Page 8 of Ben

Diamond tried to still her hand from shaking; she didn’t like showing any type of weakness in front of others, but she was not happy with what she was about to do. The man she had vowed to be with for the rest of her life and had even taken his ring was about to get a bomb dropped on him, and she didn’t know how she was going to explain this one to him.

A husky male voice answered the phone. “Hello.”

Diamond’s lips lifted from the sound of the familiar voice on the other end.

“Did I wake you?” Her voice softened with affection.

The dark timbre of his voice gave her comfort. “No babe, it’s time for me to get up anyway; I need to get ready for my appearance on Sports Sin tonight.” She heard her fiancée and best friend since high school, famous quarterback Bryson Reid, yawn, and then heard sheets rustling and imagined him moving across the bed and to the edge of it, tucking his cell phone to his ear, then cracking sounds that told her he was stretching and getting the air pockets out of his fingers.

“Okay.” She paused, shame pouring through her.

“What’s wrong? I have never heard your voice like this. Is it your family? Ambra?”

“No, I—”

“Just rip the bandage off.”

“Dia, who is that?”

She glared at the man putting her in this pickle of now having to hurt her fiancé.

“TikTok Diamond.”

At the same time, another chime went off.

“I am so sorry, Bryce. I am calling off our engagement. I know this is coming out of nowhere, and I didn’t mean to or want to hurt you.” She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, making it difficult.

Diamond continued to speak through the silence of Bryce listening on the other line. “I just can’t marry you; it has nothing to do with you; it’s me.” She looked to Ben for help.

“I will be on the first plane out.”

“No Bryce.”

“Don’t tell me no, Diamond, something is wrong; this is not you. You don’t drop a bomb like this and then expect me not to come out to see you to find out what is going on for Christ’s sake. Yesterday everything was all good, and now you are calling off our engagement; this is not—”

“Don’t make this harder than it already is. I am involved with someone else now, and we are planning to be married.”

“Are you for fucking real right now, Diamond!?” She winced when Bryce swore in her ear, his voice raised.

“Do you know how this will look for me? Diamond, don’t do this. Whatever is happening, let me help you. Tell me what's going on, Dia.”

She opened her mouth and closed it, sorrow hitting her, and she shook her head, knowing he couldn’t see her through the phone.

Before she could say anything else, her phone was taken from her hand.

“What do you think you are doing?” She hissed and tried to get it back, but Ben turned to the side and put the phone to his ear.

“Bryce, Ben here.” He paused, listening. “Ben Brooks.”

He turned to look at her as she assumed Bryce was not too pleased to hear Ben on her phone. Bryce did not care for the Brooks family and had mentioned his distaste for them, especially Ben, throughout the years of their relationship. This was going to be a slap to him when he found out it was Ben she was marrying. Bryce had always warned her that he would be trouble and that she should keep her distance. She reached for the phone again before Ben could say anything more before she could explain…Well, shit.

“No, I won’t put my fiancée on the phone. She has told you that your engagement is off and the reason why. I do not care if you believe her or not.”

He hit the speaker on her phone.

“Honey, am I holding a gun to your head?”

“No.”

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