Page 58 of Yearn

What was a lie between us and what was truth? How much could you love someone if you could cheat? The questionstwisted my mind until I held my head, pressing fingers to my temple to stop the pounding. What was I going to do?

I thought of moving forward and putting it behind us. I thought of confronting him and allowing his apology so I didn’t have to blow up a relationship I’d believed in. I thought of lying next to him each night after we had sex and wondering who he’d slept with and forgotten. What was her name? Did he know? Did he even remember the incident or would he swear she didn’t matter and he loved me?

And even worse? What if it was true? That in his mind, it meant nothing? Could it mean nothing to me?

I rocked back and forth and let the wild thoughts tear me apart, until my broken heart began to harden. This was his choice. I didn’t know if there was anything left in my trust to try again, or if I wanted to. The future that I’d believed in was shattered.

I just didn’t know what came next.

I couldn’t sort through the firestorm of emotion. I should go to bed and sleep things off so I could make the best decision, but the raw grief was too overwhelming to fight. Anger bled away the rest, and I reached for my phone, fingers shaking as I pressed the button.

His voice was rough and sleep edge. “You okay, babe?”

It took me a while to answer. I gripped the phone so hard I was surprised it didn’t shatter in my hands. “No. I’m not okay. I’ll never be okay again.”

I pictured him on full alert now, sitting up in bed, blinking away the drowsiness. “Landon, what’s wrong? Do you need me to come over?”

A horrible laugh escaped my lips. “I know, Max.I know.”

Silence. “What are you talking about, baby? Know what?”

A sob rose up. I hated my emotion—wished I could be cold and ruthless and cut him off like an Olivia Rodrigo song. “I know about the video.”

A sharp breath flooded over the line. “Landon, there is no video. I’m coming over and we’ll fix this.”

The words he used exploded my temper like a lit match to dynamite. “You bastard. You disgusting, lying asshole prick. You stay away from me. Don’t even think of moving one sock into this place because we’re done.”

Satisfaction surged as I heard the panic in his voice. Good. He was finally taking me seriously. “There is no video! I don’t know who you were talking to, babe, but they’re probably jealous of what we have because I’ve done nothing wrong. I love you and we’re moving in together. It’s okay to be scared to take the next step, but don’t make up excuses. I got you.”

I got you.

The final betrayal hurt me like a pummel of fists. Red mist shrouded my vision. He was still lying, even when I confronted him with the truth. Did Max have any respect for me? Was the past year just a surface fling, and I was stupid enough to believe I was special?

I lowered my voice to a fierce whisper, my entire body shaking with rage. “If you come near me, I’ll cut off your dick—I swear I will. You disgust me.”

“Landon—”

“We’re done.”

I hung up. Immediately, it kept ringing while the stream of texts flooded my messages. I read the excuses and denials and the gaslighting, allowing him to dig his own grave. Then the final text pinged in.

I’m coming over.

I forwarded him the video and waited to see what he did next.

The texts stopped.

The silence was almost worse than the denials. I stumbled to bed and climbed underneath the covers, burying my head in the blankets. The room spun, my heart was in shreds, and I’d lost the man I thought was meant for me—the man I loved.

Nothing would ever be the same again. How could we come back from this? And why did I feel like I was grieving not only the loss of Max, but the entire breakdown of our group?

I shut my eyes as tears streamed down my cheeks and wondered what I was going to do next.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Max

Listen to This Summer

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