Page 64 of Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar

“Oh, Lord,” a voice whispers behind me. When Julia comes into view, she looks panicked, and she carefully hands me her phone with a frown.

I’ve heard my phone going off since I walked out of Mallory’s room — I figured she was trying to sneak out before I woke up so she didn’t have to tell me how big of a mistake last night was — and haven’t gotten the chance to check it.

Maybe not checking it was my second mistake, because clearly I made a much worse one in the eyes of Brent.

When I look at what Julia’s trying to show me, everything finally makes sense.

Right there, front and center, is an article with my name at the top highlighting that I’ve finally managed to tie myself down. Everything is starting to make much more sense now — the reason Mallory may have rushed out of the room, careful not to wake me up, and why Brent is here looking like, he wants to punch me all over again.

It details our date, including the dinner we had, and shows us sitting close together on the park bench. Mallory is looking up at the sky, trying to see the stars, and my eyes are focused on her. I have a small smile on my face, and there’s no denying the emotions shining in my stare.

Brent had every right to storm into my room like this, and even more of one to hit me.

I clear my throat, then slowly give Julia her phone back and throw her a sad smile. “Think you could give us a bit?”

She looks between the two of us, a little unsure of the request, but eventually, she nods and disappears from the room.

“Guess it’s time to have a talk,” I say softly, then shut the door and spin around to face Brent. “Want to sit?”

“I’d rather stand,” he mutters while crossing his arms in front of himself. “What’s there to talk about? You’ve been sleeping with my sister. Is that wrong?”

I glare at him. “I’m agreeing to talk to you, but say something like that again, and I’ll give you a shiner to match mine.”

The space where he hit me is already aching, likely red and swollen, but I just sit through the pain. If I were just honest with him, there’s a chance it wouldn’t have gotten this far, and that’s my fault.

I've spent my entire life building walls, keeping people at arm's length. It was safer that way – no expectations, no disappointments. I was already enough of a disappointment for my parents and didn’t need to add any more people to the list. But Mallory... she slipped through those defenses without me even realizing it. And now, faced with the possibility of losing her, I'm terrified. Not just of losing her, but of losing the version of myself I've become with her.

But how do I explain that to Brent? How do I make him understand that his sister hasn't just captured my heart – she's completely redefined it?

Brent’s looking at me curiously but keeps his mouth shut.

“You’re right. I’ve been spending nights with Mallory throughout the tour.”

“How long has it been going on?”

“About a week or so into the start of it,” I mutter.

“Fuck,” he hisses, then narrows his eyes at me. “And you couldn’t bother telling me? I thought all those comments you made about her were jokes.”

“They were… at first.”

“It ends. Now.”

I take a deep breath, then slowly let it out before giving him a sad smile. “As much as I’d love to give you what you want, I can’t do that.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He shakes his head. “All because you can’t stand not having someone in your bed?She’s my sister.”

His comment has me jumping from the bed and storming over to him, blood boiling. “Enough!” He clenches his jaw at my outburst, but manages to keep his hands to himself this time around. “If I could walk away, don’t you think I would?”

“It’s easy.”

“No,” I grind out, “it’s not.”

Brent’s silent for a moment, then his eyes widen, and his mouth falls open. “Wait… you actually like her?”

“It’s more than that, man.”

Every emotion I’ve felt comes rushing to the surface, and for the first time since I started feeling them, I finally whisper, “I’m in love with her.”

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