Chapter 21 Kade
KADE
I stood outside the bakery and watched through the window as Lainey hugged Brandon. The rage I felt was no normal temper surge; it was ungodly—unholy. Seeing her even speaking to him set me off, and I'd been perfectly calm.
The annulment paperwork was folded in my pocket, signed and ready to go, and I'd driven here to give it to her. But I’d planned to tell her I didn't want to sign it.
I should've told her two days ago when I drove here for that purpose, but we'd been interrupted and I never got the chance.
I thought coming at the end of the day would give me the perfect reason to make her sit down and talk with me.
But now she was wrapped in his arms and all I could see was red.
I waited until he walked out and got in his car before I stormed through the door. It slammed against the wall hard enough to make Lainey jump. She spun around and her eyes went wide when she saw me.
"Are you seriously going back to that sleazeball?" I snarled without any regard to how it might affect her. I was hurt. Maybe I wasn't meant to see that, and yes, she’d tried to break it off with me and push me away, but seeing that cut me deep.
"Kade—" she started, but I cut her off.
"I can't believe you. Two days ago you were in my arms and now you're back with him? What was I, just a placeholder until he came crawling back?"
"That's not what this is." Her voice was firm, but I wasn't listening.
"Then what is it? Because from where I'm standing, it looks pretty clear." I gestured toward the window where Brandon's car had just pulled away. "You told me it was over with him and the first chance you get, you're right back in his arms."
"You don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly." The anger was building and I couldn't stop it from snowballing down this slippery slope toward me losing my mind. "You got what you wanted from me. The money, the help with the bakery, all of it. And now that he's apologized, you're running right back to him."
"Stop it." Her eyes flashed and she moved toward me. "You're not listening to me."
"Why should I listen when I can see what's happening with my own eyes?" I clenched my jaw to avoid slinging insults or cussing. She didn't deserve that, and at least I was in my right mind enough not to stoop to that level.
"I wasn't going back to Brandon!" She shouted it loud enough that I actually stopped talking. "He came here to apologize and I gave him his ring back. That's it. That's all that happened."
I stared at her and felt some of the anger drain away. "His ring?"
"Yes, his ring. The engagement ring he gave me. The one I've been carrying around for weeks. He came to apologize and I told him we were done. For good. And then he left."
"Then why were you hugging him?" My chest burned with unshed anger, and my heart drilled against my rib cage. I felt like a fool.
"Because we spent six years together and sometimes when things end, people hug goodbye." She glared at me. "Not that it's any of your business."
"Not my business?" I snipped, stepping closer. "You're still my wife. That makes it my business."
She laughed and it wasn't a nice sound. "Your wife? Really? Is that what I am?"
"Yes."
"Then why can't you stand up to your parents and defend me?
" Her voice cracked and I saw tears forming in her eyes.
"If I'm your wife, why'd you let your father call me a gold digger and not say a single word to defend me?
Why'd you go off about how badly they treat you instead of thinking about how badly those words might've hurt me? "
I took a step back and shook my head, straining to remember what actually happened. "I did defend you."
"No, you didn't." She shook her head. "You complained about them. You made it about you and how they've always controlled you with money. But you never once told them they were wrong about me."
"That's not fair." I tried to reach for her but she stepped back. "I was trying to make you understand that their opinion doesn't matter."
"It matters to me!" Her voice rose and I could hear the pain in it. "You don't get it, do you, Kade? You have to side with them. They gave you life."
"I'm trying to protect you from them..."
"I never wanted any of this." She wiped at her eyes angrily. "I was stupid enough to believe you might actually care, but you're selfish, and you don’t think of anyone but yourself."
"That's not true."
"Yes, it is." She moved toward the door and opened it. "And I'm done pretending it's not."
A person walking by stopped and looked in through the open door. "Is everything okay in here?" His eyes were wide and I saw the pulse at his temple throbbing like he was gearing up for a fight. Complete strangers knew that this screaming match between us wasn’t okay.
"She's fine," I snapped, glaring at her. "I was just leaving."
"I was asking her, not you." The stranger looked at Lainey with concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Lainey's voice was tired, not the angry tone she'd been using to shout at me. "He's leaving now."
I looked at her and saw nothing but exhaustion on her face and pain in her eyes.
The anger drained out of me completely and I was left feeling hollow.
I'd come here to tell her I didn't want the annulment and instead I'd accused her of lying and started a shouting match that'd drawn the attention of strangers.
I walked past her without another word and got in my car. My hands shook as I started the engine. Through the bakery window, I could see Lainey talking to the stranger, her arms wrapped around herself.
It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I came here to tell her I loved her. That was what I wanted to do, not shout at her. And I'd only made things worse for myself now.
I punched the steering wheel, making the horn honk, then threw the car in gear and floored it. Horns honked and traffic swerved around me, but I drove as hard and fast as I could to get as far away from her as possible.
I hated how I felt. All of this back and forth was killing me.
I belonged with her. No one would ever convince me I didn't. From the moment I met her she’d made me a better person.
Lainey was my world. I was helplessly in love, and I was pushing her away because I didn't know the first thing about having a healthy relationship.
She was right to call me selfish and accuse me of thinking only of myself. At my age I should've known better. The way to her heart would never be angry demands and accusations. I had to stop and think of her and what she really needed. It was the only way to make this right.
But first I needed to burn off all this adrenaline and rage or I would do something I'd really regret.
I turned onto the highway toward Vegas and opened the throttle full bore. The only thing standing between me and what I wanted was my own ego and pride, and I'd be damned if I let myself screw this up.
She was too important to me.