Page 84 of Myself

“I’ve already forgotten,” he says flatly.

“You told me that you loved her.”

His body freezes where he sits. His eyes drill into mine, his shoulders pulled back and body tense. “Pretty sure you’ve felt that way long before last night. Remember that?”

He doesn’t answer, and I sigh, needing to tell him what happened. “Ryder, she ...”

“I don’t wanna talk about Ashlyn,” he snaps, and I close my mouth. “It’s over. I have shit to do. Shouldn’t you be at work as well?” he growls.

I place my hands on both armrests and press myself up. “Yep,” I say and walk out, letting him fuck himself over.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

BECCA

I knock on Ashlyn’s bedroom door and take a deep breath. It’s taken me an hour to get the courage to talk to her. I’ve gone over this conversation in my head twenty times, but I know it’s not going to come out how I rehearsed. “Come in,” she says to me.

She sits on her bed with her phone in her hands. “Hey, are you busy?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “Come on in.”

I walk in and shut the door behind me. As I sit on the edge of the bed, Harry jumps up on it and crawls into my lap, demanding to be petted. “Who are you talking to?” I ask when I see her screen is lit up.

“Bradley.” She sighs and then pushes the button on the side, and her screen goes black. “He is still in New York.”

My eyes widen. “What does he want?”

“He’s staying at a hotel and wants me to come and see him.”

“Are you going to go?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

I nod, agreeing with her. I know my brother may not feel about her like she does him, but I lied to him today when I said she never was his. She never belonged to Bradley either. “I need to talk to you,” I say, swallowing the knot that forms in my throat.

“Okay,” she says, turning to face me on the bed. “What is it?”

“I spoke with Ryder toda—”

“Please tell me you didn’t do it for me.” She interrupts me. “Honestly, I’m fine, Becca,” she lies.

I run a hand through my hair. “It wasn’t for you,” I say softly. “I had heard something and needed to find out for myself.”

“What was it?” she asks, frowning.

I take a deep breath. “O’Kane’s investments is buying Talia’s.”

Her lips frown, and her eyes search mine. “What do you mean buying Talia’s?”

“I don’t know the specifics; I just know they are buying it.”

She looks away from me and swallows. “When?” she asks softly.

“I’m not sure.” She looks down at her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry I don’t know much. Ryder wouldn’t give me much information about it. He said it wasn’t any of my business. But I guess it’s been in the works for a while.”

She nods, still not looking at me. “Thank you for telling me.”

I reach out and grab her hand. “I know this is hard to hear, but it’s going to be okay.”

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