Chapter 27
Gianna
I scroll the homepage of the streaming service again before groaning and rolling over to shove my head back into my pillows.
It’s been more days than I’ve counted since the disaster that happened in my brother’s house.
I turned off my phone the same night and have ignored every knock on the door since.
Turning over again, I’m starting to get restless being in my silent apartment alone.
I haven’t even opened my laptop to work.
I’m thankful for the space Sebastian and Matt both gave me, but my mind and emotions aren’t any clearer.
Pushing the blanket off my bare legs, I pause as I get a whiff of my underarm and sniff to confirm.
“Jesus.” I groan, deciding enough is enough and it’s time to shower.
I need to talk to Jeremy and break it off officially.
The no contact since who knows when is more than enough, but I don’t want to leave any room for assumptions.
Then I need to speak with Matt alone for more information about our past and to find out if our…
father wants to meet me. I’m not even sparing Sebastian a thought because I’m not sure how I want to deal with him yet.
He’s determined to keep me and things do feel different now that I know the truth of everything.
It just feels… like I’ve given up to accept him, especially when he just wants me as the perfect wife.
He asks me to be patient with his feelings, but would it kill him just to give me a little reassurance?
I barely remember going through the motions of washing and drying, shucking on a thin pair of cotton shorts and tank top.
The wet tips of my hair drip down my back as I force myself to eat a bowl of cereal.
Sighing, I turn on my phone, letting it vibrate on the counter for a few minutes as texts and voicemails flash across the screen.
I stare at the device, tempted to delete all of it without even looking.
While I feel better today, I still don’t feel ready to talk to either of them.
It’s hard because I understand where Matt is coming from about being discreet, but also finding out my brother has been lying to me for more than half my life weighs heavy on my heart.
A knock on the door has me frowning, rubbing my forehead as I stare at it. You’d think they would eventually give up. The click of the lock and turning of the handle has me tensing and I grab my phone, ready to call…. who? Matt? Sebastian? I’m not even sure anymore.
Jeremy’s mop of light brown hair peaks around the door, and I exhale, loosening my grip on the phone. It’s like a single thought of the man summoned him, and it annoys me.
He steps in with a sheepish look, closing it behind him. “Hey babe,” he says softly.
“What are you doing here?” I barely withhold the flinch from the endearment and cross my arms over my chest, suddenly uncomfortable being braless in front of him.
“The restraining order was resolved. They said it was a clerical error. And they rehired me after the misunderstanding.” Jeremy chuckles, running a hand through his hair as he continues to stare at me.
I raise an eyebrow. “So you’re allowed to check on your girlfriend now that your career isn’t on the line.”
“What? No! I—” He tries to step closer, and I hold out my hand for him to stop.
“You haven’t bothered to check on me in weeks, Jeremy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be with someone who can go a day without talking to me so easily.”
He throws up his hands in frustration. “The restraining order—”
“Was bullshit. And you know it,” I grit out, my fingernails digging into my palms. I take a deep breath and exhale loudly. “Plus, I have something to tell you, and I doubt you’ll want to be with me afterward anyway.”
Jeremy swallows. I can see the motion clearly with the bob of his throat. “Okay.”
Licking my suddenly dry lips, I look away from him as shame burns into my cheeks. “I slept with Sebastian.” I figure there’s no point in mentioning the other two incidents beforehand. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
“Sebastian? The one Brittany—”
I shake my head. “They were never together. He’s my ex from college.”
We are silent, but I feel the burn of his gaze on me.
I don’t remove my eyes from the spot on the floor I picked out.
I know it’s cowardly of me not to look at him, but I can’t do it.
I couldn’t look at the hurt or devastation on his face while I hold little regret for what I did.
I’m just ashamed I did it while I was still in a relationship—kind of—but being with Sebastian again is like remembering to take the first deep breath after running a long distance.
“When?” he finally asks, his voice low. I glance at my phone for the date and realize it’s been over a week.
“The day after you left.”
Jeremy makes a choking noise, and I look up at him.
His back is to me now and I know he’s seconds away from pacing.
I bite my lip as I watch him, not knowing what to say.
Nothing I say would be comforting in the least. He turns around and storms up to me as I press back into the counter, leaning away from him.
“What are—”
“It’s okay,” he says soothingly, gripping the top of my arms. His eyes are lined with red. “You were feeling hurt. And it was my fault. We all make mistakes.”
My mouth drops open as I try to push at his chest. “It wasn’t a mistake. I went to his house and happily spread my legs for him.”
He flinches and closes his eyes, his grip tightening on my arms. “It was to punish me, I know,” Jeremy rasps.
“No,” I try to tell him. I push him harder but he won’t budge. “I wasn’t even thinking about you.” At this point, I know I need to hurt his feelings if he’s going to accept it.
Jeremy is shaking his head violently, trying to pull me into him as I continue to push against him. He’s chanting the word no, and an uneasy tension is building in me because this is completely out of character for him.
“Stop,” I plead with him, his face snapping up to look at me.
“Gianna, I love—”
“Let go of her.” A deep voice rumbles behind us. I lock onto Sebastian’s cold, hard stare. A small breath of relief escapes me at the sight of him; I hadn’t heard the door open, but I’m glad to no longer be alone with my ex-boyfriend.
Jeremy takes his hands off me, turning to face Sebastian with a wild, flustered look. “You! You need to leave,” he shouts.
Sebastian doesn’t take his eyes off me as his eyebrow arches and his jaw tenses. “You haven’t answered anyone’s call, texts, or opened the door in over a week. But you let this fucking bastard in, Gianna?”
The harsh tone makes a buzz start to squirm under my skin and my eyes widen. “He let himself in. I only let him stay so I could break up with him.”
“We’re not breaking up!” Jeremy cries. and Sebastian finally glances at him.
“Leave,” he commands, stepping aside to give Jeremy a clear path to the door.
Jeremy shakes his head and points at Sebastian’s chest. “No, you need to leave. I need to finish this conversation with my girlfriend. You’re the past, buddy. And you’re going to stay there.”
A smile breaks out across Sebastian’s face, and I shiver at the malice of it. A sense of dread starts to form in my stomach as he steps closer to Jeremy and whispers, “Is that so?”
“Jeremy, I think you should leave,” I say, uncomfortable with the look on Sebastian’s face.
“I—uh,” Jeremy stutters, his face draining of color and his body shaking as Sebastian pulls a gun out of the back of his pants and presses it against Jeremy’s forehead.
“Sebastian! You promised—”
“Shush, mon c?ur,” he interrupts, still staring into Jeremy’s face.
“I’m not the past because I never fucking left.
I have and will always be her future, and because you fucking pissed me off.
.. I’m in the mood to play with you. Be thankful it’s not your life.
Go sit on that chair.” Sebastian tilts his head toward the matching ottoman chair beside my couch.
Jeremy scurries over to the chair and sits on it, his body still trembling. Sebastian walks over, sets the gun down on the coffee table, and pushes the ottoman so it’s resting against Jeremy’s legs, trapping him in the chair.
“Come here, love,” Sebastian calls to me and points to stand in front of the ottoman. I walk slowly, my movement feeling drugged as nerves start to swarm inside me. When I’m standing in front of the chair facing my ex-boyfriend, Jeremy watches me with fearful eyes.
Sebastian steps behind me, pushing my hair to one side of my shoulder, and presses a soft kiss to my neck. The sensation sends chills down my skin and my nipples harden, poking out through the thin tank top.
“Did you know my girl likes to be watched when she gets fucked?” Sebastian asks and my thighs clench, my pussy throbbing already.
No, Jeremy didn’t know that because we rarely left the apartment besides the need for the weekly errands, nor have we gone past a few kisses and over the clothes petting.
Jeremy doesn’t say anything or move as Sebastian chuckles from his nonresponse. “No, I didn’t think you did. I bet you also don’t know she likes to be reminded how good she feels.”
Jeremy’s face twitches at that one. He’s probably remembering the one time I asked him to be vocal while we attempted some fingering. He had whispered things like my skin was soft and my hair was silky; it was an awkward experience for both of us.
Sebastian cups the back of my neck roughly, pushing me down so I have to catch myself on the ottoman.
It leaves my face almost between Jeremy’s knees.
I look toward the ground, already knowing where Sebastian is taking this.
His fist wraps around my hair, forcing my head up, and my eyes clash with Jeremy’s. He’s watching in horror.
“You don’t look away from him, do you understand me?”