Page 38 of The Arrogant's Redemption

Maybe what I need is to focus and return to my world.

Still, I know I’ll think of her again.

The hunger Alexis stirred in me can’t be ignored. It’s like I was asleep my whole life and finally woke up.

Three days have passed since I left Provincetown by helicopter, and I haven’t heard from her. Instead, I’ve had to dodge Jodie’s relentless attempts to get to me.

I don’t know what else to do without turning into a complete asshole. It’s gotten to the point where even her texts make me nauseous. Her words are repetitive, obsessive, and I’m starting to genuinely worry about her mental health.

I’ve set a deadline for myself. If she doesn’t stop by next week, I’ll go to her parents. It’s that or a restraining order. Things have gotten so bad I had to ban her from the hospital.

I’m nearly at my office when my phone vibrates. I check it, hoping it’s Alexis—only to see it’s Jodie again.

Jodie:I can’t live without you.

My jaw tightens. I tap the screen to call her back. “You need to stop this.”

“I can’t move on, LJ.”

“I’ll find help for you, Jodie. This isn’t healthy. We were only together for four months.” Now more than ever, I know I made the right decision calling off the engagement.

“I don’t want help. I want you and our future.”

“There is no future for us. I’m warning you one last time: stop contacting me, or I’ll take action. I’ll go to your parents, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll get a restraining order. It’ll be public.” I have no intention of getting tangled in a scandal, but maybe she needs a dose of reality. If there's one thing I know she cares about, it’s appearances.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me. You won’t like what happens.”

“Just meet me one more time! We need to talk. Please, LJ!”

“No. Forget me. You’re already in my past.”

She was never even part of the present—but she doesn’t need to know that.

Alexis

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"I'm sohappy you managed to call," I say, trying to hide the crack in my voice, but this is my mom. She notices every little change in me.

"I wish I could be there to give you a hug."

"That would be the best gift, but you already gave it to me early on Sunday."

"It's not the same."

No, it's not. But what good would it do to make her even sadder by showing how lonely I feel?

The day Jasper—no, LJ—left me on the beach, I thought I was going to lose it from the anxiety. I couldn't even count how many times I picked up his card just to put it back down again.

The rational part of me congratulated itself for making the right decision. That man could destroy me forever, and not because I wasn't warned—he himself said I'd get hurt if anything ever happened between us.

Unfortunately, I've learned I'm not all logic. There’s much more emotion beneath the surface than I ever thought I wascapable of feeling, and that part of me won’t let me sleep at night, making me toss and turn endlessly in bed.

"You're still thinking about him," she says.

When I went to visit her the day after I last saw LJ—and yes, it still makes me angry to call him that, because I remember he partially hid his real name when we met—I told her everything. I don’t keep secrets from her the way most kids do from their parents. Marla is my only friend. "I don’t want to, but yeah, I am."

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