Page 18 of Billionaire Retreat

Jack looked ready to bolt and my stomach dropped. Why would Jack be afraid to talk to me?

I gulped. “Let me guess, he’s no longer on the island and he sent you here to do his dirty work.”

Jackson ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Nina. I know this looks bad, but—”

I was tearing up and I struggled to maintain control of my voice. “It’s ok. It’s not your fault. I think I’ll be leaving too. Do you know who I can talk to?”

Jack looked ashamed. “It’s all been arranged. Gertrude already knows and made arrangements for you. But it’s not what you think—”

“Don’t cover for him, Jackson. It’s exactly how it looks.” I wanted to get as far away from Jackson as I could. I needed to remove myself from the situation. I was hurting. How could Griffin do this to me?

“He had an emergency come up…”

“It’s ok, you don’t have to lie for him, Jackson.”

“It’s not a lie, my brother’s not a liar,” Jackson said, more to himself than to me.

I was done listening and walked off. Jackson followed behind me.

“Nina, I know this looks bad, but my brother genuinely likes you. I’m sure he’ll make this up to you.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said pitifully, wiping at my eyes. To my chagrin, the staff seemed to be interested in the public scene unfolding in front of them.

“Look, he told me to give you his card,” he said with a hint of desperation. I guess Jackson was a genuine guy… unlike his brother. I took the card out of his hand and ripped it up. I was enraged.

He watched, open-mouthed, and then tried to stop me. He froze when I glared at him and took a step back.

“I’m leaving. Now. Give your brother my regards, wherever he may be.”

And with that I stomped off. I kept my bravado up to the point when I reached my room. It was then that I allowed myself to breakdown. I was just happy I’d kept it together that long.

I hadn’t been with many men and I certainly didn’t jump into bed with just anyone. I’d thought Griffin was special, but apparently he was a piece of crap. I’d let the romance of the island and the circumstances of how we met cloud my judgment.

I wanted to go home. And I didn’t just mean Kenny’s apartment. I meant Georgia. I wanted to get as far as possible from Griffin and the reminder of how Griffin had walked away and left me like I was some sort of cheap whore.

At that moment, I looked in the mirror and saw the dress that before looked alluring, now suddenly looked slutty. I flung it off and put on my own clothes.

I grabbed my bag with my meager belongings and walked out the door. I didn’t have a plan other than to wait at the pier until the yacht came for me. Someone would come for me eventually. The girls and the other guys were gathered around having a laugh about something and they were caught off guard as I went stomping through their group not bothering to say a word.

“What’s up with her?” I heard one of them say. I was sure my exit would give them tons of juicy gossip while they remained on the island. And I didn’t really care. I had to get out of there.

I then heard footsteps behind me. It was Jackson. Again.

“I’m fine. Go away.”

“It’s my brother. I have him on the phone, he wants to speak to you.”

“Tell him to go screw himself.”

He handed me his phone and I don’t know what got into me, but I threw it. Straight into the bushes.

“Hey! I just bought that.”

“Well, now you can buy another. Have a great wedding, Jackson.”

I left him walking through the bushes trying to retrieve his phone. I didn’t feel sorry in the least. He might have lost a phone that day, but I had lost my heart.

A month and a half later, I sat on my mom’s front porch. She and my stepdad lived in a lovely neighborhood. I never really appreciated it until that moment.