Page 53 of My Ex-Boyfriend's Brothers

“Iamabout to marry Christina. And you’re starting something new, too, aren’t you?” He smiled and leaned back on the couch. “I freaked out but I was just being weird. I knew my brothers all had an unhealthy interest in you when we were together. Seeing you four together brought back those old feelings temporarily. I’m sorry for that.”

I swallowed a lump of nerves and studied his expression. He was being genuine, it seemed. “I never realized they looked at me back then.”

“But you do now.”

I nodded. “Yes. I’m interested in them. I know it’s strange, but your big brothers are great men.”

“You’re interested inthem? Not just one of them?”

I blushed. “I told you it was strange. I do have feelings for all three of them. It’s unusual but I care about them all. If this is weird for you, we don’t need to talk about it. It’s even a little weird for me.”

He turned to face me head on. “It’s just a little hard to see them get what they always wanted when they were always so obvious about it. If you’re happy, though, I’m happy.”

I reached out and lightly touched his shoulder. “Thank you. That means a lot. I feel the same about you, Brad. If you’re happy, I’m happy. Things worked out the way they were supposed to. Now, let’s hear those vows. We’ve got to make sure you wow Christina.”

Brad leaned in and hugged me. “Thank you.”

I awkwardly patted his back and waited for him to let me go. “Of course.”

He pulled back slightly and smiled, the twist of his lips suddenly cruel. “You always were such a fucking fool.”

Before I could pull away, he was on me, his mouth slammed down on mine with enough force to make me whimper in pain.

44

***Maggie***

Brad wrapped his arms around me and pulled me forward, dragging my body over his. I tried to fight against his hold but he was stronger than me. He held me there, pinned to his chest, his mouth crushing mine. Panic seized me as I struggled. I was trapped, pinned to his chest like a bug in a science project. The realization that I was at the mercy of his will scared me so deeply that I froze.

I felt Brad’s arms slip away and felt his hands instead shift under me, to my shoulders. Just as I screamed at myself to move while I could, I grunted as Brad shoved me off of him, into the floor. He jumped to his feet and stood over me, eyes blazing.

“What the fuck are you doing?! I’m getting married, Maggie! Jesus!” His words didn’t make any sense. Neither did the furious way he glared down at me. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

A small cry came from the doorway into the lounge and Brad whipped his head around to the sound, horror on his face. Ifollowed his gaze and saw Christina staring back at me, tears in her eyes.

“Baby, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what happened. We were working on my vows and then she just lunged at me.” He rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I feel sick. Please tell me you believe me, Christina. I didn’t want that. I would never want that. I only love you.”

I moved to my knees and pulled myself up by the couch. My stomach rolled painfully as I realized what he was doing. “I didn’t-”

“Why couldn’t you just let me be? I don’t want you, Maggie!” Brad was aiming for an Oscar. I could see his act working on Christina.

“Christina, this isn’t what it looks like. I swear to god, I’d never-”

“You’re fired.” She swiped at her eyes and shook her head. “I know what I saw, Maggie. I trusted you. I cared about you! You were on top of him! I saw him have to push you away! You can’t fake that! I can’t believe you would do this to me. I thought we were friends!”

Hearing the pain in her voice crushed me. I shook my head vehemently, desperate for her to believe me. “I didn’t kiss him, Christina! You have to believe me. I would never hurt you like this. He did this. He wouldn’t let me go and I-”

“Stop!” Brad’s scream shocked me into silence. “Just stop your lies. I’m taking Christina to our room and I want you gone. You’re fired and you’ll never work in this field again, Maggie. You’re trash.”

“I don’t want to see you again, Maggie. Please leave as soon as possible.” Christina refused to look at me as Brad turned her away and walked her out of the room.

I sank onto the couch and curled over with my face in my hands. I still felt the crawl of disgust from Brad’s mouth on minebut even that was no match for the overwhelming sense of doom that settled over me. I was fired. They would trash my business. He’d made Christina think I was a monster. She’d never speak to me again. What scared me more than anything, though, was the reality that she’d paid for my mom’s care. If she decided I wasn’t worth the effort and took that money back, Mom would have nowhere to go.

I felt my dinner climbing up my throat and barely made it to the bathroom in time. I sobbed into the toilet even as I threw up. I felt like my world was crashing down on me. In my desperation, I pulled out my phone and dialed Cara Conway’s phone number.

“H-hello?” It was clear I’d woken her up. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Ms. Conway? If someone tries to take the money back, could they?” I was crying so hard that it took me two more times to make myself clear.

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