Page 284 of Billionaire Temptations

“You want to know why I’m so worried about my feelings?” he shouted so loud that the tone of his voice made me flinch. “Because I’m the only fucking person who does! Did my parents ever once stop to think about my and Jules’ feelings growing up? Did they ever once ask how we were or how we felt? NO! They just hopped from one relationship to another without giving a damn about our feelings, and now they think they can just get back together after all these years and undo the damage? And another thing.” He pointed his finger at me. “You agreed to this fucked-up relationship thing! It’s what we both negotiated and wanted, not just me, but you too. And now, all of a sudden, it’s fucked up in your eyes? Why is that, Emily?” he shouted.

He knew. He knew, and he wanted to hear me say it. I stood there, shaking in my skin, scared to death of the next words coming from my mouth. The words that could potentially end our relationship. The more he yelled, the more I lost control over my emotional state.

“Answer my question!” he yelled.

I lunged at him and placed my hands on his chest, pushing him back.

“You want to know why? Because I fucking fell in love with you! I’ve been in love with you, and I want more. I don’t want a damn contract. I just want you.” Tears filled my eyes.

He stood there, tall and in complete control, as he stared at me for a moment. A moment in which I was sure that he was going to tell me that he loved me too.

“You weren’t supposed to fall in love, Emily. You broke rule number nine,” he spoke in a calm tone. “And you know what that means.”

“Are you serious?” I narrowed my teary eyes at him. “You can just walk away after everything we’ve been through and done together?”

“I can and I will. We had an agreement, and this complicates things now.”

“Complicates things? How? You don’t feel anything for me?”

“I love you as a friend and nothing more. We had a good thing, and if you only would have stuck to the rules, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

He stabbed me in the heart and twisted the knife slowly, causing an unbearable pain that almost sent me to my knees.

“I’m sorry things had to end this way,” he spoke in a serious tone.

I couldn’t even look at him because I would go for his throat if I did. I was that unstable at the moment.

“Get out,” I whispered in a low voice.

He grabbed his suitcoat from the chair in my bedroom, and as he walked out, he spoke, “You shouldn’t have broken the rules.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Jackson

I swallowed hard as I left her apartment and shut the door behind me. She’d get over it. She’d get over me in time. This was what was best for both of us. The hurt now would be much easier to deal with than down the road.

I walked a few blocks, pushing all thoughts of her out of my head—the pain on her face, the hurt in her eyes, and the sadness that overtook her. Walking into a dive bar, I sat on the stool and ordered a double scotch. I threw it back and ordered two more doubles, with the hope that the alcohol would make the pain stop. I cared for her. I really did—more than I wanted to admit. I told Samuel that I could walk away, and being a man of my word, I did. She left me with no choice.

I stumbled out of the elevator and tripped up the stairs as I made my way to the bedroom. Taking off my suitcoat, I threw it on the floor before falling onto the bed. The alcohol I had consumed won and put me into a sound sleep, something I needed to forget about her and what happened tonight.

Emily

When I heard the door shut, I fell to my knees and cupped my face in my hands, letting out the hardest cry I’d ever had. He only loved me as a friend, and hearing those words hurt me more than anything I had ever experienced in my life, even the death of my mother. Don’t get me wrong; I felt unbearable pain after she was gone, but I was prepared. She had been sick for months, and the doctors couldn’t do anything else for her. The cancer had spread too much and too fast. We talked about her death a lot and made preparations for it. It didn’t make it any easier, but at least I wasn’t caught off guard. With him, I was. I was certain he had more than just friendly feelings for me. I would say he was lying, but his tone was so serious, and a tear never filled his eye. He stared at me as if he was some kind of robot.

I fell to my side on the floor and tucked myself into a fetal position while the tears freely flowed down my face. Was this how my mother felt when she discovered Gregory wasn’t coming back? Was it this pain and anguish that pushed her to become so bitter about relationships? I understood it now and never should have let my guard down. If I hadn’t, he’d still be here, and we’d have sex like we always did. I’d wake up in his arms, and we’d kiss each other goodbye before heading to work. Now, all of that was gone, and I was left here all alone to deal with the destruction of my emotional state by myself. I felt sick to my stomach, so I dragged myself into the bathroom and leaned over the toilet while the vomit rose in my throat.

After wiping my mouth, I pulled back the covers and climbed into bed, bringing my knees to my chest and curling into a ball. I’d thought about calling Katie and Evelyn, but I couldn’t bringmyself to. I wasn’t ready to relive the events of tonight and how Jackson had just walked out of my life because I let myself fall in love with him.

Jackson

Slowly opening my eyes, I placed my hand on my aching head. Several groans escaped me as I rolled over and felt the empty spot beside me. She wasn’t here and, for a brief moment, I had forgotten. Thoughts of her and last night crept inside my head. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I had two missed calls and several text messages from Jules.

“Dad had a mild heart attack and is in the hospital. Get here as soon as you can.”

“Jackson, where the fuck are you?”

“Why aren’t you answering your phone? I tried to call Emily, but it went straight to voicemail.”

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