Page 152 of Changing Rules

I swallow past the enormous lump in my throat and ask for the information I absolutely don’t want but need more than anything. “Miller… You said he’d taken her pants off. What did he do to her? I just…I want to make sure she gets the treatment she needs.”

Kaden shakes his head. “He fucked up her face pretty bad, and he— He carved the word ‘whore’ on her wrist, right over her tattoo.”

My heart shudders, and I drop my face into my hands.

“Sick assholes like him often want to take away their victim’s beauty. They think by doing that, no one will want them, as if there aren’t a million other reasons to love a person.If you don’t want to be with me, I’ll make sure no one wants youkind of mentality.” Kaden’s breath becomes ragged, his eyes welling with tears. “That’s how they think. No matter where they live, their skin color, what language they speak, or even the amount of money they have. The only difference is the level of cruelty.”

I turn to get a better look at him. He knows so much; it’s almost as if he has experience. “How do you know all that?”

Kaden grasps his curly hair with both hands and tugs, letting out a long breath. “My aunt. Her husband killed her after he saw her hugging their neighbor. She bled out because no one was there to save her. No one heard her call for help. After suffering horrific pain, she was left to die alone.”

An emotion that feels an awful lot like hate barrels through me—hatred for all the assholes around the world who abuse their partners, claiming they do it out of love.

“I’m sorry.”

He uses the back of his good hand to wipe away his tears. My eyes are full of tears too, my chest so heavy, I can’t take a full breath.

“When I was beating that fucker today, all I could see was my aunt’s husband.” His eyes flash to me, and an unspoken understanding passes between us. “If not for your neighbor, I would’ve killed Miller, and I wouldn’t have even been sorry.”

Agony like I’ve never felt hits me like a battering ram. “After he tried to force himself on her last year, all I wanted was to see him locked up, to get him away from her. But she was worried he’d retaliate and file his own assault charges against me. She was worried about my career; I tried to change her mind, but I didn’t try hard enough.” I wet my lips. “And yeah, I often worried about the consequences. It bothered me that he’d been soviolent, that he wasn’t punished. I was afraid he’d do something one day, and he fucking did. It’s my fucking fault.”

“Take it as a lesson,” Kaden says. “It’s disturbing and gut-wrenching, but it’s still a lesson. Now you have a chance to make things right. You can make sure he pays for what he did, and you can guarantee your woman remains safe.” He pats me on the shoulder, smiling weakly. “Izzy is a strong girl, but I’m afraid of what this could do to her. You can show her what real love means. She never stopped loving you, even despite it all, and she deserves that same love back.”

“If you only knew how much I love her.” I bury my head in my hands, my heart aching. “I know what I need to do. When the time comes, though, I may need your help.”

“You can count on me. I mean it.”

We sit side by side, quiet for a long time, until a loud, feminine voice down the hall startles us.

I stand and step out of the waiting area, heading straight to Marco and Meg. When she notices me, she runs up and hugs me tightly.

“How is she? Where is she? Where is that fucking prick? Where is?—”

“Baby, if you want him to answer you, give him a chance to take a breath.” Marco stops behind her and gives me a reassuring smile. “I couldn’t stop her, man, but in all honesty, I didn’t really want to. We love Izzy. We want to be here for her.”

“That fucking asshole!” Meg shouts, tears streaming down her cheeks. “If he’s in this hospital, I’ll go and strangle him myself!”

“Meg.” Marco pulls her into his chest.

“What? He deserves to fucking d?—”

He covers her mouth and shakes his head, as if apologizing for her behavior. In reality, her desire to get retribution for herbest friend only fills me with warmth. Bella and I have amazing friends, and I could be?—

“Alex!”

My breath catches. What the fuck? Are all our friends planning to descend on us?

Jess storms down the hall with Bowman in tow.

“Where is Izzy?” she demands.

“How is she?” Josh asks as they approach.

Drew and his wife appear down the hall and hustle over before I can answer.

“There you are,” Drew says.

My heart thumps heavily, and tears sting my eyes. They’re all here for Bella. For me.

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