Page 4 of Forbidden Love, Part One

“And don’t even try to tell me that you have a girlfriend because we both know that’s not true. No girl would tolerate you long enough to make you their boyfriend.”

I almost laughed at that. It was possibly true, but there was no way that I’d ever admit it to her. My reply was interrupted by an incessant ringing on the doorbell.

I held up a finger to her face. “Be right back.” Her hand came up to swat at my finger, but she was too slow.

I got to the door and pulled it open, my eyes widening as I recognized her.

Standing there in an open trench coat that draped over the lingerie she wore beneath was someone that I wished I could un-know.

She had propped her hand on the doorjamb and immediately retracted it when she saw me standing there. She snapped the front of her coat closed.

“Marshall,” Monica said with a nervous smile. She bent forward and looked inside as she continued to speak. “What’re you doing here?”

I furrowed my brows and cocked my head to the side, the pieces sticking together in my head immediately. “Are you lost, Monica?” I knew that she wasn’t. I wanted to see what she’d say.

Her eyes went over to my house. The place that she most likely should’ve been if she was dressed like that.

“Who is it?” I heard Trisha’s voice as she came up to stand beside me. “Hi,” she said and smiled at Monica. “Are you—”

I barked out a laugh. “Oh, this is too good,” I said as I turned to Trisha. “Trish, this is Monica, my ex. She’s here to see Zane, your brother. You know, the guy who’s in a relationship? Yeah, him. Apparently, she’s been fucking him.”

Chapter Three

Trisha

My mind froze for a second. There was no way that Zane would cheat on Amelia. It just wasn’t something that he’d do. He was the kindest, gentlest, and most loyal person that I knew. If anything, I was scared of Amelia cheating on him, not the other way around.

I shook my head and laughed. But when I looked back up at both of their faces, they were serious—or as serious as Marshall could’ve been. There was still the hint of laughter around his eyes, but I couldn’t tell anymore if it was real or if it was an effort to conceal how pissed off he was.

The girl who stood before us was beautiful. Long, black hair that stopped at her waist, bright blue eyes that seemed scared and embarrassed at the same time, and a long, curvy figure that said that she could’ve just walked off the cover of a magazine and I wouldn’t have known the difference.

“Marshall, I’m sorry. Zane and I—” She began but he closed the door in her face.

I wanted to ask him what it was about him and slamming doors, but I was too stunned to speak.

Zane was a cheater. Something that he promised me so long ago that he never would be.

No.

I still couldn’t believe it.

Taking my phone out of my back pocket, I dialed his number.

“What’re you doing?” I distantly recognized Marshall’s silky voice talking to me, but I didn’t care. I had to call my brother.

I was about to bring the phone up to my ear when it was taken out of my hands.

I spun on Marshall and almost pounced on him. “Give it back! I have to call him; I have to know that it’s a lie! It can’t be true!”

Just like he did with my bags before, he raised the phone above his head, giving more emphasis to his well-defined torso. I fisted my hands at my sides and watched as he held my phone out of reach.

“You don’t understand,” I shook my head. “He—he can’t be—he promised—he’s—no!” I started pacing and running my hands through my hair. Marshall was talking, but I wasn’t hearing a word.

Was this why he’d wanted to go see Amelia so bad? He felt bad about cheating on her and her needing him? If so, then he was just like the man that he claimed he hated. He was just like our father and I couldn’t take it.

“Sit down, Trisha,” Marshall called behind me.

I spun on him and was ready to spit fire right back at him, but he gave me a look that said that he was defeated by this too.

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