Page 96 of Best In Class
“Luna, he was a scared kid.”
“How long have you known?”
Lev straightens, rests his hip against his desk. “Found out a few months after he came to Savannah.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” I’m incredulous.
My brother tilts his head. “You ready to tell me all of Stella’s secrets?”
“If they impact you, abso-fucking-lutely.”
Even as I say that, I know it’s a lie. I wouldn’t betray Stella’s trust.
I stand abruptly. The chair screeches back.
“I need to…go,” I whisper and then add, “Now, do right by me and don’t you dare say a word about this to your BFF.”
“Come on, Luna.”
I flip him a finger without looking at him and storm out of Steele Corporation.
By the time I get home, I’m a mess.
Good thing Miss Abigail isn’t home. She left early this morning to visit a friend in Augusta with whom she was staying the weekend.
I don’t remember the drive home. I drop my backpack in the hallway and call Stella. She picks up on the second ring.
“Hey, hon, what’s?—”
“He lied to me,” I choke out.
There’s silence on the other end. Then, softly, “Luna?”
I sink to the floor. The cool tile presses against me, grounding me even as everything else slips.
“He left me because my father threatened him,” I whisper. “Not because he stopped loving me. Not because hecheated. And he never told me. Never. Even now. After all this. After everything.”
“Oh, honey,” Stella says, voice thick with fury and heartbreak.
“I was happy, Stella. I was happy. I thought—God, I thought we were getting back to something real.”
I curl in on myself, the sob building before I can stop it.
“I can’t do this again. I can’t be the girl he left twice.”
Stella doesn’t tell me to breathe. She doesn’t say it’ll be okay. She simply says, “I’m on my way.”
“Stay on the phone. I don’t want to be alone.”
“Yes.”
CHAPTER 25
Dom
“The fuck, Lev. You should have told me right away.” I’m all but running to my car as I yell at my friend. He waited a whole day to tell me what went down at the board meeting, which explains why I can’t get a hold of my girl.
He puts a hand to my chest and stops me. “I’m Paul, got it?”
