Page 148 of Bitter Rival

“I’m here because I wanted to see you.”

“You flew across the country just to look at me?”

“I would have walked but flying was quicker.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

He’s horrible, really. Cynical. Sarcastic. Rude. But he still makes me laugh. And I hate him for it.

I hate him for making me miss him. I hate that my breath quickens at his nearness. That I’m so hyper focused on his presence that the scenery blurs and all I can see and feel is him.

But most of all I hate him for never putting me first.

For choosing to pursue revenge instead of honoring my wishes.

And for breaking all his promises.

“Why did you throw away the roses Finn sent?” I ask as we walk up the cracked sidewalk under the streetlights. It’s only a hunch but a good one.

The man is so hell-bent on destruction and revenge that it stands to reason that he would have destroyed the roses.

He snorts. “Why do you think I did it?” He stabs the button at the crosswalk. “That asshole didn’t deserve you or a second chance.”

My God. This man. I spin to face him and we square off. “That wasn’t your decision to make.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “No? So you think that a bunch of roses makes up for everything he did to you? I was trying to protect you.”

I laugh incredulously. “Right. So you destroyed the roses and then you thought… I know, I’ll get her to stay longer so she won’t have to deal with Finn. I’ll take the decisions and all the choices out of her hands and make them for her.”

I stab my finger at his chest. “You never told me any of this. You kept me in the dark while you schemed and manipulated behind my back. Everything was just an elaborate game for you, wasn’t it? A game where only you knew the rules.”

“That’s not true. It wasn’t a game.”

“Right.” I huff out a laugh and cross the street.

“I hope you kicked him to the curb.”

He doesn’t even deserve an answer but I want him to know that I’m not a doormat or a pushover.

I’m an adult who is perfectly capable of making my own decisions. “I asked him to leave. I cut him out of my life.”

“And how did that go?” he asks quietly.

“It was hard,” I admit. “One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

“Because you’re still in love with him?”

I shake my head. “No. Because he was a part of my past. And even though I talked a good game about the girl in the mirror, telling yourself that you deserve better and actually believing it are two very different things. I’m still a work in progress.”

I stop and take a breath. “I’m only telling you all this because I think it’s important to be honest about who I am and where I’m at in my life. ”

I stop outside my apartment building—a four-story brick building across from a graffiti wall and turn to him.

“Daisy—”

“You hurt me, Beckett.”

His eyes find mine and he nods slowly. “I know. I’m sorry.”

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