“Shove off,” Owen barked.
Belle narrowed her eyes at me.
I held up my hands. “Hensley is crazy; she’s delusional. There’s no way she and I are ever—”
“I need to see my fiancé!” a woman screamed from the front of the office. Heels clattered on the polished heavy timber pine floors, and Hensley careened into my office, the receptionist running after her.
“I tried to stop her, Mr. Frost,” the young woman said.
“Hensley,” I barked at my ex, “you are trespassing.”
“I’m not trespassing; we’re getting married, so this is my company too.” She threw herself at me.
I didn’t want to shove her off because the last thing I needed was some sort of assault charge.
But my sister had no such concerns. She dragged Hensley off me by the back of her collar.
“Do not touch my little brother,” Belle said.
Hensley shrank under my taller sister’s icy glare.
“We’re in love,” she whined. “He has to marry me.”
“We’re done, Hensley. you need to leave,” I said over the noise.
“You don’t have any other options,” she yelled at me. “I’m your only option. No one else will love you or put up with you.”
“That’s not true,” I retorted. “And for the last time, you don’t love me; you cheated on me.”
“You deserved it!” she screeched, stamping her feet while my siblings and employees looked on, horrified. “You made me cheat on you. Because you’re a horrible boyfriend, but I’m forgiving you.”
“I’m done,” I told her. “I’m filing a restraining order against you.”
“It’s your fault,” she said, starting to cry. “You drive people away. You drove away your parents, you drove away me, and you drove away Merrie. None of us want to be around you.”
“What are you talking about? Merrie doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
Hensley sneered. “I guess you haven’t been on Facebook lately because Merrie is tired of your shit. She’s not willing to sacrifice for you like I am. She’s moved on to bigger and better things,” she said, scrolling through her phone. “That’s why you need to be with me. I’m the only woman who can stand you.”
She handed me her phone.
There, in a photo album from one of the ubiquitous small-town Christmas parties, was a picture of Brody and Merrie kissing under the mistletoe.
I stared at it. A howling sound rang in my ear.
How is this happening to me? Again. It’s happening again.
Merrie cheated on me. This was why she hadn’t wanted me at her mom’s Christmas party. This was why Brody always seemed to be around. This was why I had caught them alone that one night. This was why she was always bringing him up in conversation. She had been cheating on me with him. She didn’t love me. She loved him. Merrie was using me this whole time.
“I have to go,” I said, handing my ex the phone back.
“Is the wedding still on?” Hensley asked hopefully.
“No,” I said, grabbing my wallet. I shook off my sister’s concerned touch and brushed past the crowd of employees.
I was not letting Merrie get away with this.
77
