Brazen Bossman: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 63

Gabrielle: Deal is done. Our name is embargoed indefinitely, so as far as all parties are concerned, we have gone from “Interested Buyer” to “Buyer”. There’s a five-day waiting period, then we can make the next move. Congrats!

In any other normal circumstance, I wouldn’t even consider clicking on the notification. It’s not my phone, it’s not my business, but there is something in my gut telling me to just do it.

My thumb hovers for a few moments before I make the decision to just click it. I’m interested in what he does, besides Lennox, anyway… right?

My conscience calls me on that bullshit quickly. Yeah right. Keep telling yourself that.

I open the most recent email and all it says is what I could see in the notification, but there is an attachment… and the name sends cold chills over my body. It’s titled Contract and Deed, and the address listed afterward is my mother’s building: Kingston’s.

He took it from us.

My hands begin to shake and white-hot tears form in my eyes. I lay down his phone and pull his shirt back over my head.

I lean against the counter, and everything inside of my stomach whirls, threatening to make itself known.

I blow out a sharp breath, splash some water on my face then stare at myself in the mirror.

I got played.

I try my best in life to not make crying over men a habit. It makes me feel weak, and that is not something I ever want to be, but the betrayal is making my heart rip in half.

I plug his phone back into the charger and take a good look at myself in the mirror.

I’m Piper fucking Kingston.

I don’t let a man walk all over me. I don’t let him betray me. I don’t let him hurt me.

With resolve I know won’t last more than a few minutes, I quietly leave the bathroom and pause at the side of the bed.

He’s still sleeping soundly, only now instead of being charmed and enthralled by his relaxed face, I want to punch it.

But if what I read is true, he doesn’t deserve my emotion. He doesn’t deserve to see me shed a tear.

I quickly change clothes, putting on a simple pair of shorts and a tee I had packed in the bottom of my bag. I take a look around, making sure I have everything because I will not be coming back here.

I try not to look at him because with every move I make toward leaving, the knot in my throat grows bigger and bigger.

Once I’m ready to go and have requested a Lyft on my phone, I pull a piece of paper off the small stationary set that occupies space on a desk near the window, scribbling a single sentence down for him to find.

Before I leave the bedroom, I risk a final glance back at him. He hasn’t moved, still deep in the sleep he so desperately needs.

With my chin held high and my reasons firmly on my shoulders, I tell myself that this is the right thing, the only thing, I can do… and I leave him there… along with the piece of my heart he has stolen.

Nathanial

There is a point when you reach the end of a long stretch of sleep that your body begins to scream. It’s been still for too long, too comfortable for too long. Your muscles need to move and your limbs need to bend in a new way.

With my eyes still closed, I slide my hand over the sheet, looking for my beautiful bedmate, but I only find cold, empty sheets.

With open eyes, I sit up in bed and look around, quickly deducing I am alone in the room. The sun is peeking through the windows, telling me it’s much later than I usually sleep.

“Piper?” I call out, but I’m met with silence.

I move from the bed, going toward the door but what I see, or don’t see rather, stops me in my tracks.

All of her things are gone: her bag, her shoes, her phone charger in the wall. It’s all gone.

“Piper?” I call out again, just because there is no way she is anywhere but in this house.

Again, there is only silence.

The kitchen. Empty.

The living room. Empty.

The study, the gym, the pool, the patio. All empty.

Panic begins to build in my chest and I march back to the bedroom to get my phone from the bathroom. As I pass the desk, a white piece of paper in the center grabs my attention.

Snatching it up, I read the perfect, cursive handwriting and my heart falls to my feet.

Please don’t contact me. This is over.

- 

Piper

“What?” I say out loud.

Fuck that.

I crumble the paper in my hand and grab my phone from the bathroom. The screen comes to life and reveals that my email app is already open displaying an email from Gabrielle.

It takes all of four seconds for me to deduce what has happened here, and what was panic has evolved into frustration, anger, and anxiety.

I ignore what she asked in her note and call her phone.

It rings twice then goes to voicemail, so I call it again, and this time it rings once, then goes to voicemail.

When the beep sounds, I begin to speak.

“Piper, this is a wild misunderstanding. Please call me back. Don’t do this.”

I hang up the phone and call again, but this time… I’m sent straight to voicemail.