Page 28 of Wine & Whiskey: Everything for You
“I love him, and I can’t spend the rest of my life having you try to make me choose between you.”
“You don’t have to. This could be your fresh start. Without him.” He grasps her hands, tugging her closer to him. “I know it hurts, but maybe it’s for the best. You can move—”
The crack in her fragile heart bursts open, pain engulfing every cell of her body. She gasps for breath in her burning chest and curls into herself, stumbling backward. Away from him. Away from the cruelty he inflicts on her already trampled spirit.
“Shae?”
She shakes her head, the trembling overcoming her muscles and her voice. All the love, the years of supporting each other no matter what, his unwavering defense against the haters, smothered with a viciousness she never expected. The words too unbelievable to deny. Or accept. Dropping down onto the bed, she fights the sob brewing in her throat. “You think me losing my baby is for the best?”
“Fuck. No, that’s not what I meant. I just…” He falls to his knees in front of her, trying to meet her gaze. “You’ve been through hell because of him. I had to get through a wall of his men just to see you. You’re trapped in here like a prisoner until he comes back.”
“You don’t understand.” She shoves away his fingers trying to grasp hers. Unwilling to let him try to unite them again. “It’s not like that.”
He stands up, holding out his hand. Defiance seeming to rage through his stiff body. “Then let’s go. I’ll take you to the building I’m trying to rent to get JET’s up and running again. If you’re not forced to stay here because of him then come with me.”
“No.” She shakes her head at his arm jerking away. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
She wants to scream, to make him understand what he’s doing to her, how he’s breaking every last thread tying their relationship together. But only a whisper slips out, “Please stop. I—”
“Do you know how ridiculous it is you’re a hostage in your own home? You don’t see it, because you’re blind to it. Just like I was with Stephen. But Nathan’s right. You need to get away from him. This is your chance. There’s nothing connecting the two of you anymore.”
Except love. The only man who accepts her for who she is and who she wants to become. “Yes, there is. More than you can ever understand.”
“Just say it. I want to hear your excuse, how he’s brainwashed you into thinking this is okay.”
“The miscarriage.” The tears she can’t hold back sting her cheeks. Unable to control anything from the body that betrays her. “Because of the blood and the cramping and the pain. Because he doesn’t want me to be out in public or all by myself when it happens.”
Jason’s face falls, pale and slack, before he rubs over his wide eyes. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t realize—”
“No. You don’t know. You judge him. You assume the worst.” She’s yelling, but doesn’t care. Not anymore. Everything she believed is gone. Everything she trusted is broken. He’s not her friend. “You want the reason? He’s scared to death what will happen to me. That I’ll never be able to recover. That I’ll never be able to get over losing the baby you think…”
The words won’t come. Overtaken by the sobs heaving in her body. Too much hope dying inside her.
“Shae, I—”
“Miss Armstrong, is everything okay?”
Oscar fills the doorway, the words directed to her, but his hard gaze bores into Jason, his hand at the ready to protect her. “I heard shouting.”
The cries still burn her throat, but she nods, trying to stop everything. Slow the whirlpool of emotions threatening to drown her. Her heartache. Nick’s fury when he finds out. Jason’s fear at the gun strapped to Oscar’s ribcage, his thick fingers floating above the shining metal.
“Watch out.” Carrie brushes past the bodyguard with Nathan right behind her. “Let me in.”
Nathan’s strong arms wrap around her. Maybe out of guilt, but she’ll accept his consoling touch regardless of his previous agreement with Jason’s assertions. At least Nathan’s tactics weren’t so brutal. She leans against his chest, trying to calm her breathing, squeezing shut her eyes as Carrie turns on Jason.
“What the fuck are you doing? You said you wanted to talk to her, not fucking attack her. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing! I just said what we’re all thinking about Nick. That now she can be free of him. It’s what we all want.”
“You don’t speak for us. All we want is for her to be happy.”
“Well, look at her. She’s not. She’s miserable.”
Shae opens her eyes at his incorrect appraisal. Unwilling to let him tear down Nick any longer. Not after what Jason’s done. Who he’s become. “Because of you. Not because of him. Nick would never hurt me like this.”
“Oh, that’s rich. All Nick’s done is—”
“It’s over, Jason.” Nathan’s firm voice ends the argument. “You need to leave.”
Oscar steps forward at her friend’s demand, and Jason meets her gaze, anger boiling in his. “Really? You’re going to have his bodyguard throw me out. What’s next? Is Nick going to kick my ass or kill me?”
Too exhausted to argue against his accusations, she gives up the fight. Not allow him to hurt either of them anymore. “No, he’s going to be devastated, just like I am, that someone else we trusted betrayed us.”
Jason jerks away from Oscar’s hand on his arm and steps toward the door. The severing of their friendship final and complete. He turns back, the sorrow darkening his expression matching hers. “For what it’s worth, I love you, and I was only trying to help. You’ll realize that someday. Hopefully, it won’t be too late.”
