Page 110 of The Forbidden
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Jarrod walks by. The glower he shoots Evan is pure venom. I pause. What the hell was that?
Evan’s jaw tightens, and I can tell it’s taking every ounce of self-control he possesses not to snap. “Look, I want to fix this.”
My eyes narrow. “And what exactly do you want to fix?”
“Us.”
That one word makes my heart skitter to a stop.Us? Does that mean he thinks we’re an us?
I shake my head, trying to clear the fog. I can’t allow myself to get caught up in Evan Maxwell’s orbit once again.
“No,” I grit out. “I already cut the string.”
“The string?” he repeats, squinting down at me.
Standing my ground, I nod as if he knows exactly what I’m talking about. “Yeah. I cut it.”
He stares at me as if I’ve lost my damn mind. And maybe I have. Sure feels like it. “Right,” he drawls. “Well, in the interest of honesty, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Frustration flares inside me. “Of course you don’t. You never did,” I mumble. “Now, if that’s all. I have things to do.”
I brush past him, but he grabs my wrist, stopping me. Again.
Ripping myself out of his hold, I spin to face him. “What is with men grabbing me today?” I snap.
He runs a hand through his hair, and my breath catches in my throat at the sight. He is so handsome he makes my chest ache. “Just wait? Please. We need to talk.”
I bristle. “There’s nothing left to say. You made it perfectly clear where we stand. Goodbye, Evan.”
“This isn’t goodbye,” he grinds out through clenched teeth. “You’ve seen how far I’ll go to push you away. What makes you think I won’t go even further to keep you?”
My mouth drops open, and I swear my heart stops altogether as his words wash over me. Everything inside me wants to stay, to hear him out, but I can’t be that girl. The onethat lets her man walk all over her, then forgives him because she’s in love with him. No. I will not be the rug he walks all over whenever it suits him. I need to draw a line. Set the standard, if we are ever going to have a chance of an equal, healthy relationship.
With one last look at him, I turn on my heel and make my way back to my apartment, ready for this day to be over. Just before I round the corner of a building, I glance back.
Evan watches me, an unreadable look on his expression.
But whatever that look means, I know one thing for certain.
No good can come of it.
I should’ve listened when Evan Maxwell said he doesn’t do relationships.
But I thought I could change him. Thought I could make him love me.
And as much as I want to blame everything on him…
Some of it’s on me.
Chapter 47
Evan
I’ve officially turned into a stalker.
For the past three days, I’ve been stalking Anais across campus, desperate for a chance to talk to her. Every time she sees me, she either turns the other way or pretends I don’t exist. It’s fucking infuriating to say the least. I’ve become a man I don’t recognize, someone I despise. A fucking pathetic simpering idiot, trying to make the woman I love talk to me.
Dad was right. Love is humbling.
