Page 91 of Sinful Blaze

“Make him stop.”

“But—”

“Daphne.” Sofi reaches across the desk to take my hand in hers. “You can do this. You need to do this. Not just for yourself, but for his sake, too. You think my big brother is just going to sit on the sidelines and allow this asshole to keep harassing you? Trust me, his version of ‘blocked caller’ is a lot bloodier than a little button.”

I didn’t think about that. I haven’t really seen Pasha in his full form and I’m not sure I want that unleashed on Conrad. Even though I feel like he deserves it.

There’s a part of me that agrees with them. It wonders why the hell haven’t I just cut the last ties with this backstabbing traitor and given myself peace.

But every time I’ve hovered over that button, I haven’t felt right. For so many years, Conrad was my friend. Then he was my boyfriend, and then my fiancé. He would have been my husband by next year, had he been a decent man.

He’s not a decent man, though.

And Sofi’s right. It’s not a good look for me if I insist on keeping this final connection to him open.

Texts start pouring in.

ASSHOLE: Tell your guard dogs to back off

ASSHOLE: I just want to talk to you

ASSHOLE: Grow the fuck up and answer your phone

I take a deep breath. I could block him now. But I should at least do the polite thing and give him a courtesy notice.

ME: I don’t want to talk to you. Period.

ME: Since you can’t respect my boundaries, I’m blocking you.

ASSHOLE: Wait, what?

ASSHOLE: Are you fucking serious?!

I glance up at my friends, who are leaning in to see if I actually do it. At the same time, they rub my shoulders and murmur words of encouragement to help me through.

“You can do this.”

“You’ll feel better. Trust me.”

“Trust us. We’ve got you.”

Another text from him pops up at the top of the screen. I don’t look at it. I’m done.

With one tap of my thumb, he’s blocked.

I blow out a heavy sigh of relief the second his profile vanishes from my contacts. They were right—I do feel better. Like I can finally breathe again.

“Please don’t tell Pasha,” I mutter, unable to look Sofi in the eyes just yet.

She sucks some air through her teeth. “I don’t know if I can keep this a secret, Daph. Just being honest. But,” she adds when I clearly start panicking, “since you did take care of it, I’ll keep this all to myself for as long as he doesn’t ask about it.”

“And if he does?”

She smiles. “Then I’ll tell him you did the right thing and blocked the assbag.”

I guess that’s better than the alternative—telling Pasha just how long I’ve allowed Conrad to try to shoulder his way back into my life.

Hazel glances between us. “Should I be worried about the new guy? Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the protective vibe. But?—”

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