Page 33 of Bastian

In the process of pushing her away, I broke my own heart as well.

Fuck, I broke my child’s heart.

When I got my head out of my ass in time to haul her ass back into my life and beg for forgiveness, it was already too late.

Anger coils in my stomach when I think about every time Banning lied to me, but I hold it down and focus on thinking straight. I concentrate on what my next move should be.

Because things have changed.

I promise to show you what it's like to hurt… her words echo in my brain. Closing my eyes, I drop my head back into the headrest of the car and let myself be attacked by memories of her. Her beautiful face lit up with love and wonder whenever she looked at my daughter. The way her emerald-green eyes would pierce my soul, claiming it.

Her soft and inexperienced kisses.

The way her body fit perfectly against mine.

Her laugh.

The way she looked at me when I made her mine. Her trust and her fear.

Fuck, her laugh is what I miss most.

Watching Arianna Parisi laugh was like witnessing a lunar eclipse. Breathtakingly beautiful and rare.

Because she didn’t do it often, but when she did, the whole world would stop for me.

Then there was only her.

Motherfucker, it hurts.

If I could turn back time, I would. God knows I would do anything to have the chance to go back and change things, go back to a time when I was the man she loved, not the one I became.

The one she hates.

The one she promised war to.

A buzzing sound coming from my suit jacket snaps me out of my painful thoughts. Tucking my phone from my jacket, I unlock the screen to find several messages from Baron, one after the other. The first one is a link. Clicking on it, it instantly takes me to the Washington Weekly website, where an article has been published.

I usually pay zero attention to useless gossip articles because they do nothing. Well… that is not exactly true. Gossip adds to my popularity, but this one is different.

This is no ordinary gossip site, no.

This article was published by the journalist who has been attacking me for two weeks now. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, but now their attacks feel personal.

I should be pissed as fuck. Any sane public figure would feel enraged when someone is trying to sully their public image, but not me. I feel thrilled because, somehow, this seems like it is connected to her.

Call me fucking crazy. I do feel like I have lost my mind, but this feels…right.

Scrolling through the article, I have no choice but to laugh.

The president of the United States is a man of many flavors…

Corny-as-fuck if you ask me, but I’ll give them C+ for effort.

From what I can read, several of my past flings and one-night stands gave statements. Some of these women I don’t even remember.

If I am honest, before Arianna, all those women were just wormholes to get myself lost into, but she changed everything.

That’s the difference between these women and her.

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