Page 66 of Falling for You

“Hello?!” Hannah snaps, and I look her way. “Are we not going to discuss these very serious accusations?” she demands as she places her hands on her hips.

Taylor sighs and states, “No, we are not. It has nothing to do with you, and Avery never should have gotten you involved. She was upset and allowed her insecurities to take over, and now she has ensured we don’t have the kind of friendship that a brother and sister-in-law should have.”

I cut in, “Tony has also decided to sleep in the spare room, so she’s being punished.”

Dylan frowns and asks, “Which room would be classed as the spare? He has about eight.”

I grin and shake my head making him wink at me as Hannah sighs.

“Please just stay out of it, Hannah. She came over this morning and apologized, and I’ve accepted the apology, so leave it at that,” Taylor commands, and Hannah eyes him before Nico butts in, “Leave it alone, Hannah,” She drops her head, and the room becomes tense, and I hate it.

I look down, ashamed of my sister for causing this, when Ezra chimes in and comments, “Fuck, I need you to teach me that Nico, your daughter is a pain in the ass!” Everyone laughs while Hannah scowls at him, but he ignores it and kisses her head then whispers something to her as he looks at me.

She nods, then looks at me and says, “Sorry, Pen.”

I give her a small smile and reassure her, “You have nothing to apologize for.” She smiles back as Taylor kisses my head.

“What accusations are being made against you, Taylor?” Xanthe asks, and I look her way along with everyone else.

“It was just a misunderstanding, Xanthe. Stay out of it,” Dylan snaps, but she ignores him, keeping her eyes on Taylor as she moves her right hand a little.

No one sees her action, but I do because I have had my guard up with this girl and when I notice what she’s doing, anger courses through me. Without a second thought, I let go of Taylor and stand, catching everyone’s attention, but I ignore them and storm over to the bitch.

Her eyes widen, and she pushes herself back in her chair when I lean forward but instead of hitting her like I want, I grab her phone, making her gasp, “You can’t take that,” but I ignore her and turn the phone around for everyone to see.

“What the fuck?” Ezra curses and then winces before looking behind him, but Kaylah is still too busy entertaining Hudson while Crissy lingers in the doorway, waiting to pounce and take him before looking back at the phone that is on record.

Shaking my head, I turn the phone and click on the photo symbol. My eyes widen when I see a folder for each family member.

“She’s been watching you a lot for years,” I mumble as I look through each folder before I feel Taylors presence beside me.

He doesn’t take the phone from me, instead, he allows me to use the vile woman’s phone as tension radiates through the room. However, Taylor soon growls with anger when he sees a file on Kaylah and Hudson.

“Let me guess,” Dylan snaps, and I jump, nearly dropping the phone, fumbling the device in my hands, not realizing he was beside me. He gives me a ‘sorry’ smile and continues as he turns to his wife. "You were going to use these videos as collateral if I decided to divorce you, right?”

I look at Xanthe to see she’s pale and shake my head.

What an idiot.

Dylan growls when she doesn’t deny or confirm as he grabs her phone from my hand, throws it on the floor, then stomps on it, making her stand in shock and just so the phone is completely trashed, he stomps on it three more times, picks it up before dropping it in his mother's vase with flowers inside on her coffee table, drowning it with water. He then turns to his wife and points at her, stating, “I was going to wait until we’re alone to give you at least some dignity but you know what, you’ve made your fucking bed.”

He pulls out some papers from his pocket, and I lean my back against Taylor, who wraps his arm around my waist and watch as he slams them against her chest and sneers, “I have proof of you fucking several other men to try and get pregnant and claim the child as mine. Sign these papers otherwise, I’ll press charges. Now!”

He shouts the last bit making her sob, but he ignores her reaction and grabs a pen from his pocket, and states lowly, “Fucking sign them, Xanthe!”

Shaking, she takes the pen, and, without reading through it, she signs the bottom of the page, and he grabs the papers to confirm she did, then gets in her face and sneers, “Get the fuck outta my family’s home.”

Xanthe sobs loudly but doesn’t beg, knowing there’s nothing she can say. She runs to the door but flinches when Dylan snaps, “By the way, the locks have been changed. Everything in that house belongs to me,” as she turns to look at him.

“You’ll regret this; you love me, and you’ll come running back, and when you do, I want a big wedding this time,” she stutters.

Dylan chuckles darkly and states, “I don’t love whores.” Her nostrils flare before she runs out of the house, and I swallow hard at the tension that fills it, suffocating me.

Dylan didn’t deserve to be treated the way he was by her. She wanted money and fame, while he just wanted to do the rightthing only to be played. She used his family history against him without him realizing it until it was too late.

I eye him wondering if he’ll break if he’ll realize he actually loved her, but instead, he sighs in relief and mutters, “Fuck I’m finally free,” as he looks at the signed papers in his hand, breaking my heart.

Years trapped; years of his life wasted.

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