Page 108 of The Forever Rule

Things were happening quite quickly, and I knew that, but after the night before, I felt like I should say something.

I had pushed Meredith away as soon as her lips had pressed to mine, and then she had wiped away her tears and shook her head. When she had looked back up at me, her eyes had widened so much, she looked even more surprised than I had.

She had bolted away, leaving me standing there wondering what the hell had just happened. I had no idea who had seen or what I was supposed to fucking do, but then I needed to go back into the meeting space and talk with more people. I hadn’t been able to get a hold of Blakely the night before, since she hadn’t texted me back, and with my phone and plane issues, I had no idea what else I had missed.

I stripped off my button-down shirt, leaving me in just my undershirt and pants, having toed off my shoes when I had walked in.

I hated traveling in a full suit, but I had had a meeting right before I needed to head to the airport.

My phone finally turned on and I pulled up my notifications, wincing at the number of texts and emails I had.

I shot a quick email to the family group, minus Mom, letting them know that I was there. I was finally home.

I paused after I did so, knowing that we probably needed to make a full siblings chat. That made my lips twitch, as an unsettled feeling washed over me. Adding Blakely to the group, even by accident, all those months ago was how we had met. Sure, we probably would’ve been introduced to each other at a later point because she was friends with Isabella, but it wouldn’t have been the same. I hated when people said that everything happened for a reason, but maybe it did. No, my father being a cruel and uncaring person when it came to family matters wasn’t for a reason. And the night I had had previously shouldn’t have been for a reason.

I frowned when I looked at my text to Blakely and realized she hadn’t responded.

I checked the time, and figured she might be sleeping, but I was worried now. I quickly pressed her contact, dialing out, but after waiting, it went to voicemail.

I blinked wondering maybe she was on another call? No, maybe I was just thinking too hard. I called again, immediately it went to voicemail.

An odd feeling washed over me, and I texted her quickly wondering what the hell was going on. Why was she ignoring me?

Me:

I’m home, had phone issues all day. I missed you.

There, that was the most I’d ever put in a textmessage about what I felt. The fact that I didn’t know what I felt meant I needed to worry about other things later. But for now, I was worried.

The doorbell rang, and then somebody banged their fist on the door as soon as my thoughts went into a tailspin about Blakely. Alarmed, worried somebody was hurt, I ran to the door. As I pulled it open, I blinked as Isabella stood there, fuming. Her eyes narrowed, hands fisted at her sides, she glared.

“You asshole.”

I blinked at her, wondering if this woman was honestly going to hit me.

“Isabella? What are you doing here? And what the hell?”

She stomped right toward me, and though she was much smaller than me, I was slightly afraid of her.

“I can’t believe you. Just when we were starting to trust you, just when we were letting our family trust you, you dothis? I should have known, with the way Dad was. I should have known you’d be just like him.”

I staggered back, confused as hell, then her words finally hit. “Holy fuck, who told you about the kiss?”

“You don’t even deny it. Of course, how could you deny when there’s photographic evidence?” She held up her phone, and I blinked, reality crashing in so swiftly, it was like a punch to the gut.

“How? It’s not what you think.”

“No, that’s what they all say. But I’m pretty sure that’s your ex-fiancée and you with your arms around each other kissing at a work event, one that the family businesswas invited to. I cannot believe I get to work with philanderers of course, it must be in the genes. I hope it doesn’t trickle down to our side of the family because I don’t want to be a cheating asshole.”

Isabella kept going and I saw the tears glisten in her eyes. She might be angry, might be snapping out, but there was far more emotions than just the shrewishness that she put on as a good front.

I held her phone in my hand, staring at the photo that somebody had put on social media. Someone had taken a fucking photo of the moments where Meredith had lost her mind.

I shook my head, handing over the phone, now realizing why Blakely hadn’t texted me back. Why she was ignoring my calls.

“Did you show this to Blakely?”

“I didn’t have to. Her admin sent it to her because she was afraid that everybody else would know and she would be left in a dark. Because she actuallycaresabout Blakely.”

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