Page 71 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“I’m sorry, okay! I didn’t mean it!” Marshall cries out as Travis squeezes his shoulder to the point his legs buckle underneath him.

“What part are you forgetting?” Travis asks calmly.

“Thank you for saving my life!” he yells before he starts to cry like the little shit he is.

“There, see, that wasn’t too bad, was it?” Travis sighs as he pulls him to his feet and walks him away from Verity but towards me, as he whispers in his ear.

“Now, you are going to fuck off home with your little dick between your legs and never so much as look in her direction again. If any of us discover you have even walked down the same street as her, I will make sure you are never seen again. Say what you like about me and my brothers; we don’t give a shit. But upset our woman, and you will forfeit your life. Now fuck off!” Travis pushes him forward so hard that he trips over his feet and lands face-first against the ground. Marshall scrambles to his feet and runs out of view.

“Ryan, make the call,” Travis orders as he sees Ryan already has his phone to his ear. He kisses Verity’s cheek once before letting Travis take her from him and walking away as our guy answers the call.

“It’s me. We need CCTV wiping.”

I don’t listen to the rest of the call. I look over to where Verity is crying against Travis’s chest.

“That’s what everyone is going to think of me. They are all going to think I’m a slut,” she sobs as Travis holds her.

“Do you care what others think? Does Jasmine care? Because I don’t. Let them think what they want. They will just be jealous that you have three men all willing to kill to protect you. Say the word Sweetheart, and I will take him out. No one, and I mean no one, speaks to you like that!”

Verity looks up at him with tears in her eyes my heart breaks. She had been so confident and happy five minutes ago, but now she is crying again, and it’s all my fault.

“I want to go home,” she whispers. Travis holds her against his chest as he kisses her head.

“Then let’s get you home.” He throws the keys to Ryan as he opens the back door. “I’m riding in the back with her.”

38

Verity

Why is it that whenever something starts feeling right, someone is around the corner, ready to ruin everything for me?

I never thought I would see that guy again. Why would I? We don’t hang around in the same crowd and only met through a dating app. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about him; there have been more important things to occupy my mind. But when I least expected it, there he was, calling me every name under the sun.

Why did I think people’s reactions would be any different from his? I’m one woman sleeping with three different men. I’ve seen first-hand how people treated Jasmine when she went public with the guys. I know she hid it from the O’Reilly’s, but a few girls we dance with have been so mean, and they have caused all kinds of trouble that Danielle and I have witnessed. But Jasmine is so much stronger than me, and she has risen above it all, coming out the other side like a new woman. I’m so proud of her.

I know that’s what I need to do. But it's hard when you have spent your whole life doing what others expect of you. I don’t want to be that person anymore. Yet, I don’t know how to change.

“I’m so sorry, Baby Girl, that was all my fault.”

I look up to Ethan, who is sitting in the passenger seat. He’s turned around to look at me as I sit beside Travis, leaning against him, not wanting to be alone.

“What do you mean?” Travis asks. Ethan lets out a sigh and rubs his face.

“He was the dickhead I was referring to when I said I had bumped into one. He came into the bar with the woman he cheated on you with and some mates. I didn’t think and humiliated him in front of them all.”

I hear Travis groan beside me.

“How?” he demands through gritted teeth.

“By repeating his excuse for cheating on her and asking the girl if she ever had to fake it. I also pointed out that I have no issues making Verity scream.” Ethan stares at me for a moment, obviously waiting for me to cry again, but instead, I find myself giggling. I know how much Marshall loves to brag to his friends and would have made out that I was the problem when he switched to a new woman.

“You aren’t mad?” Ethan asks from his seat. I shake my head as I smile at him.

“No, that would have been the worst thing you could have done to him. Take it the woman didn’t argue when you asked if she faked it?”

Ethan shakes his head, but Ryan answers as he glances at me through the rearview mirror.

“She looked embarrassed as hell. Which just confirmed Ethan was right.”

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