Page 132 of Love Collided

“Do you knowanythingabout him? Besides the stupid lawyer shit you all rant on about constantly.”

“I know it’s hard for you to understand, but some people have more ambition in life than working on cars and driving them around in circles.”

Chase hadn’t talked about his mom much, making me think she wasn’t as bad as his father. It didn’t take me long now, though, to realize that it was because she was, in fact, worse.

My chest tightened. I missed Chase. I wasn’t sure how long it had been, maybe a few hours, but I would imagine he was already looking for me.

The diner was close enough to him that when I wasn’t back within an hour, he should have started to wonder.

“So what’s all this for? What happens now?”

“You’re the problem. If you are no longer around,” she said, waving a hand at me. “Then there is no more problem.”

I had always wanted a mother in my life, but this was starting to make me wonder if I had been lucky.

“So then what now? You kill me? You keep me down here forever?”

“I buy you out of his life. I’ve seen your garage, your apartments, even your car. I know extra money would help you.”

“You’ve been stalking me?”

“Checking up on you. I’ve been trying to determine what exactly my son was doing with you and your friends.”

“And?”

“And the only conclusion is that he likes that you are easy, and different, from the girls he usually hangs around, but that is just a phase. A phase that has quickly gotten out of hand becausemy stupid husband can’t handle a situation no matter what help I give him. I even had you arrested and instead of my husband stepping in to finish the job, he gives you plenty of time to call my son to help you. He’s an idiot. How he runs that business is beyond me.”

“Yougot us arrested for racing?”

“Of course. I thought my son would see how worthless you are after that and drop you, but no, Chase got to play the hero, and that only helped push you two together. That’s why I have taken the matter fully into my own hands this time, and left no room for mistakes.”

“But why? Is Chase happy and living a life he wants that bad?”

“It is when it doesn’t follow our family’s plan. His father’s business will need someone to take over, and while one of my daughters went to law school, there is no way I am going to support a woman taking over that company. Especially one who thinks she is too good for this world we live in, and would ruin all the clients my husband has worked with for the last twenty years. No one but Chase is going to be able to run that business while keeping their mouth shut and doing what they are told. Chase is loyal, and besides this hiccup, he is loyal to his family. That loyalty will go far in that company, but then you come along and convince him he doesn’t need to finish law school. You’re so upset about your pathetic life, you want to drag him down to your level.”

I curled my lips in, trying to hide my smile.

“You think it’s amusing?”

“I think it’s interesting that you feel so threatened by me. You’re concerned that he’s more loyal to me now.”

“Don’t get too cocky. I think he’s loyal to you right this second. The moment you leave him, though, he will see hismistake and come back to me. There is love and there is infatuation. I think we both know which one this is.”

“But I’m not leaving him,” I said, my stomach churning at his words. It’s not like Chase and I had told each other we loved each other, but that was where we were headed.

Wasn’t it?

His actions spoke enough for themselves, and I had to remind myself that his mom was doing this out of desperation, not because she knew Chase better than I did. Nothing she said was true.

“Technically, you will be leaving. He just won’t know why.”

There were so many flaws in her plan that I couldn’t even start to name them, but I tried. It would at least buy me some time. “Do you honestly think my friends are going to be fine with me disappearing?”

“No, I’ve seen how you all are, and I’m even sure that Holt girl will get involved, but I have my plan laid out. You will stay down here until tonight. From there, you will either take the money and break up with my son for good, or find out that I am much,much,worse for you and your friends compared to those gambling broker idiots. My lifestyle depends on my son taking over his father’s business and continuing to make the money. I wouldn’t be dumb enough to let that go because of one good-for-nothing slut of a girl.”

I tried not to let it, but the comment stung. I knew so much about me, and my life wasn’t good for Chase. At least not in comparison to the life he could have, but what he did with his life wasn’t exactly my choice.

Part of me wanted to agree, to force him back into this life that would give him all the money he could ever want. The other part of me remembered how miserable he looked in that life, though, and I wasn’t going to be the one to force him back into it.If he wanted it, he could go back on his own, not by me breaking up with him.

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