24. Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Noah
I talked to Gabe, after we got rid of Shawn, to get the details about Stella’s ex, which I knew my fiancée would not give me unless we went a few rounds to lower her walls.
"Luna suspects he hit her." Gabe shook his head as he drank some scotch, rage on his face.
"Suspects?" It was challenging to push words out of my constricted throat. How much had this woman suffered? And what kind of man was I to have added to her burdens?
Gabe looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "You know, Stell, she'll never say anything. But, Carter, you're no better than that asshole. I just can't punch your lights out 'cause, you know, you're officially the groom-to-be."
I cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I know . Nina told Luna and Aurora."
"I know," I retorted, "I asked her to."
"I don't know you, Carter, and honestly, I don't care to know you. A man who did what you did isn't someone I'd waste my time with."
"Gabe," I raised my glass of scotch at him, "tell me how you really feel?"
"You fucked with her. She didn't deserve that."
"No." I agreed and scanned the party to find the woman in black and blue. "She deserves so much better than me. But I had to do somethin' after the shit hit the fan."
"You mean you swoopin' in and playin' hero?" Gabe demanded. His blue eyes were ablaze with fury. In all honesty, I wanted him to pound on me. I wanted someone to beat the crap out of me. The physical pain couldn't be worse than how I felt emotionally.
"I'm no hero. Hell, Gabe, I ain't even good enough to be a villain."
"Gabe." I heard Royal's voice and sighed. My friend had dragged himself from the blonde, he was probably trying to bed, to protect me from Angry Rhodes. I didn't deserve his loyalty, either.
"Royal. How are you?" Gabe held his hand out to my friend and lawyer. "You part of his scheme?"
"What scheme are we talking—"
"He knows, Royal," I cut in.
"Best kept secret in Savannah," Royal groaned sarcastically.
"Select few know," Gabe countered, "and it will stay that way. I won't have that woman humiliated further. She's important to my wife, so she's important to every Rhodes. Try survivin' in Savannah, Carter, without Betsy Rhodes at your back."
Gabe's mother was a formidable woman, who ran Savannah society through good works. She wasn't much of a Southern Belle as she was born and raised in Boston—but that didn't change how influential she was. She and Nina were friends, but the way Nina felt about me right now, she'd be happy to let Betsy take her best shot at me. I'd deserve it, too.
"Gabe, like you said, you don't know me. Hell, these days, I don't know who I am. But what I do know is that I'd rather die than hurt Stella ever again. I'm not even being altruistic here. Hurting her would kill me," I admitted savagely. I tossed my drink back, and wanted very much to find a bottle of whiskey and crawl into it.
I wish I could turn back time, accept my feelings for Stella, and leave revenge behind. It hadn't gotten me anything. My sister, whom I loved very much, had told me she couldn't talk to me for a while, and needed to find a way to not be disgusted with me. Royal had forgiven me, but after the video came out, he was back to wanting to punch my lights out.
The worst part was that Baron Hunt was doing just fine, while Stella was broken. And I couldn't fucking breathe most of the time because regret was a stone on my chest.
"If he does hurt her again, I swear I'll end him," Royal stated casually.
Gabe looked at me for a long moment. "You're in love with her."
I looked at him and shrugged. "Yeah."
"When did you find out?"
"Late…too fucking late."
Gabe chuckled. "Man, I screwed up with Aurora, but that was a walk in the kiddie park compared to your shitshow."
My interest was piqued. "How did you win her back?"
"On my knees," Gabe winked at me, "and there was absolutely no pussy involved…not for a long while."
"So, you're saying I gotta grovel?"
"Like that's going to help you," Royal muttered. "Leave her alone after this video thing dies down, which it will as soon as there's something juicer in the news. She deserves better."
"With motherfucking friends like you who the fuck needs enemies." I walked away from my closest confidante and the near stranger, both of whom thought I was a dipshit, to find my fake fiancée, who agreed with them.
The party was a success despite the little incident with Shawn Harding, Baron and Whit informed us while we were getting ready to leave their home.
"You need to control Stella," Whitney, who didn't seem to understand how I felt about Stella, chirped. "She treated Shawn rudely and—"
"He hit her," I interrupted Whitney. "He's lucky that Gabe Rhodes didn't fuck his face up…luckier that I didn't. Now, I know y'all are thinkin' that Stella and I are engaged to stop people's wagging tongues, but let me disabuse you of that notion. I love my fiancée. I . Love . Stella . This is a real fucking relationship. So, you both need to be careful as to how you talk to and about my woman."
Stella looked mortified, and her gaze dropped to look at her feet.
Fuck no!
"Stella, his hitting you is his shame. My making that fucked video is mine. None of it is yours," I bellowed when I saw humiliation written all over her face.
"Keep it down, Noah; we have servants around," Whitney shushed me.
"I don't give a shit, Whit. I'm just a construction worker; I'm supposed to be a little off-color."
I grabbed Stella's arm, now sick and tired of Savannah society, and marched her out to my car, the keys of which the valet handed to me.
"No more social commitments in our name," I warned Baron. "This was it. We're done. You're both done with Stella. And—"
"She's my daughter," Baron smirked. "She does what I say."
I looked at Stella, who was slightly tipsy. "Do you?"
"Nope." Her “p” was exaggerated. "Not anymore."
"I'm taking Stella home. Y'all have a good evening."
Stella was giddy when I drove us back to our place. I had already started thinking of Stella's home as ours, even though I was still sleeping in the guest room.
"That was so much fun." She leaned back on the leather seats. Thelonious Monk played softly in the background as I drove. "I've never done that before."
"Get drunk?"
"Get drunk in front of my father, and ask him to fuck off."
Her eyes were amused, her lips curved. God, but she was beautiful. Those big green eyes uniquely clashed with her brown skin, and enhanced her features. Big, pouty lips—perfect for kissing…and blowing….
She'd sucked me off that night when we'd made love, not like a pro, but like someone who enjoyed it, relished in giving me pleasure. And she had. Christ! It had been the best sex of my life. I had taken the best thing that happened to me, and made it the worst thing that ever happened to her.
"Your father is an asshole," I muttered. "And that Stepford Wife of his is no better."
She laughed softly, swaying to the music, humming softly.
"Noah?"
"Yeah, Sweet."
"Did you like me even a little bit? Or was it all…."
Her eyes were closed, and I wondered if she would've asked that question if she wasn't under the influence of alcohol. Probably not. She'd been careful about not being vulnerable in front of me, even if she'd slipped a few times just as I had. My reasons for hiding my emotions were different from hers. I didn't have the right to burden her with my guilt, my pain for fucking up her life. She, on the other hand, didn't trust me.
I stroked her cheek as I waited at a red light. Her eyes opened, and she looked at me.
"I liked you very much, Stella. So much so, that the revenge I so badly wanted…I was ready to give up."
"But you wanted retribution more than you wanted me," she said sadly.
The light turned green, and I dropped my hand. "Yes," I admitted.
"I thought you were falling in love with me," she confessed, "that…never mind."
"I was falling in love with you," I quickly said before she could raise her walls and push me away.
"Liar," she mocked.
I glanced at her as I turned on to our street. Her eyes were closed again.
"You're a big, fat handsome liar, Noah Carter. Cause if you were fallin' in love with me, you wouldn't have torn my life apart. You wouldn't have bought my partnership to humiliate me even after you showed my father how unremarkable my tits are."
"Your tits are fabulous," I gritted out.
She laughed while I pulled into her driveway and waited for the garage door to open. "My tits are small. Always have been. Even Luna, the tomboy, has C cups to my B. They used to call me an ironing board in high school."
"What the hell kind of ironing boards do you have around here?" I parked the car and pushed the button so the garage door closed.
"Will you live here after I'm gone?" she asked me, in no rush to leave the car and the garage.
I wasn't surprised that she said she was leaving; however, I was horrified that she would. I couldn't live alone in her house. There were too many memories of her. It was all her. I wouldn't survive the onslaught of guilt and lost love.
"I won't be able to," I choked out.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's not a billionaire's house for sure. You should buy something in The Landings. Rose can find a nice place for you."
Her voice was soft, sweet, and even sleepy. Her eyes were closed again, and she looked like she was falling asleep.
"You can get married and have babies there," she continued. "Do you know, when I found my father in your office? I thought you'd asked him if you could marry me?"
I was truly a massive asshole. It wasn't her fault. I gave her all the signs that we were working our way to a serious relationship. Sex was only going to be a step toward that.
"Like we're living in the days of Gone With The Wind ; because we had sex and therefore must marry for the sake of honor." She let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Then you showed the video…." Her breath caught. "God, it hurt so much, Noah. It hurt so much."
I wanted to reach out to her. Pull her into my arms, hold her. But villains didn't get to play comforting heroes. And how the hell was I supposed to make her feel better? Was I supposed to pat her head and say, “there, there, hon, it's all gonna be alright?”
"Then I had to sell my house and the partnership. It hurt, but…I thought I'd get through it and build myself back. Then you walked into the meeting room, and I saw the triumph in your eyes—the victory you felt."
"No, baby, I…just didn't want Nina and Savannah Lace to suffer because of my actions."
"Is it over now, Noah?" she asked, going on like she hadn't heard me, like I had not spoken.
"What's over, Sweet?"
"The revenge part of the programming?"
I stared at her as her breathing deepened. "Yeah, baby, it's over," I murmured, but she was already asleep.