Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 53516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
"Nothing to say, Rosalee?" He leaned forward and picked up the letter I'd missed, but I didn't miss the slanted scribble of Jason's handwriting.
"What is there to say when it's clear you've already made up your mind?" My heart pounded in my chest because he believed what he saw and what he read.
"Wow," he sighed. "I really thought you'd put up more of a fight." He picked up the letter and waved it beside his head. "No, Xavier, I'm not after your money. I love you."
I smiled in the face of his sharp words even though my heart crumbled in my chest. "I do love you, but clearly, it was one-sided."
"Like I'd ever believe a gold digger again. The letter lays out your plan perfectly, Rosalee. Get your hooks into me and get a big, fat payday. But your partner double-crossed you."
"Partner? You mean my ex-boyfriend, Jason, who has basically been stalking me since I left Florida? But hey, you've already decided who you believe." I looked up, as if that act alone would keep my tears from falling.
"You're a liar."
I barked out a bitter laugh at that. "I'm the liar? I have been nothing but honest with you, Xavier. Can you say the same?" I didn't wait for him to answer. "Of course not! I have tried to get to know you, tried to get you to open up to me so I can learn about you, and you've blocked me at every turn. Clearly, Jason looked into you while I stupidly waited for you to tell me about yourself." I shook my head and swiped at those stupid, traitorous tears. I still couldn't even believe this was happening, but another look at Xavier proved that it was.
"Stop lying to me!"
I wrapped my arms around myself and let my tears fall silently while he raged at me.
"I opened up to you, Rosalee. I let you in my house and in my bed."
"But never your heart," I accused as my voice broke. It was all so clear to me now and I couldn't believe how naïve I'd been, how thoroughly I believed him. "I believed you when you said you were just a burned-out executive, but apparently you're more, while I am exactly who I said I was."
"You saved up your virginity for nothing," he snarled, a look of disgust on his face.
Those words hit me like a physical blow, and I took a step back. I wanted to fight, but what would be the point? It didn't matter that I loved Xavier, that I'd given him my heart when he was never in this with me. But I also refused to just sit back and take it. "If I had known you were just as bad as Jason, I guess I would've lost it during some drunken one-night stand. At least he wouldn't have made me feel like I mattered."
That got a small reaction, but he covered it quickly. "And don't even think about trying to sue me, Rosalee, because I will ruin you."
"You already did!" I bent to pick up my purse, grabbing my phone and my own green envelope that had been nestled underneath my windshield wiper this morning. "And worse than that? You let Jason make good on his threat to ruin me." The tears fell as I unlocked my phone and set it on the table in front of him. I didn't bother swiping at the tears because it was pointless. "You hid who you were from me from the beginning because you think your money is your best asset. You never trusted me. I shared my body with you and the ugly parts of my past, but you never did. You were never in this with me. I was completely alone." The last word came out on a sob.
His gaze flicked to the phone screen, but his expression was blank, not that it mattered. He believed the photos. He believed Jason.
"I was just a convenient fuck," I growled, ignoring the way my body rejected that claim. "I have to accept that. Maybe you never cared for me, and none of this will bother you, but look at those photos. When have you seen me wearing any of these clothes? Never, because they're locked in a storage locker in Houston. You've seen me naked. Am I still that small? I'm not, because I was safe here—at least I thought I was. But unlike Jason, you never policed what I ate. Then again, you never planned on being seen with me, so it never really mattered to you." I rubbed a fist over my heart to soothe the ache. "Apparently, you're a rich man who treats people however you want. Use them and toss them away." I dumped the contents of my envelope on the table, watching with the smallest hint of satisfaction as his gaze landed on the photos.