Page 55 of You Rock My World
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“I do,” he counters, guilt edging his voice. “The way I said goodbye was cold. But I wasn’t shutting you out. I just… I didn’t want to rattle the cage. Billie was already unhinged enough.”
I hesitate, biting my lip. “Is she okay now?”
A bitter laugh escapes him. “You saw her, Josie. She’s not okay.”
“I’m sorry. Is it always like that with her?”
“Yes. That’s what she does—rage and insults one minute, guilt the next. She twists every interaction until it feels like I’m the one to blame. It’s exhausting, and it tears at me every time. It’s why I had to get away. I couldn’t do it anymore… I couldn’t breathe.”
“I’m so sorry, Dorian.” I pull my knees to my chest. “It’s not fair for her to make you relive that pain over and over.”
“Fair left the building a long time ago with Billie,” he replies, his voice heavy with frustration. “You didn’t see her at her worst, Josie. Tonight was tame.”
“Tame? Dorian, she tried to claw your face off.”
“Yeah. At least she didn’t succeed this time.”
This time? Has she hurt him before? My thoughts go to the thin scar I felt on his shoulder. How many more are there across his body? How many did she cause? And how many cuts did she make on the inside that are invisible?
“And now that she’s seen us together, scratches are the least of our problems,” he says grimly. “I wouldn’t put it past her to go off the rails.”
“Worse than this, how? Do you think she’ll… escalate?”
“That’s what worries me,” he admits. “We’ll have to be more careful. Billie’s the type to hire a private investigator, tail me, you, your family. My security team is already sweeping the house to figure out how she got in.”
I grip the phone tighter. “What do we do?”
“Don’t give her anything to find. Lie low. Let her rage burn out and leave no fuel for it. If she got proof about us…” Dorian exhales, and I can picture him rubbing the back of his neck. “She’d start a press war.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Just… be patient. I don’t want to say this, but maybe it’s a good thing I’m going back on tour after the VMAs. We’ll be in different cities and Billie will have nothing to find.”
“No, don’t say that,” I whine. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
“I know, and I hate that she’s stealing the last days we could’ve been together.”
“It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask for this.”
“That’s the thing, though, at least in part, I did when I married her. But you never asked for the drama. You’re walking into a mess I should’ve cleaned up a long time ago.”
“Dorian. I’m asking for it now. I’m here because I want to be. And I’m not going anywhere.”
The silence on his end feels heavy, charged. “I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
“Don’t encourage me or I’ll stick to you harder than sand after a beach day.”
His laugh is low, warm. “Careful, Monroe. I might take you up on that.”
“I’m counting on it. And you’re not off the hook. Next time, I’m expecting fewer ex-wives and more chocolate.”
“Duly noted.” I finally hear a smile in his words. “Do you want to go to sleep? It’s late.”
“I’m too jacked up to sleep.”
“Want me to sing you a lullaby?”
