Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 116759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
I squeezed my eyes closed in utter relief and the tears spilled over. “I believe you.”
“Oh hell,” he wheezed out and I heard a thud. “Lily … I’m so sorry this happened. You must have thought … what … who sent this? Lily? Sawyer, please talk to me or I might start to think you don’t believe me after all.”
“I do believe you. I … for a moment there … I’m sorry.”
He was quiet as he processed what I hadn’t said. “I understand, my love. But I would never do that to you.”
“I showed Jan the photo and she asked me if I believed you’d cheat. My instinct was no. Even if one day, you grow bored with me, you would end things before you ever betrayed me. You’re too honorable not to.”
“While I really love most of what you said … I will never grow bored with you. Is that what you think?” He sounded pissed off.
I flushed, having realized I’d unwittingly shared one of my deeply buried insecurities about our relationship. “No one knows what the future holds.”
“I do,” he snapped. “You’re never getting rid of me. Get used to that.”
My lips twitched. “That sounded like a threat.”
“Take it however you please.”
I laughed at his belligerent response, disbelieving I could laugh right now.
Sebastian did not laugh. “Lily, whoever sent that photo … they set me up with Gisele. Maybe even sent her to me.”
Gisele. I wrinkled my nose at her name. If she was in front of me, I might slap her with my thickest textbook. She’d assaulted my boyfriend!
Yet something else pierced my anger. Something incredibly sad and confusing.
Sebastian’s friend had betrayed him. “It was Zac. I’m so sorry, but Zac sent me the photo.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
SEBASTIAN
The traitorous bastard was nowhere to be found, though his things were still in the guest room he was using. Striding to Harry’s room, I knocked loudly but barged in before he answered, only to halt abruptly at the sight of Sierra sprawled half naked across my friend.
“Bugger, sorry.” I whirled around, giving them privacy. Apparently, Brendon had been cast over. But I couldn’t think about my friends’ drama right now. “Have you seen Zac?”
“No, I haven’t left the room,” Harry answered groggily. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to kill him, that’s what.” I marched out.
“Is this about that call I got from Lily?” Sierra called after me.
I was too busy throwing open the other guest room door to answer. The bed was rumpled and the room was littered with plastic beer cups and food wrappers, but there was no Zac. I rapped my knuckle on Maddie’s door, just in case. Lily’s friend opened the door as Harry and Sierra caught up with me, dressed in the wrinkled clothing they’d worn the night before.
Maddie frowned. “Everything okay?”
“Is Zac in there?”
She shook her head, wide-eyed at my sharp tone. “No. Is everything all right?”
“Apparently, he’s going to kill him,” Sierra answered as I moved through the house, cursing the wreckage left by the party.
“Look at this mess!” I threw my arms up as I stood in the kitchen diner.
“We’ll help you clean up,” Sierra offered calmly. “Do you want to tell us what’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that arsehole invited all these people here and now has buggered off before I can kill him!”
“You want to kill him for throwing the party?” Maddie asked, confused.
“No!” For … for trying to break me and Lily up.
For trying to take away the one person who meant everything to me.
Why?
Why would Zac do that?
He was … he was supposed to be my friend.
I let my rage overtake my hurt because it was easier to deal with the anger.
At least it hadn’t worked. At least Lily trusted me. Believed in me.
“Did Zac tell Lily about Gisele?” Sierra guessed.
“Worse. I think he sent Gisele into my room last night while I was sleeping because he sent a photo of the incident to Lily.” I tugged out my phone to show the photo to Harry because Zac was his friend too.
Harry’s expression slackened as Maddie and Sierra gasped at the photograph of a half-naked Gisele accosting me. I explained to them what had happened.
“And Zac sent this to Lily?” Harry asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“That’s why Lily called me.” Sierra’s pretty expression tightened with rage. “She asked me if something happened last night.”
Unease moved through me at the thought of Lily calling Sierra first.
“I told her about Gisele harassing you all night. Then she said she needed to speak to you.”
Had Lily decided I could be trusted because of Sierra’s account of the evening?
No. I shook that out of my head. She told me she knew when January asked her if she trusted me. There was no way I was letting that little shit mess with us like this.
The sound of the front door opening and slamming shut had me whirling.