Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
People hurt each other all the time. He’d hurt her.
He had made a bet he could bed her, and he had done so. He must be so proud of himself, that she had fallen for him and made it so easy.
She held onto her father, as her heart broke apart. He was the first real boyfriend she had. The first person she had thought about spending her whole life with, and it was a mess.
She felt like she was drowning. The pain was so acute. Larissa couldn’t recall a time she felt like this, so broken.
Time continued to move, and although the tears stopped, that pain was part of her. She had given herself to him, and he’d taken it away from her. She had been a fool. A big giant fool.
“How about I go and order us some pizza?” her father asked. “Would you like that?”
“Yeah, I would,” she said, nodding. Food was the last thing on her mind.
Jonah rubbed at her head and left to go and order them a pizza. Larissa was still sitting at the table when the doorbell rang. She didn’t go to answer it, but she heard her father do so, along with Harlow’s voice on the other side.
There was no way she could do this. Had Harlow known? Had all of the Hell’s Bastards MC known? Was it just one big joke to everyone? What had she ever done to deserve this? Why couldn’t Big Dick—no, George—leave her alone?
Seconds later, Harlow stepped into the kitchen. At this point, she was heavily pregnant with her first child.
“Larissa, I am so, so, so, so sorry about my dickhead brother. I honestly don’t know what to say.”
“Who told you?” Larissa asked.
“I, uh, I got the video.”
“Ah.”
Harlow went to her and attempted to crouch down, however, her pregnant stomach got in the way, so she slowly lowered herself down into a chair she’d pulled toward her.
She let out a little huff as she sat down. “I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to being pregnant.”
“You didn’t have to come.”
“Larissa, I had to come. After this, I’m going to kick my brother’s ass.”
“Why?”
“For this.”
“There’s no point. It’s not his fault that I was a pathetic fool who thought there was more to him than what everyone claimed. It’s my fault for trusting and believing in him.” Larissa felt the tears threatening to spill over. She hated this feeling. It consumed her. She felt so sick to her stomach, and everything hurt. Never in her life had she felt so betrayed.
“You’re not a pathetic fool.”
“Please, you’ve seen the video. I look so damn ... gullible. I don’t even second-guess why he’s suddenly showing up. I’m an idiot. He’s always been like this. I should have questioned this long before now.” And it was only after seeing the video that she began to see the alarming red flags that should have come to her in the beginning. Instead, all she had done was see the good. Always the damn good. It was the way she wanted to see life. To imagine people were good to the core.
“You’re not gullible, okay? I know what I’ve seen in the last few months, and even I had noticed a change in my brother. You mean something to him.”
“A bet, Harlow. That’s all I was.”
Harlow reached for her hand, and Larissa pulled away.
“I think you should go.”
It killed her to see the hurt on Harlow’s face, but right now, all she wanted to do was hide away. There were so many people who had seen that video, showcasing her shame for all.
Larissa had no idea how she was ever going to be able to face the people in town again, or get a job. She knew her father said they would manage, but she liked working. She liked contributing. The job with Ava had been one of the best, even better than working as a cleaner for Smokey.
Harlow sighed. “Okay, I will leave for now, but I promise we’re still friends, and I am going to deal with this.”
“Leave it, Harlow. There’s no point.”
Harlow looked like she wanted to say something else, but Larissa was done listening.
Those that weren’t on George’s contacts would hear or see the video just because it had been sent to so many people.
She was going to be the laughingstock of the town.
Chapter Nine
For the first couple of days, Larissa stayed close to the house, even as her father attempted to get her to leave.
In all of her years, she had never caused any trouble. She had never given anyone a single reason to talk horribly about her, mock her, or laugh. This was the first time.
By the end of the first week, they didn’t have any food in the fridge, and her father had tasked her with filling the fridge and the cupboards. Several years ago, he’d recommended she get an online account to handle the grocery shopping. She had declined, telling him the Internet was detrimental to civilization, and she refused to join that race. Now, she wished she had kept her damn mouth shut. It would have been a lot easier than attempting to face the outside world. At least her father had left her the car.