Chapter 15 - Simon
Jaco sneers at me, a fake smile that sparks an even deeper anger inside me.
“Haven’t seen much of you lately. Are you cowering in your mansion after losing everything?” Jaco mutters beneath his breath, using the smile to hide his nasty words.
“Losing everything? Are you kidding? You only took the things that weren’t worth having,” I snap back at him.
To anyone watching us, it might look like we were just having a normal conversation. But the static between is so sharp and uncomfortable that you could feel it if you stood too close.
Jaco scoffs. “Maybe I didn’t take enough then. Maybe I should look at what else you don’t deserve and snatch that away too,” he threatens.
“Maybe you should worry more about your karma than what else you can steal from other people, because that’s all you do. You don’t work for anything. You just take it. You take the things that other people have built,” I growl.
“That girl in the green dress. Beautiful. I believe she’s yours?”
My chest tightens as he mentions Blair. I swallow hard against the surge of violence I feel toward him for even looking at her.
“Honestly, I think she would do better with someone like me,” he pushes on. “My family could offer her so much more. She deserves more than whatever you’re giving her,” he snaps.
“You stay away from her, Jaco. I swear if I have to tell you that twice, you’ll find yourself buried alive and trying to claw your way out,” I warn him.
He laughs coldly.
“Maybe I’ve already started warming her up to leave you and come to me,” he taunts.
Panic shoots through me. Where is Blair? Did he do something to her?
I look around the room, searching for her.
Relief hits like a wave when I catch sight of her, but it fades quickly when I see that she’s making her way toward the exit—and that she looks upset.
Jaco follows my gaze and laughs.
“Oh, she was chatting to Lindsey a moment ago. I wonder where she’s going now,” he remarks casually.
Fuck. I didn’t even know Lindsey was here. I hate the idea of my ex-girlfriend talking to Blair.
Pushing past Jaco, I walk toward Blair, wanting to stop her and make sure she’s okay.
But out of nowhere, Lindsey steps into my path, blocking me.
“Simon,” she coos with a seductive smile. “You look amazing. Did you notice my dress? I wore red because I remember it’s your favorite color.” She looks up at me and bites her lower lip.
Agitation rustles through me like dry leaves, and I try to step around her, eager to get to Blair.
“Wait, don’t go. I’ve really missed you. You know, we should hook up sometime. Catch up for old times’ sake,” she says, clearly hinting at more than just talking.
Jaco snaps angrily from behind me.
“What the fuck are you flirting with him for?” he snarls.
Jaco turns to glare at me. “You have no fucking respect,” he accuses me.
I roll my eyes, not interested in either of them or their drama. They can have each other!
I set my hand firmly against Lindsey’s shoulder and move her out of my way, then leave them arguing with each other behind me as I jog toward the door. I can’t see Blair anymore, and it’s worrying me.
All I care about is getting to her.
I can’t believe she came to the event on her own. It was a bold move. And she looks so fucking gorgeous, every single guy in this place wanted her. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and it was painfully difficult to stay away from her all night.
It’s my own fault, though. I should have taken her with me. It was a stupid move to try to block her from coming, and I paid the price. I underestimated her.
Outside the venue, I still can’t find her. Panic sets in, and I grab my phone from my pocket to track hers. On the map, a small dot pings down the road from the venue. What in the world is she doing?
IN a rush, I get into my car, wanting to get there as quickly as I can.
Down the road in the glow of my car’s headlights, I see her walking on the sidewalk with her beautiful dress moving about her like water. She looks like a goddess making her way through the night. “What the fuck,” I growl angrily.
I pull my car up alongside her, slowing to match her pace.
“Blair, what are you doing?” I sigh, leaning my arm out of the window.
The sound of her heels on the sidewalk is the only response I get.
“Come on, what is the plan here? Are you going to walk all the way home?” I ask.
“Just leave me alone, please, Simon. Go back to your party,” she huffs angrily.
“I’m not leaving you on the side of the road. You can barely walk around the event in shoes like that, never mind all the way down this road. Your feet must be killing you.”
“So, what? I’ll call an Uber. I don’t need you to come and rescue me from anything, okay? I’m sure you have better things to be doing,” she snaps.
“Just get in the car, Blair. You’ll get kidnapped out here alone in the dark. You have to know it was a terrible idea to leave the event alone,” I scold her, losing my patience.
She stops walking, and I press the brakes. Blair turns toward me with an expression of anger and defeat etched into her face. “Fine. Take me home!” she blurts out, clearly upset that my logic won her over.
She storms around the car and climbs into the passenger side, folding her arms over her chest and staring pointedly out of the window to make it clear she has no intention of talking to me.
“What happened at the party?” I ask, pulling into the road and heading toward home.
“Just take me home,” she huffs, ignoring my question.
The whole drive is tense as hell. Something is clearly bothering her deeply, and I am not going to let her go to bed without telling me what it is.
But I use the drive to let her sit in silence, hoping it will soften her mood by the time we reach the mansion.
We drive through the estate gate, and Blair is already trying to climb out of the car before I’ve even come to a complete stop.
“Blair…” I call her name, but she’s already marching toward the front door.
“Dammit,” I mutter impatiently as I hurry to get out and run after her.
“Blair!” I say, catching up in the foyer and reaching out to grab her arm before she runs upstairs.
“I want to go to bed,” she says, her voice tight and filled with emotion.
I turn her to face me and see tears running down her cheeks.
Instantly, my heart breaks.
“Blair, what happened at the party?” I ask desperately.
She shakes her head. “It’s not just the party. It’s everything,” she sobs.
“Please tell me what’s going on. I can’t stand to see you like this,” I beg.
She pulls her arm away from me and takes a step back, shaking her head.
“You really hurt me, Simon. Why wouldn’t it hurt me to know that you didn’t want me there?
Was I embarrassing to you? Or was it because you were just done with me after sleeping with me?
You got what you want, and don’t want me around anymore?
Or may it’s because you knew your ex-girlfriend would be there, the love of your life, and didn’t want me getting in the way!
” The more she talks, the more upset she gets.
Her assumptions pour out of her between heartbreaking sobs as she tries to pull herself together, but fails.
She’s hurting so badly, and it’s all because I didn’t explain properly that I wanted her safe!
“None of those reasons is right. Not even close!”
“It hardly matters anyway,” she mutters, covering her face in her hands. “I’ll stay out of your way, okay? Hopefully, it will be safe for me to go home soon. Maybe you and Lindsey can get back together or something,” she says.
“What in the world did Lindsey say to you at the party?” I stammer, horrified that she thinks I want to get back together with that woman. “I have absolutely no interest in her at all!”
“It seemed very much like you two were very good together from what she said. I think she can give you everything you want. Things I can’t give you,” she whispers.
I step forward and wrap my hands around her shoulders, forcing her to look at me.
“I don’t know what Lindsey said, but please understand, please listen…
You have it all wrong. The real reason I didn’t want you at that party was that I only went there to play mind games with Jaco.
I planned to toy with him as part of my revenge and to see if I could extract information from him.
I figured it was a risky move, and if you were with me, it might put you in danger, which was the last thing I wanted.
Regarding my ex, I had no idea she would be there, and I have zero interest in her or ever being with her again.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Do you hear me? ”
I shake her softly, trying to emphasize what I’m saying.
She looks up at me with eyes stained red from tears.
“Was it really because of that?” she asks, knotting her brows.
“Yes, princess. I promise you. It didn’t have anything to do with what happened between us. I don’t want to avoid you! It was just for that night, because of Jaco.”
“Lindsey told me…” she whispers, but can’t seem to get the words out.
“What did she tell you?” I ask gently.
“She told me how she knew all of your preferences…um… in the bedroom and how she knew exactly how to give you what you wanted. She said you two were better together than anyone could ever understand,” Blair says, unable to look me in the eyes while she’s speaking.
An angry growl rumbles through my chest.
“She’s a piece of work. And it’s not true. Our relationship was destroyed because she went behind my back and betrayed me. Does that sound like someone who is perfect for me? Someone who knows how to make me happy?”
“Not really…” she stammers, wiping her eyes.
“I’m so sorry for what she said to you, but I imagine that Jaco coached her to mess with you. He probably told her to talk all that shit to get under your skin. You can’t believe a word she said,” I say sternly.
Blair nods, her body is less tense than it was a little while ago, and she’s stopped crying. She still looks upset and very drained.
I pull her into a hug and hold her tightly against my chest. “It was a mistake not to take you as my plus one. You were beautiful there, and you handled yourself very well talking to all of those powerful families,” I tell her.
She sighs softly.
“I’m very tired. And my feet hurt,” she mutters, pulling away from me.
“Do you believe me?” I ask, worried.
“I do. Thank you for explaining it,” she nods. “But I want to go to bed now.”
“Of course. Get some rest. You really look beautiful tonight, Blair. That dress is exquisite on you.”
“Thanks,” she says with a tight smile.
I let her go, and she turns away from me, walking upstairs to her room. If I had done a better job tonight, she would be coming to sleep in my bed instead of feeling heartbroken over this misunderstanding.
She says she’s forgiven me, but the tension is still there. I guess she needs time to process and rest. Lindsey clearly went overboard with whatever she said. Those two are evil. I wish Blair had never been exposed to either of them.
I must find a way to make things right between Blair and me. Explaining with words is only so effective—I want to show her that she was wrong.