Page 30 of Glamour & Gumballs

“She obviously wasn’t the right person for you. But just because she was shitty, doesn’t mean all women are. Letting yourself die because you’re afraid to risk more pain seems like the coward’s way out to me.

Anger flooded his eyes. “I’m not afraid.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “You got thrown off the horse, and you didn’t get back on. It’s absolutely your right not to, but don’t lie to yourself. Fear is fear.”

“You don’t understand,” Rhett bit out.

I laughed humorlessly. “I grew up watching my mom’s boyfriend abuse her in every way. Experiencing him abuse me, too. I’m Chaos because I have no choice but to marry a stranger, and I’m fucking terrified that I’m going to end up paired off with someone just like the monster who haunts my childhood. If a little havoc weeds out a few of the weaker men, then yeah, I’m going to wreak as much as possible.” I stood up, pushing my chair back as I did. “I’m calling it a night. Enjoy your food.”

With that, I left him at the table alone.

Jordan had to follow me.

Part of me hoped that Rhett would too, but he stayed where he was, undoubtedly still pissed off that I’d called him out for being scared.

He could be as angry as he wanted—he wasn’t the one who was being forced to mate with someone he didn’t know. Someone who was bigger and stronger than him in every single way.

My fingers still itched for scissors, to chop through the wavy mass of my hair, but staying up to cut it would likely lead to another conversation with Rhett.

So, I let myself retreat.

seven

RHETT

“Stop pacing,” Kyle grumbled at me from where he was sprawled out on the opposite side of the bed from Erin. His voice was low, but we’d both realized by then that she slept like a rock no matter what was going on around her. The food coma after dinner would only make her sleep harder. “And tell me what she said to piss you off so much.”

I gritted my teeth. “She thinks I’m afraid of relationships.”

That wasn’t what had me pacing.

It hadn’t taken me long to realize she was right. And I wasn’t angry with her for that. If anything, I was grudgingly glad she’d pointed it out.

What had me pacing was the realization that she was Kellie’s exact opposite. Bluntly honest. Straight and to the point. Not dramatic in the slightest. There was no passive-aggression. Just aggression. Which was fucking perfect.

And on top of that? Her past.

Because the idea of a man hurting her?

It made me want to hunt the fucker down and kill him, slowly and painfully. He wouldn’t be the first person I’d tortured, but he’d be the first whose pain I relished.

I trusted Kyle for the most part, but he didn’t need to know her past.

He didn’t get to know her past.

She was mine.

Or she felt like mine, though I knew she was nowhere near that.

Kyle snorted. “You are afraid of relationships.”

“I know.”

“So accept it and move on. Fight for her.”

“You know damn well that if I show a shred of interest or possessiveness for the woman, I’ll be off the island in a heartbeat,” I growled.

He flashed me a white-toothed grin. “Unless you play the game my way.”

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