“You got her fired, Lily. She’s just being evil and trying to get back at you.” I step to her to hold her.

She flinches back. “You were on an antibiotic after Leon’s New Year’s Eve party last year. You were a mess for two weeks and refused to see me. When I asked you about it, you said you had an intestinal bug that called for medication to cure it. Were you telling me the truth or did you sleep with her then?”

“I was being honest.” I lie again and another part of my soul falls away.

“But we passed out that night.” Livianna's eyes, lined with pain, look at Bren as if she’s searching for answers.

“Livianna, I told you when you asked about it. I went looking for you and Cash around two-thirty or three in the morning.” Bren gestures to me. “I found you two in Leon’s office passed out in each other’s arms. The only person in the room with you was Leon, and he was chilling out, watching a movie.”

“I remember seeing Zara with Sebastian around midnight,” Cooper adds. “They were getting drinks in the kitchen. A while later, I saw them leave together.”

“Zara wins if you let this continue.” Hawke struts by us and joins Cooper by getting a beer. “And on another note, I’ve never known Cash to cheat on you.”

Livianna glances around the room. The agony etched in her expression proves to me she isn’t sure she believes any of us.

I advance on her, trying again to touch her and make this right. “Why don’t we have a drink and relax?”