Chapter 37 Georgie #2
She’s cheap and easy. With a few compliments, she opens her legs for me. Doesn’t even make me buy her dinner first.
Fat chicks have the lowest self-esteem. Low self-esteem = eager and easy.
More than just feeling exposed and vulnerable, I also felt so devalued, like Nolan never saw me as a person, only property to use until the next shiny toy came along.
It changed the way I viewed him. I realized I had never known the real Nolan.
He was never my friend. He never loved me, and I’m not convinced he ever even liked me.
He just needed someone to manipulate, and I was the girl stupid enough to fall for his tricks.
God, I still hate thinking about those fucking messages. Just as it changed my view of Nolan, it also changed how I viewed myself. It became difficult to look in the mirror because all I could see were my flaws staring back at me as their cruel words echoed in my head.
But as awful as it was to read those messages, it was a blessing in disguise. Because when Nolan moved out the next morning, I let him go.
When James adjusts his hold on me, burying his face in my neck, it jars me from those bitter memories. Like he knows what’s happening in my mind, he whispers, “Stay with me in the present, Georgie.”
Blowing out a shaky breath, I nod.
He kisses my temple, murmuring, “I love you.”
I’m not sure there’s ever been a moment in time where I’ve needed to hear those words more than this very second.
Each time I hear those weighted words spring from his mouth, a surprising thrill rolls through my body because I know in my heart that he means them. It took me a long time to believe him and trust his intentions were true, but now, when all my armor has been removed, I feel safe in his arms.
“That fucking cocksucker!” Charlotte roars. It sounds like she slammed her hand down on her desk. “We’re not giving him a single penny, Georgie, but I’m going to make damn sure he pays.”
James chuckles softly in my ear. “Char, I’m glad we have you in our corner.”
Our corner. Who knew one little word could hold so much power?
“I’m going to loop our lawyers in. We may need to meet today, so keep your phones handy.” She pauses, pondering for a moment. “You didn’t take any photos of the group chat with your phone, did you?”
“No,” I say, explaining, “My old phone’s camera was broken.”
“Damn. Okay, well—”
“So, I took a screen recording of the group chat with Nolan’s phone and emailed it to myself,” I continue.
Charlotte laughs, a rich and hearty sound. “That’s my girl! We may end up needing that. Can you send me the email?”
My body trembles, and I close my eyes. That email has sat in my inbox, untouched, since I sent it to myself. Even though I know I should forward it to Charlotte, the idea of anyone else seeing it, reading the things that were so callously written about me, makes my skin crawl.
Softly, Charlotte adds, “Georgie, if you don’t want me to open it, I won’t. I promise you I won’t look at the email. The only thing I’ll do is forward it to the attorneys if they need it as evidence.”
I’ve come this far. I glance up, looking at James, and I whisper, “Okay.”
After hanging up with Charlotte, James combs my hair over my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Georgie. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t. None of what he did to you is okay, darlin’.” James blows out a slow breath, his nostrils flaring. “What he did is despicable, but we’ll make him pay. One way or another.”
I’ve always longed for the type of man who would go to battle for me, and judging by the determination on James’ face, he’s more than willing to get his knuckles bloody for me.
“You’re right,” I admit, getting choked up.
“It sucked, and it still sucks when I let myself think about it. It… it just felt so violating to know that he shared those photos without my consent. And reading the things they said about me… broke something inside me.” With angry swipes, I brush away the tears that cascade down my cheeks.
“Yet you were strong enough to put yourself back together again, Georgie,” James says, sliding his hands over my cheeks to cup my face. “You didn’t stay stuck in the past; you moved forward, and that’s really fucking brave.”
Calling me brave seems excessive until I catch the expression on James’s face. It’s the same one he gives me when he says I’m beautiful. Something in my chest expands and makes me reconsider. Maybe I am brave.
James asks, “Do you have the text messages Nolan’s been sending you? Can I see them?”
“If I could find the old phone, I do.”
Releasing me from his arms, James walks over to the junk drawer and pulls out my phone.
With a sheepish look, he explains, “I’d seen you with the phone a few times, and I thought you were carting it around hoping your mama called you back.
Thought it might be better for your mental health if the phone just disappeared. ”
My lips tilt up. “That’s actually kind of sweet.”
“So, can I read the texts from Nolan?”
In response, I nod.
Flipping open the phone, he powers it on and thumbs over to my text thread with Dickhead Deluxe/Deadbeat Daddy.
As he reads through the messages, his muscles coil and tighten, and his jaw throbs as he grits out, “I hate this guy.”
“Couldn’t agree more.”