Page 111 of A Dark Duet

Jaden

Ihave been training nonstop since the night she left in the Uber at the fast-food place. I have tried to text and call her for the past two days, but she doesn’t answer. I’m moody and pissed off she has been avoiding me. I was tempted to show up at her house again but decided against it. She made it clear she didn’t want me taking her out or to have sex. My ego took a blow, but I can only blame myself for ending it with her. When I had her in my arms, full of her love, I was too stupid and blind to see it. I hurt her and I know it is not going to be easy trying to win her back and asking her for forgiveness.

“What’s up, brother?” Nate asks.

“Nothing.”

“Is it because of Brie?”

My head snaps in his direction at the mention of the woman that has been plaguing my thoughts. I haven’t been able to sleep so instead I take my grumpy ass to the gym and just train for my upcoming fight.

My nostrils flare and I let out a deep sigh. “Yeah. She isn’t taking my calls or accepting my invitations to take her out. I don’t know what else to do. She won’t talk to me, and she basically told me to let her go.”

Nate rubs the back of his neck with his hand and his lips thin. He looks up at me with a frown.

“What?”

He shakes his head and powers on the big flat-screen TV on the main wall of the gym to the latest news gossip channel highlighting the attendees of the fundraiser. The flashes of the camera can be seen as a black Phantom pulls up and the door opens to the mysterious billionaire no one has dirt on because he is a controlling dick, Ethan Carter. He suddenly holds his hand out and a small delicate hand slides in his and my heart begins to hammer as a wave of rage and jealousy hits me with a force of a blow.

Briana smiles at him and Ethan pulls her toward him. His hand is placed on the small of her back and she is wearing a beautiful emerald minidress with a deep cut showcasing her delicate breasts that leave little to the imagination. She looks breathtaking, her platinum waist-length hair cascading down to her back. She stops and fixes a button on his suit jacket and the look he gives her is of a man that looks at a woman he just thoroughly fucked.

Looking at her, I can see her expression. The look on her face is of a woman that was ravished, and it is the same look she would give me when… I would take her against the wall in the apartment. The headline on the TV reads, “Billionaire Ethan Carter has a new love interest.”

“What the fuck?” I roar.

“Yo, is that Briana?” Nick asks, pointing to the screen.

“Yep,” Giselle says, coming up next to Nate.

“You knew about this?” I ask Giselle.

“I know that she has an agreement to accompany him to an outing. She is single. She can date and go out with whomever she wants.”

“You know what I mean, Giselle. Did you know all this time that she fucked him?”

“She—”

I snap, interrupting her, “Look at her face.” I place my hands on the top of my head, trying to control the fury inside me. I lower my tone because it is not her fault or anyone else’s but mine. I know Briana told me when I asked if she slept with him but to see it on T.V. plain as day. You can tell and it fucking hurts. “I know that look on her face. It’s the same look she has after—”

Giselle scoffs. “Oh please, Jaden. If she did or didn’t, that is none of your business. How many women have you fucked after you tossed her out of your life? The night you saw her at the club by chance, when you realized how she has been scraping by trying to make something of herself all on her own. You had a title fight and we all know what Jaden Cyprus does after a fight, he fucks a ring bunny. So, stop crying when a girl goes and has consensual sex with someone else.”

I know what she is saying is true. Briana isn’t cheating and Ethan isn’t married. His wife died and Briana is gorgeous, any man is lucky to have a beautiful, smart girl he can love unconditionally. She is right. There is nothing wrong for a young woman like Briana that has been through so much to date and have sex with a good-looking man that is obviously under her spell. The problem, she is fucking the wrong man. The man she is supposed to be fucking is me. I’m the man that is supposed to be putting that look on her face every chance I get. She doesn’t want me, but I know she doesn’t love him. That tells me I still have a chance.

“He is wrong for her,” I blurt in frustration.

Nate, Nick, and now Brian stand watching me with a look of surprise at my outburst.

“At least she is getting some,” Giselle mumbles.

Nate raises his brows and chortles.

“You are not helping,” I scold Nate.

“I warned you that day you hurt Brie and ended it with her. I’m with Giselle on this one.”

I blow a puff of air out of my mouth. My rage is beginning to burn through my veins like an inferno. Crazy thoughts of kicking Ethan Carter’s ass and chopping off his dick cross my mind. I know that is not going to have Briana running back into my arms, but a guy can hope, right?

“What do you suggest I do?” I ask Giselle.

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