Page 15 of Enemies, Lovers & A Valentine's Baby

“This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been called one,” I say quietly, my mind going back to the first time a woman called me that eight years ago.

Over the years, it’s a term I’ve gotten used to being called by the scores of scorned women who were upset when I ended things with them.

But the first woman who actually deserved to call me that because of the way I treated her, was Lila Smith.

My breath slows down again at the thought of her. I’m taken back to the way those stunning eyes had filled up with tears at the sharp, condescending words that I couldn’t stop spewing from my mouth.

I should have told her I was sorry, and that she’d done a really great job planning my best friend’s wedding. I could tell that an incredible amount of thought had gone into every detail.

I was hurting so much. It felt like my life was at a breaking point, and I was filled with so much pain and anger with no outlet to let it out.

I was so bitter that any woman within a ten-mile radius of me repulsed me. But her—her hurt had somehow managed to pierce through my ice-cold heart, even after I’d convinced myself that no woman ever would again.

I tore her down with my words and reduced her hard work to nothing in seconds, and I had an audience while I did it. When she called me an asshole, I knew I deserved it. I had been one to her, and it was the first time I’d treated any woman like that.

That was the point I realized just how much damage Lydia had done to me.

I really need to apologize to Lila. I've been on the brink of it a few times over the years, but her frosty glares, and the way she’d do a disappearing act whenever I was around made it crystal clear she wanted nothing to do with me. I’ve even tried to get Greg and Sue to help, but she’s forbidden them from ever bringing my name up. Still, for some reason it’s been weighing more on my mind lately. I mean, better late than never, right?

“You’re such a fucking douchebag. I don’t know what I ever saw in you,” Katrina rages, her glares sharp enough to cut through ice.

I force myself to focus on Katrina.

“Right,” I nod finally glancing at her. She’s standing there naked, arms folded across her beautiful breasts. “I’ll have my driver wait for you downstairs. He’ll take you wherever you want when you’re ready. Goodbye, Katrina.”

Before she can get another word out, I slip out the door, heading for the car I have parked in the garage. This is one of my many luxury penthouses that we’re in. I recently purchased a gorgeous home, but there’s no way that I would ever bring her there. I don’t even know what came over me to buy it to begin with, but Greg convinced me that I would fall in love with it if I ever saw it, and he was right. The moment I saw it, I knew I needed to have it.

I sigh. I must be getting sentimental in my old age. I am turning forty-two this year.

A glance at my Rolex tells me that it’s just a little after 7:00 P.M. I already know that I’m not going to get much sleep tonight, and going home to that big, empty house doesn’t sound appealing right now. I’ll just head to the office and finish up a few things.

I sit inside the car, the plush leather seats of my Mercedes cushioning my tired body. I sigh again, my mind drifting to what just happened upstairs. It never seems to get easier, no matter how many times I do it.

A small smile reluctantly pulls at my lips as I stare at the steering wheel in front of me, seeing but not really seeing it.

Once upon a time, I would’ve been beyond myself with happiness, if a woman like Katrina had told me she loved me. Hell, once upon a time, a woman like her would’ve been completely out of my league.

The me who worked a 9-5 data collecting job at an advertising firm eight years ago could’ve only ever dreamed of even meeting a woman like her.

Eight years later, I’ve not only met a woman like her. I’ve also slept with her and ended things with her and countless other women just like her.

In a way, what happened to me eight years ago was both the worst and best thing that could’ve ever happened to me. It forced me to change my life and become the man who took, rather than the one who was taken from.

Lydia had cheated on me with a richer man, so I decided I would become the richer man, and never let any woman close enough to hurt me like that again.

Goal achieved.

I ended up taking my entire six weeks of sabbatical and went on a backpacking trip to Southeast Asia. Eventually I returned to Seattle after Greg’s wedding, but I was not the same man who had left. I knew I needed to make a drastic change. I reached out to an old client and mentor, and with his encouragement I started to work on my brand and business. He’d always mentioned that I was the only reason that he did business with my employer, and that without me the entire company would fail. He was right.

He followed me, along with every other one of my clients. Within a few years, I’d become the go-to advertising firm for some of the most successful household name companies, including a few Fortune 500 ones.

Today, I own a string of companies across multiple industries with a net worth in the billions.

I was finally ready to get out of Seattle for good. If I were to be completely honest, the city had lost its shine for me a long time ago.

Greg was the closest thing I had to family—him, and Sue. I had to travel to Boston every couple of months for business anyway, so it just made sense.

A year ago I decided to move my headquarters over to Boston. Two months ago, I followed. I find myself thinking more and more about Lila since moving here. She’s the reason that I can’t seem to find fulfillment anymore in the beautiful body of Katrina.

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