Page 166 of Now and Forever

Before a panic attack seized me, I found myself back in the main house with two champagne flutes in my hands, randomly deciding to take a look around the grand place.

There was no way I would get the opportunity to give him his present, so maybe I would simply keep it to myself. Besides, it wasn’t as though he would detach himself from his woman long enough to care about other guests. What pissed me off even more was the fact that they looked perfect together.

No wonder things had changed for him. He had the world in the palm of his hand. It was rather funny how I had thought he was selling drugs at one point.

I peeked around the right wing of the house where the uniformed staff and guests weren’t around. The sound of the party faded into the background as I tried to grasp Drew’s newly found relationship with his father … and Poppy. And Caroline. My mind was overheating.

I found myself in a room with a lot of animal memorabilia, a pool table, tennis table, old-school arcade games, a chess table, and whatever else a game room could consist of. There was also a luxurious bar calling for me, and after finding a vintage bottle, I helped myself and took it with me toward the pool table. By then, all the drinks I had consumed had fully saturated my system.

If I were an insane woman, I would make a scene out there just to make Drew’s life less sweet than it looked. It would be quite the entertainment. Drew should be thankful I didn’t have it in me.

Plucking the black and white eight ball from the felted table, I weighed it in my hand before mildly throwing it in the air then catching it.

“If you plan to attack me with that, I suggest you choose something sharper and pointy,” the familiar voice echoed in the background.

I choked on my breath, hating that my body immediately responded to his presence. Don’t look at him, or he’ll see what you’re feeling.

Taking a sip of my strong drink, I placed the ball down as if it were poisoned. “I didn’t even realize you were here. Besides, I don’t need a weapon to hurt you.”

He was somewhere behind me. I could feel him, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. A part of me was afraid I might crumble and embarrass myself.

“So, this is your father’s home. You never mentioned him.” Yep, my mouth had its own mind. Damn it.

“I meant to when the time was right.”

Maybe he wasn’t comfortable sharing it. I would never know.

“She’s beautiful. The woman who was hanging off your arm earlier, I mean. Is it serious?” God, what is wrong with me? I keep fucking digging my own grave.

He took forever to respond, and when he did, he wasn’t coy. “I am still deciding on it.”

He was deciding? That was a major change from exclaiming he wasn’t boyfriend material. He had changed his mind quickly.

“You’re not one to have girlfriends,” I heard myself say before drinking the rest of the offending liquor, hoping the fire it lit inside would calm my nerves.

“That was before. Things change.” He sounded so close yet so far away. Why was he even here? Where was Poppy?

If I were wiser, I would change the subject or, better yet, run as far as I could. Nevertheless, I didn’t do any of that, because I was quite stupid when it came to him. I doubted that would change anytime soon.

Letting my forefinger graze the woodwork against the lacquered table, I braced myself for what was next. “What made you change your mind?”

“You.”

His response made me spin on my heels, facing his cool detachment as he eyed me incredulously.

“That’s a cruel joke!” I snapped. “You sent that text, telling me you were done with me. You said all those things. I—” Pausing as I tried to refrain myself from going full-on hysterical, I mistakenly gazed into his eyes, and just like that, I felt all the hurt and pain wash over me again and again. “How can you do this, knowing how much I love you?”

“Love.” He laughed darkly. “Don’t throw bullshit in the air, Chloe. You know nothing about love!” he viciously growled. “If that’s how you show how much you love me, by me catching you with your legs open while some guy fucks you, then I want nothing to do with it!” His face paled as he tried to reign in the anger he had quelled for so long.

How could he even question it?

“For days, I didn’t hear from you. I called, left you voicemails and messages, but I didn’t get anything back. Then Sunday came, and you sent me that message, saying you were done with me, with what we had at that time. You were gone, and for all I knew, you were sleeping with other women—”

“I came home to you every fucking night for six days straight. That was unprecedented even for me! All I wanted was you. Every damn minute, hour, you were all I could think about. It was terrifying. I left because having you around made it difficult to do anything else. I needed some time to think and figure out what to do. I came back that morning, wanting to fix things, to ask you for forgiveness after I sent that text, realizing I didn’t want to lose you—”

“Don’t say that! You’re lying just to make me feel more awful than I already do.” That wasn’t how it had happened. He was fabricating this.

He pulled back a little, as if my accusation had touched a raw nerve. “I was addicted to you, Chloe. I couldn’t stay away.” His voice became so hesitantly low I had to lean closer to hear him. “I wanted you so much I thought of nothing but you when I left your bed each morning.”

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