44. Lauren
44
Lauren
I think I’m going to pass out.
With my hand pressed to my chest, mouth slightly opened, pulling in long breaths, I rush from the elevator, almost tripping over my legs. Andrew, who has been leaning on the hood of the SUV, comes rushing forward and takes my arm.
“Are you okay?”
“Just get me out of here, please,” I whisper, and he whisks me into my seat and hurriedly closes the door.
The tears come barreling down even before Andrew gets into his seat, and I don’t even try to hold them back. I don’t care that my driver is hearing me. With my arms wrapped around my middle, I sob like hell.
Harper standing in Marcus’ living room was the last thing I expected to see. Harper getting naked in front of Marcus was the last thing I wanted to see. There’s no doubt what I interrupted, no doubt in my mind what they resumed right after those doors closed.
‘I haven’t slept with another woman in ages, Lauren’ .
Fucking liar . I punch the back of the passenger seat, groaning. Andrew glances around at me but says nothing.
Harper. Really, Marcus? You’re with the woman who broke your heart? The one who turned you into the monster you’ve become?
A rising sob halts in my throat, and I sit up straight.
He’s still in love with her.
Oh, God.
I groan, hugging myself tighter. He never stopped loving her, did he? All these years, he has been fucking around, wrecking every woman. Now, I suspect it was all to get her attention. Harper was the one who got away. He probably knew that making her jealous would eventually win her back.
Here I was, thinking I could help mend his broken heart, when all along, it was already repaired and waiting for Harper.
“We’re here,” Andrew suddenly announces in my ear, startling me. My head whips to the left, and I see him standing on the pavement with the door wide open.
“Sorry, I must’ve zoned out,” I mutter, taking his offered hand and stepping onto the pavement.
He doesn’t release my hand. “It’s always darkest right before dawn,” he says, giving it a squeeze.
Although there’s no comfort in those words, I nod anyway. Andrew gestures ahead, and I wrap the coat tighter around me, although we’re only a short distance from the house.
Pangs of loneliness makes my stomach hurt. I don’t want to be alone tonight, but heading back to Gabriel’s might not be the best idea. One look at my face, and my brother would see what a total mess I am. Marcus might be a monster who deserves to get thrown under the bus, but I don’t want his blood on my hands —
Andrew’s sudden grunt makes me whip around in time to see him fall to the floor. A scream gets lodged in my throat as a dark figure lunges at me.