Chapter 36
I sprinted through the front door of the house, my mind unable to think of anything except finding Elliott.
I needed to see him, to touch him, to kiss him—to tell him that although it scared me so freaking much, I didn’t want to ignore my feelings for him any longer.
Falling in love against all my rules, but fuck the rules.
A sense of eeriness welcomed me as I stepped into the foyer. Where I expected to be greeted by a group of rowdy men having fun, silence took hold instead.
Not giving it much thought, I headed toward the study and out the porch door, being almost certain I’d seen Elliott standing out there with someone when the cab pulled up.
My heart fluttered the second I spotted him.
This was it; this was my chance.
Standing with his back to me, I watched tension ripple down his spine. His muscles tensed beneath his khaki green T-shirt, his shoulders bunched tight while his hands curled into two fists at his sides.
One of Daniel’s university friends, Flynn, side-eyed me and motioned for me to come over quickly.
My brows knitted in confusion as I approached. As if he sensed me, Elliott turned. Behind his glasses, his eyes softened, and his shoulders, which were trying to fuse with his neck, relaxed instantly.
No matter how many times Elliott looked at me, he had the unnatural ability to make me feel like I was the only person on the planet he wanted to see.
The only woman for him.
A smile stole away on my lips as I came to his side, only for it to vanish the second I spotted Daniel leaning against the patio railing.
Tension sat thicker than honey between the three men.
“What’s going on?” I dared to ask.
“Shall I tell her, or do you have the balls?” Daniel smirked.
The distinct sound of teeth crunching together sounded from Elliott.
“Tell me what?”
Before Elliott had the chance to speak, Daniel cut him off.
“Oh no, I think everyone should get the chance to hear this.” He walked to the double doors leading into the kitchen, where the others sat waiting, and pulled them wide open.
“Come on, fellas, you will all want to hear this. It’s a fucking good ‘un.”
“Daniel, stop,” Flynn urged. “You’re being a Class A royal prick right now.”
“Fuck off, Reynolds,” Daniel spat. “Go back inside. This doesn’t involve you.”
Flynn shook his head. “Not a chance. You’re way out of line with this, surely you see that?”
Daniel scoffed. “No real surprise you feel sorry for this piece of shit, the two of you are cut from the same cloth after all.”
Elliott lunged in a blink, a flash of white-hot rage settling across his face. Oh shit. I moved without thought, placing myself directly between him and his intended target.
I placed my hand on Elliott’s chest, right above his heart, stopping him dead in his tracks.
A twisted part of me wanted to see him kick the living shit out of Daniel, especially considering the shit-eating smirk he wore right now.
C’mon, it wasn’t like Daniel didn’t deserve a beating.
But the rational part of me urged me to rise above it all.
Now that’s some serious growth. High-five me!
“He’s not worth it,” I stared up at the man who, against all the odds, captured my heart. “You’re better than him, don’t let him get under your skin.”
Elliott’s throat bobbed, hazel eyes bouncing between me and the man who I’d wasted too much of my life with.
“Trust me,” I said quietly. “His words, his actions, everything about him means nothing.”
Slowly, Elliott focused his attention solely on me. Beneath my fingers, his heart slowed, beating back into a gentler rhythm.
“He means nothing?” Elliott repeated with a questioning crease between his brows.
With uncertainty mixed with hope shining in his eyes, I heard every unspoken word of his question.
I nodded firmly. “All that matters to me is you. I lov—”
“He’s an addict, Liv.” Daniel’s voice sliced through mine. “A fucking no good junkie.”
Elliott’s entire body deflated in utter defeat.
“You hear that, everyone! Liv’s boyfriend is a worthless, good-for-nothing junkie! And he’s a doctor, can you all believe that?”
Blood pumped violently between my ears.
Daniel laughed cruelly. “My father is friends with a few members of the medical board. Wait until they hear about this. Say goodbye to your job.”
How fucking dare he!
Without thought, I whirled and punched Daniel square in his obnoxious, good-for-nothing, smug face.
Pain shot through my knuckles and wrist. However, watching the blood trickle from his mouth made the possibly broken knuckles worth every ounce of pain.
“What the fuck!?” Daniel spat out a mouthful of blood.
Oh, wait, was that a tooth, too? Oopsie-daisy.
Despite the bleeding, he kept talking like a stupid wind-up doll. “Can’t you see I’m trying to save you, Liv?”
“Save me from what? I don’t need you to save me from shit.”
“You want to spend your life with someone like him? You deserve better than someone who isn’t fucked up and damaged.”
I couldn’t believe I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with this piece of shit.
Funny how, without the rose-tinted glasses of love, I finally saw the real Daniel. Cruel and so fucking repulsive, I fought the urge to vomit.
“How dare you?” I said, calmer than I felt. “You don’t get to stand there and look down your nose at him as if you are some saint. And you certainly don’t get to preach to me about what I deserve.”
He spat out another mouthful of blood, lethal venom brewing in his gaze.
“Don’t forget that you fucked my sister behind my back and hid it from me for months,” I continued. “So, no, you don’t get to sit on your freaking high horse and pretend you’re better than anyone else.”
Audible gasps came from the kitchen. I’d slightly forgotten about our little audience, but I was past caring.
I was fed up carrying this around.
If I had any hope of building the life I wanted, I needed to shed every ounce of dead weight weighing me down.
The welcome scent of leather-bound books and coffee enveloped me as Elliott took my currently swelling hand and inspected the damage.
Thanks to the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I thankfully no longer felt any pain.
“You know what, Daniel? I’m glad you screwed my sister,” I declared as I turned to leave. “Because if you hadn’t, I might have married you, and that would have been the worst mistake of my life.”
If looks could kill, me and Elliott were as good as dead.
“Without doing what you did, I would’ve never learned what real true love is,” I said. “So, I guess weirdly I have to say thank you. It turns out it was the best thing to happen to me.”
Without a second glance, I guided Elliott through the kitchen, ignoring the several sets of eyes watching us, and didn’t stop until we were in the safety of the bedroom.
Only then did I allow myself to breathe again.
Much like the cab ride back, I felt nothing but sheer relief. Having the freedom to say what I truly felt, to get the weight of the lies off my shoulders, I was finally able to close this chapter of my life.
I guessed what they say is true; the truth will indeed set you free.
“Let me see your hand again.” Elliott’s feather-light touch rotated my wrist. “Can you make a fist?”
I winced yet managed to do as he asked.
“Hard to say without an X-ray, but I don’t think you’ve broken any bones. But I’d say you’ve definitely sprained it.”
“Ah damn, here I was sort of hoping for a cast,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“Why would you want that?”
“Because when people asked me what happened, I could create some cool ass back story, duh.”
The corner of his lips twitched.
“Though, I can’t decide if saving a puppy dog from a grizzly bear or a toddler from a shark is cooler.”
“Punching your ex-douche of a boyfriend and knocking out his front tooth is a pretty goddamn cool story if you ask me.”
Looking up from beneath my lashes, I chewed the corner of my lip. “About what happened downstairs…I am so sorry he created a scene like that.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“It’s because of me you’re here. I dragged you into this fucked up mess—”
“Listen to me, I am here because I want to be here with you.”
I smiled, heat creeping into my cheeks.
“And it’s not like I can’t handle some dickhead calling me a junkie. Trust me, I’ve been called worse.”
“You know what he said is all bullshit, right?”
Silence responded.
“Right?” I repeated, trying to catch his gaze.
“I want you to know, I didn’t gamble tonight,” he said without warning. “As much as I wanted to, I didn’t.”
“That’s amazing, Elliott. I’m proud of you. And you should be proud of you too.”
“Don’t be.” He ran a hand down his face. “If it weren’t for Flynn, I think I would have done it. I was this close to falling off the wagon, so goddamn close to giving into it again.”
I swallowed thickly, my chest aching as raw anguish settled across his handsome face. Dios, he truly was beautiful.
My beautifully tortured man.
“Being that close to it again, it’s made me accept that I need help, Livi,” his voice broke. “Real help.”
Taking his face in my hands, I willed myself not to cry. “Whatever you need, let me help you.”
“I thought therapy would be enough, but I think I need more than that. I need specialized help.”
“Do you mean like the place Calvin recommended?”
He nodded stiffly. “And Frederic, he wants me to go there too. He called before we flew out here. He’s paid for me to go to Spring Hope Facility when we get back to New York.”
“You told him the truth?”
“No.” Tear-filled eyes flashed to mine. “I thought you told him.”
“No, I never said a word to him about it.” I blinked slowly. “Wait, did you really think I’d do that to you?”
“You’re the only person I ever told. I thought maybe you told him because you wanted to help me.”
He seriously thought I’d betray his trust?
Then again, it would be a total lie to say I didn’t think about it. The day I called Frederic, freaking out on how to ask for his help securing Monarch Club, I considered dropping a hint that Elliott was struggling.
It surprised me how agreeable Frederic was in helping me get the club, though I suspected his help came from wanting to help his brother, not me.
But I said nothing.
I held onto Elliott’s secret, even though I wanted nothing more than to help him.
Exhaling slowly, I tried not to dwell on the stabbing pain between my ribs. “Is that why you were annoyed with me earlier?”
He couldn’t look at me.
My bottom lip quivered. “Elliott, I swear to you that I didn’t tell him a single thing. I won’t lie to you and say that I didn’t think about it. But I can look you in the eye and promise you that I didn’t do it. I would never betray your trust like that, I swear.”
“I believe you.” A tear slipped down his cheek. “Merde, I’m so sorry I doubted you.”
It hurt like a motherfucker, but I understood. Roles reversed, there was little doubt that I’d think the same.
“God, I am such a fool,” he exhaled. “I’m really fucking sorry. How could I be so stupid? Fuck, Livi, I am so goddamn sorry.”
“I forgive you.”
“You shouldn’t.” His arms came around my waist and pulled me into him. “Your ex is right. I don’t deserve to have you in my life.”
“Por favor, no te atrevas a gastar otro aliento en él.”
“And you certainly don’t need all my baggage. You’ve been through enough.”
Taking his chin, I forced him to meet my eyes. “I want you to listen very carefully to me, you may get used to having me in your life because I am not going anywhere.”
“But—”
I silenced him by pressing my sore fingers to his lips.
“You said you need help? Well, I will be right by your side the whole freaking way. I promise.” I left no room for argument. “Fake or real, I am not leaving you.”
“Livi, you need to know something.” He peeled my fingers carefully back from his mouth. “This thing between us, it’s the furthest thing from fake for me.”
My heart stuttered.
“It has been for quite some time now, and I can’t keep pretending I don’t feel anything for you.”
Everything inside me screamed to tell him I felt the same. To tell him how my entire world had been flipped right side up the second I met him.
Yet, words didn’t feel enough.
So, I did what words couldn’t do. I kissed him, my lips molding with his so utterly and painfully perfectly that I knew I wanted to do it for the rest of our lives.