A wall of heat crashed into me, followed by the strong scent of licorice. Javier stepped toward me, eyes low and viciously dark. Trying to intimidate me. I glared at him—not backing down. All I felt was pure rage for the man who was ruining my life.

My life and Maria’s life. I thought he had a thing with her, but I guess I was wrong. He seemed to fuck anything and anyone he could get his goddamn hands on.

Trevon rushed over to me, gently placing his hands on my shoulders. “Dani, I… I-we… we weren’t—” So much regret in his eyes. It was all a damn put-on.

“How long has this been going on?” I asked. Trevon just stood there, brows furrowed together, not even attempting to speak a single word. “I can’t believe you.” I pulled myself out of his grip. “Damn it, Trevon. Did you ever even care?”

He parted his lips, but I cut him off. I didn’t want to listen to another one of his lies. I didn’t want to be played again.

“You know what—I can’t take this anymore. We’re done! Done!” I stormed out of the office, not sparing Javier another look, and slammed the door behind me.

Don’t cry, Dani. Don’t do it.

I hurried down the hallway and through the bar. My heart raced. An angry tear rolled down my cheek. Fuck Trevon. Another tear. I hated him. I hated him so much.

All those memories—lying in bed late at night, fingers brushing softly against my chin, holding me against his chest and letting me listen to his steady heartbeat. Every early morning, I spent with him as he desperately tried to get his bar up and running. Every late night I waited at home for him with his favorite kettle corn and cheesy Hallmark movie.

So fucking stupid.

How many people has he cheated on me with? How many times? How long has this been going on? And… I drew my brows together, teary gaze fixed on the ground… why?

I had done everything for him, tried to be the perfect girlfriend, tried to give him everything he wanted, sacrificed my happiness for him. And all I got was a front-row seat to Trevon’s raunchy escapades.

God, I wanted to march right back into his office and make sure he knew how badly he hurt me. I wanted an explanation. I wanted an apology for wasting five years of my life on him. But something in my gut told me to keep walking and to never turn back. Not even when he knocked on my door with teary eyes and a sappy apology.

And I wasn’t going to.

He didn’t make me happy anymore. I knew that now.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 17

OceanofPDF.com

Dani

“What a dick. Honestly, who the Heaven does he think he is? Does he really think he could just do that to you?!” Kasey paced back and forth in her apartment with her arms crossed and a sinister look in her eye.

I curled into the side of her plush white sofa and clutched a pillow to my chest as closely as I used to with Trevon. When I walked out of the bar three hours ago, I didn’t feel this bad. But when I made it to Kasey’s, it hit me. Hard.

Trevon would never visit me after work with a bottle of white wine and a pepperoni pizza again. He would never hold me when I woke up at night from a nightmare of Mom’s death again. He would never love me—really, truly love me—again. At least, I wouldn’t let him. I couldn’t.

There was no way in Hell that I’d go back to him now, no way that I’d forgive him for this. I dug my fingers into the pillow. I wanted to rip it apart. I wanted to scream and cry—both at the same time.

Five years. I wasted five years of my life on him. Five years of laughing at his stupid jokes and smiling at his stupid faces and loving his stupid ass. And I never wanted it to end.

If he wanted to see other people, he should’ve just broken up with me. It would’ve saved us both a bit of hardship.

“You know what? Screw him. I didn’t like him, anyway.” Kasey pursed her red lips. “He’s a no-good cheater. He’s going to Hell. I’ll make sure he has the worst time down there.”

I loosened my grip on the pillows and laughed lifelessly. I guess I’d see him there. With all the lying and denying my lustful thoughts and dreams of Eros, I wouldn’t make it to Heaven, that’s for sure.

Someone knocked on the door, and my heart leapt. A part of me wanted Trevon to be standing there, clothes soaked from the rain, a sorrowful expression on his face. Not that I would accept his apology. I just wanted to see that he cared, even if it was just a little.

Kasey stormed to the door and yanked it open. A female dressed in a soft pink dress stood in the doorway—the waitress from Ollie’s diner that Kasey had flirted with when we were out. Her natural curls were parted down the middle and a cute maroon bow was clipped in her hair. “Hey Baby,” she said, holding out a bottle of wine.

“Mycah,” Kasey whispered, immediately relaxing. She took a deep breath and leaned closer to her. “Now’s not really a good time.”

Mycah gazed over her shoulder at me and frowned.

I stood and dropped the pillow. “I was just leaving. It’s okay.” It was late anyway.

“No,” Kasey said. “You’re staying the night.”

After shrugging off her coat, Mycah placed the bottle of wine on the counter. “Man trouble?”

“Boy trouble,” Kasey said. “That bastard cheated on her.”

Mycah poured three glasses of wine. “That guy you used to always come into Ollie’s with?”

“Yes,” I said.

She handed me a glass of wine. “Well, here’s a little something to rid him from your mind.” Then, she sat on the couch next to me and gently rubbed my knee. “Who needs cheaters anyway?” Kasey lightly grabbed her chin and placed a kiss on her cheek.

For the next few hours, we talked about anything and everything other than Trevon. From Ollie’s to Dr. U to my sexy neighbor that wouldn’t leave me alone. And when Kasey brought him up, Mycah stood and raised her eyebrows at me. “Do I hear a rebound?” she asked.

My cheeks tingled, and I gazed out at the city through her floor-length windows. “No.”

Kasey pursed her red lips. “We’ll see about that.”

Mycah placed her hand on Kasey’s knee and kissed her. “Well, I’m going to bed. I look forward to hearing more about this mystery man.”

Kasey watched her disappear down the hallway and grabbed our empty wine glasses.

“So, are you two a thing?” I asked, following her to the kitchen.

“Yeah.” She smiled.

“How long?”

Her eyes widened with excitement, and she leaned against the counter. “A few weeks. I’ll have to tell you more about her in the morning. If I tell you now, you won’t be able to shut me up and I don’t want to keep her waiting.” She brought me to a spare bedroom and pulled out a few blankets. “Are you alright?”

I smiled weakly. “I will be.” Hopefully.

When I laid down and shut my eyes and was finally alone with my thoughts for the first time tonight, I clenched the blankets in my fists. I wasn’t alright. My heart hurt. I felt like I was suffocating. The tears wouldn’t stop rolling down my cheeks.

Did I drive him to cheat on me? Did I not go out with him as much as he wanted me to? Was I not fun and spontaneous anymore? Was it because I said that I needed time to think?

I wiped the tears. No. This wasn’t my fault. I refused to blame myself for this. Cheating on me was his choice, and it was a bad one.

I was lying in a bed and staring up at a plain white ceiling. Gusts of wind blew in through a cracked window. All I wanted was to pull the blankets over my body, but everything felt too heavy to move. My head. My heart. My muscles.

“Dani, it’s not your fault,” someone whispered.

Eros laid next to me, fingers grazing against my cheek. I turned onto my side, tucking my hand under my pillow, and gazed into his black eyes. He was wearing those horns again.