Page 93 of Crush

My first impression of him wouldn’t have put it past him. Max had been acting so odd recently. Asking mundane questions about if I was doing OK. He’d felt more like my therapist than my boyfriend. Strike that, where the fuck did that come from?

Dexter had also witnessed him kissing someone else and I could see from his body language that he was unsettled.

I managed to hold back my tears as anger started to brew in my chest. That lying bastard. Were there even any warehouse docks?Thatseemed to be his go-to place over the last couple of weeks. Maybe he had been shagging that girl there. I wouldn’t put him past him, how fucking tacky.

My blood boiled and after around an hour, we pulled in through the gates to my house. I had obviously put too much faith in the male of the species. They just couldn’t be trusted. Women should have been spoon-fed that shit since birth to allow us to protect ourselves.

Staring at my phone, I found it rich that Istillhadn’t received a message from him. An apology,anything. Max was probably shagging that woman somewhere. I was jealous. I wanted to tear her shit brown hair from her head and gouge her eyes out.

As Dexter held the door open, I thanked him and set off walking across the yard to my house. The horse paddock was in use as one of the grooms was exercising my horses. I toyed with going for a ride to blow thoughts of Max with another woman from my head.

As I got to the door, Teresa appeared.

“Oh, hello Miss. I must say. Whoever he is, he’s keen,” she said with ahugesmile. My brow scrunched.

“Sorry, what do you mean?” Had Max beat us to my house and was in my lobby waiting to explain. Hope soared into my chest and I moved around her with a smile and opened the main doors to themansion.

And my heart stalled.

In the lobby beneath my mother’s painting, there were red roses. There must have been well over one hundred blooms. Huge bouquets were placed along the sideboards, some on the floor and part way up the stairs. The sweet smell from the petals hit the air, almost choking me.

Wait. There wasno wayMax would have been able to arrange a delivery that large so soon.

It was quite overwhelming and over the top. And after the initial surprise of seeing them there, a sense of doom set in.

They werenotfrom Max.

“There’s a card,” Teresa chuckled, taking my silence as shocked pleasure.

I took it from her with shaking fingers and moved away, passing the flowers, and heading towards my father’s study. Teresa forgotten. Daddy wasn’t there.

I lowered myself onto the chair I had sat in when I’d first started to open up about my mother to Max. The original portrait of her hung just above me; almost like she was waiting for me to read the card.

Opening the envelope, I withdrew it and stared at the bold handwriting and my heart sank.

Hehadn’tgotten the message.

Nothing can ever be over between us freckles. I love you and I know you still love me and if you need time to realise that. I will give you that space.

For now.

Forever yours, Z x

A sick feeling churned throughmy gut as I lowered the card and walked back to the lobby which resembled a florist shop. The flowers now felt like a monstrous, sick display of affection. Obsessively so. This wasn’t a show of romance, it was a gesture of twisted infatuation. I couldn’t even take a single flower to my room, it felt like they weretaintingmy house.

I gave clear instructions that the blooms were to be removed before my father came home. If he had seen them, there’d be questions and he’d be upset.

When I got to my room, I thought about calling Mia but knew she’d only panic and shoot her mouth off.

A sensation of being watched fell over me and I moved to close my curtains. Our house was in the middle of nowhere and so I knew that sensation was based on the contact from Zander.

Screwing up the card, I sat on my bed and checked my phone. It had been on silent and I’d had fifteen missed calls from Max.

I swiped the screen and saw he’d also messaged me.

Please answer the phone Amber, it wasn’t what you think.

I paused, wondering what to say. I needed time to lick my wounds. I decided reverse psychology was the way to protect myself. Make him think you don’t give a shit.

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