Page 330 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1
"And I'm rejecting your offer. I don't want to be here. I'm never stepping foot in this fucking house again. I already told them as much. I'm done. With all of them."
"You don't mean that."
"I do mean it. Don't you see what they're doing? They're trying to force Isabella back on me. They don't want me to marry you. They won't even give you a chance. They want me to be miserable. They don't care about me."
"They do care. They think that's what's best for you. But I'm going to wear them down. I'm going to make them see."
"They're not like your parents, Penny. I'm not having a fight with them over something small and insignificant. This isn't just a misunderstanding. They're torturing me. They're trying to break me. Again."
It wasn't like I couldn't see the pain in his eyes. I knew. I just never realized quite how bad it was. I wanted to think the whole thing was a misunderstanding. No one's parents could act this way without an important reason behind it. They had to be doing it because they thought Isabella was what was best for him. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe they were torturing him on purpose because he wasn't doing the things they wanted him to be doing. And there was a huge difference between the two. It didn't seem like they wanted him to be happy. I had been nice to them and they hadn't said a word.
"I just want to fix it," I whispered. I put my hand on the side of his face. "Please let me try."
"You can't make them love me." His Adam's apple rose and fell. He shook his head, making my hand fall from his face. "I need some air."
Eruption - Chapter 9
Friday
I downed another glass of wine. This party was a complete disaster. James was missing. His parents were always talking to someone, so I couldn't catch them alone. And Isabella was walking around like she owned the place. All of James' family members seemed to adore her. I should have just left with James. I knew he needed me right now. But I wasn't calm enough to console him. All I wanted to do was set the house on fire.
"You okay?" Melissa asked as she walked up to me. "You look pissed."
"I'm fine." It was so nice to finally see someone I recognized. I took a deep breath and set my glass down on the bar. I was trying to calm my nerves before I potentially made a scene. I just wished I had the courage to do it without alcohol.
"This place is almost as big as Tyler's apartment building," she said.
I laughed. "Yeah, it's crazy." Maybe a distraction was what I needed. And I could really use someone on my side right now. "Actually, Melissa, I was hoping I could talk to you about Tyler. I just want you to know that if you two are dating, I'm totally okay with it."
"I don't need your permission to date someone, Penny."
"I know, that's not what I meant. I just thought that maybe because of our history, you thought..."
Melissa laughed and placed her glass of wine down on the bar beside mine. "Thought that it would be awkward because you'veslept with him? Yeah, well you have nothing to worry about. I would never date Tyler Stevens. I'm sorry, I need to use the bathroom."
"Melissa?"
She was already quickly walking away.
What the hell was that?I glanced over at Tyler. He was staring at us, but he quickly looked away when he caught my gaze and started walking after Melissa.
Not only was I in a room full of people that preferred James' ex wife to me, but now two of my closest friends seemed to be mad at me.Fuck this.
I walked over to Rob who was playing some drinking game with Matt and Mason. Hopefully they weren't taking shots whenever Isabella gave me a death stare, because they'd be totally wasted. And I needed Rob's help.
I put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to talk to your parents. Could you go find James so we can leave when I'm done? He said he was going to get some air, but he's not answering his phone. And I..."
"Say no more, gorgeous. I'll find him." Rob downed his shot and stood up. "Don't play without me," he said and disappeared into the crowd of people in the room.
"Are you okay, Penny?" Mason asked. He looked truly concerned and it made me feel a little better. I just needed to remember that James' friends were the true family I was gaining. If his parents weren't going to accept me, then I wasn't going to keep pretending everything was alright.
"Besides for the fact that James' parents want him to get back with Isabella? Yeah, I'm great." I looked over toward his parents. They were talking to a group of people about their age. It didn't really matter if I was rude and interrupted them. They deserved it.
Matt laughed. "You don't have anything to worry about. James is completely addicted to you. You're like the only sustenance he needs. Ow, fuck! What is wrong with you?"
I turned back to them.
Matt was grabbing his shin under the table and giving Mason a dirty look. Had Mason just kicked him?
