“I wanted to tell you,” he replies, his tone desperate. “But I didn’t know how, and then I fell in love with you, and I just couldn’t.”
“No!” I cry, my chest heaving as sobs begin to build in me. The pieces of my heart he carefully glued back together over the past few months shatter into an unrecognizable mess around me, and I whimper, “No, Levi.”
“I saw the article and recognized Wesley’s name,” he says while giving me a pleading expression. “Even though I knew it had nothing to do with me, I felt guilty because he’s my half brother. I followed the trial, and it broke my heart to see how you and Jordan were suffering. I wanted to do something to help.”
“So you moved in right next door to me?” I whisper, my mind reeling from this ... this ... nightmare.
He followed the trial. He bought a house in my hometown. He lived next to me for two months before we started talking.
“You stalked me!” I gasp.
“I just wanted to help, Kelcie. I tried to fight my feelings for you, but—”
“Is that why you kept pulling away?” I ask, feeling so stupid for pursuing him.
Oh. My. God. I . . . I . . . I . . .
A dry sob tears from me.
Someone knocks, and when I don’t answer, they begin banging on the door. “Kelcie. Let me in. You deserve to know the truth,” Colby shouts.
When I step toward the door, Levi begs, “Don’t listen to him. Let’s talk about this.”
Ignoring his plea, I unlock the door and yank it open. Giving Colby the darkest glare I can conjure to my face, I snap, “Get off my property. The next time you come near me, I’m calling Sheriff Williams, and I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.”
“Kelc—”
I slam the door shut again, engage the locks, and walk to the kitchen to put some distance between Levi and me.
When he takes a step in my direction, I shake my head. “You stay right there. Don’t come any closer.”
My mind races to process everything.
I remember every memory Levi shared with me and realize he never said his family’s names. It was always stepfather, mother, or half brother.
“Baby,” Levi groans.
My eyes snap to him, and I begin to feel torn. Part of me wants to do everything in my power not to hurt him, but the other half feels betrayed and so, so very heartbroken.
“You lied to me.” A tsunami of pain tears through my chest. “You inserted yourself in my life and made me fall for you. You ... you ... you ...”
My breathing becomes choppy as my emotions spiral into chaos, and I blindly move toward the cupboard. I can’t get any air into my lungs, and it feels as if I’m suffocating.
Levi darts past me and quickly grabs my medicine from the cupboard. He pops one of the pills out and pushes it past my dry lips.
My vision grows spotty, and I’m not aware of what happens for the next few minutes.
When the severe panic attack begins to ease, I smell cedarwood and citrus.
“I’m so sorry,” Levi groans, sounding as if he’s in physical pain. “I love you with everything I am. I never meant to hurt you.”
My face is pressed to his chest, and his arms are steel bands of safety around me.
But the moment only lasts a few seconds.
I yank away from him, and when he lets go of me, I stagger backward until I hit the wall.
“You tricked me. You played me for a fool,” I sob, unable to handle all the heartache eating me up alive.
