I gripped the door frame when the door slammed shut behind her and let my forehead fall hard against it. How had I screwed this up so much? It felt like my life was slipping through my fingers and I was rapidly grasping at anything to keep me there. If I lost Kamryn, I lost everything.

I flung the door open and took off down the hall, but she was already stepping onto the elevator so I turned and sprinted toward the stairs and rushed down the flights. Bursting out the side exit door near the stairwell, I searched for Kamryn’s car as I made my way toward the front of the parking lot and looked for her.

When I saw her racing into the lot, I took off after her, calling out her name. She didn’t stop, but I caught her just as she got to the driver’s side door of her car. Pulling her into my arms, I dropped my forehead to hers and held her there.

“I’m sorry. I’m an ass**le, I know. I didn’t mean what I said to you about Aiden. God I’m so sorry. Please don’t leave, we need to talk about this.”

“I can’t, Brody, I can’t keep doing this with you. You don’t even trust me. You thought I would be with Aiden? I know I’m in a relationship with a married man, but regardless how society views our relationship, I’m not a whore! And you—you didn’t even deny that you told Olivia you were staying with her.”

“I can explain that, Kamryn, but we need to talk about it. We need to figure something out. You need to know what happened when I went home last night. And Aiden—I’m sorry. When I found out he was there, I just flipped. You’re mine, and the thought of anyone touching what is mine drives me insane.”

“I am yours, Brody,” she whispered and tried to step back from me. “But you’re not mine. You never were. I can’t keep being the mistress in a relationship that I give my everything to, when you’re only giving a fraction of yourself.”

“You’re not a mistress, you’re my world.” I pulled her close and rested my forehead against hers again. “I can’t lose you. I’m so sorry. I love you, Liv.”

An agonized cry left her before she could cover her mouth with her hand, and I thought I would die right in that moment.

“Good-bye, Brody.”

“Pl—” My breaths were coming too fast and strong. “Please! Kamryn! I didn’t mean—”

“It’s over. Go back to your wife and stay there. I’m done sharing you with her.”

She turned, and my arms fell away from her. I couldn’t reach for her again even if I tried. I stumbled back until I hit the car next to hers and slid down to the ground as I watched her get in her car and drive away. My end couldn’t come soon enough. In less than twenty minutes, I’d insulted and lost the girl who meant everything to me, and I’d called her by another woman’s name. This had to be the worst nightmare I’d ever experienced. I needed to wake up and have it be yesterday morning all over again.

16

Brody

July 15, 2015

“OLIVIA, CAN YOU come here for a minute?”

“Kinda busy, Bro. We can talk tomorrow. I need to get to my parents’ so we can get to the club on time.”

I blew out a deep breath and tried to remain calm. “This will only take a few minutes, and you’ve been blowing me off for the last couple days.”

She tsked, and I knew she was rolling her eyes. “Poor Brody wants attention,” she mocked. “Go get it from your friends.”

“Olivia, sit in the f**king chair for a minute!”

“Oh, so you have a temper now too? Do you want me to tell Daddy about this?” She sat roughly in the chair and immediately began drumming her fingernails on the table. “Well¸ what did you want? I need to go!”

I huffed a laugh and couldn’t help but smile. Jesus, why did it take me this long to do this? “You’re making this a lot easier than I—”

“What?” she snapped.

“I filed for divorce three days ago, Liv.”

“You what?!”

“And I should’ve done it years ago.”

She stood quickly and began pacing. “You can’t divorce me! My dad will ruin you. I will take everything you have, Brody!”

“The house is in my name only, and you keep draining our accounts, so I have no money. You’ve already completely ruined my life, what more could you do?”

“You’re about to find out.”

“Save your threats, Liv. I’m done with all of this.”

Tears poured down her face, and her shoulders hunched. “You can’t do this to me! You killed our son.”

“Stop using that against me! Goddamn it, Olivia! I will have to live with that for the rest of my life, but I won’t f**king live another five years of you constantly reminding me of what happened to Tate. If you had an ounce of respect for his memory or me, you wouldn’t keep doing this. And don’t try the suicide thing with me again. I see your bullshit—fuck, Olivia, I see it now, and I hate myself for not seeing it a long time ago. You love yourself and your life way too much to ever jeopardize it. And another thing—since this is my house, I put it on the market this morning. I don’t want anything that reminds me of my years with you, and I want you out of here by the weekend.”

“You bastard! Where am I supposed to go?”

“Your parents have a mansion, and you spend the majority of your time there already. Shouldn’t be hard to take the rest of your stuff there.”