Page 67 of Magnetic God

“But then she got pregnant.” The words taste sour in my mouth.

“She was never pregnant. Not by me, at least. Angel, you were the only one I was with from the day that I met you. I should have told you that the divorce was pending, but since the paperwork had been filed, I thought I was safe in moving on. I swear to god that my intent was never malicious.”

“So if the baby wasn’t yours, then whose was it?”

“I don’t even know if there was a baby, to be honest. From what I know, she met a guy and was in love with him. They were going to run off when her record label caught wind. The label was owned by someone in the Brotherhood, and he knew that losing Liza was going to hurt his bottom line, so he reached out to the Elite Members and pleaded his case. They sided with him without hearing me out first.”

There’s anger in his eyes that has me wanting to reach out to him, but I don’t. At the end of the day, he lied to me.

“The label is the one who leaked the story to that fucking gossip TV show. Had cameras waiting to attack us after we met. I thought we were meeting to sign the divorce papers. I had no fucking idea what was happening until it was too late.” He meets my gaze. “I wanted to call you, but I was trying to stop the news from spreading. Unfortunately for me, her team had been working on the plan for a while and were two steps ahead of me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this when I called or texted?”

“Everything was crazy. I knew it was going to take time to clean up the mess she had created. By the time it was taken care of, you were nowhere to be found.”

“What do you mean?”

“Six months after the story leaked, I went to your house. Spoke to your mom and stepfather at their house in Fort Worth. They claimed you wanted nothing to do with me, and when I asked to speak with you, they said you’d run off with a new man. I tried looking for you, but it’s like you vanished.”

He looked for me and they didn’t tell me? I’m not surprised, but it still hurts like hell.

“Liza went to rehab, and we separated again. When she started doing meth, the Brotherhood finally agreed to let me divorce her. A few months later, she overdosed after a weekend bender in Vegas.” He exhales. “I shouldn’t have been relieved when she died, but I was. I thought I was finally free. That I had paid my dues to the Brotherhood. But then my predecessor died, and I was promoted to an Elite Member, and they told me I had to get married again.”

“To Jacqueline.”

“To Jacqueline.” He says, “I’m not going to do it, though. I can’t fucking go through with another sham marriage. Especially not since I’ve found you.” He reaches for my hand. “When you walked into that consultation room, it felt like being punched in the face by fate. I’d looked for you for years without finding you and then you end up being the wedding planner? It has to mean something.”

“Or your fiancée wants the best and knew that was me.”

“Either way, our paths crossed again. And everything happens for a fucking reason.”

My chest is tight.

“From what it sounds like, if the Brotherhood wants you to marry her, then that’s who you’re going to marry.”

“I’m not going to allow it.”

“Because you’re an Elite Member now?”

“Because I love you, Hannah. I should have told you sooner, and I’m so fucking sorry I didn’t. From the moment the story broke, I’ve felt like half of my soul was missing. That feeling went away when you walked into that room.”

“Brooks, this is crazy.”

“Tell me you don’t feel it. Tell me that no one has ever made you feel the way that I do. Because I’m not afraid to admit it. Not anymore. You are my other half, Angel, and I’m not going through this life without you by my side.”

He’s saying everything I’ve ever wanted him to say to me, but there are things he doesn’t know. Things that might change how he feels about me. How he sees me.

“When the story broke that Liza was pregnant, I was at Jess’ house. I had to get out of there because I couldn’t stand to see the pity in her eyes. I was upset and shouldn’t have been driving.” My eyes water. “I was looking down at my phone and crossed lanes, hitting someone.”

“Fuck. Angel.”

I continue because I have to.

“I was in the hospital for a few days and then went to my mom’s house. It was…not great. Especially when she found out that I was pregnant.” His eyes widen, but I rush on. “I was under a lot of stress and had a miscarriage a few weeks after my accident. But that was the moment that they doubled down on their rules and how I was supposed to act.” My breath hitches. “I thought about killing myself. Everything was too much, and I didn’t see a way out. But then my dad reached out to me, saying he wanted to see me. I left for his house in Oklahoma and didn’t look back.”

“Hannah—”

“Brooks, it is what it is. Like you said, everything happens for a reason. My only regret is that I didn’t let you know.” I smile wryly. “It wouldn’t have changed anything, of course. That baby just wasn’t meant to be. But it might have helped me heal faster instead of keeping it all inside.”

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