CHAPTER 10
BELLA
Noah looks at me like he’s seeing right into my soul and I let him, silently hoping that he can see exactly what I’m trying to tell him with just the look in my eyes.
He couldn’t have chosen a worse time to crash a date than right now.
Not that this is a date.
It’s the exact opposite of a date.
After I left the house and got to the café my phone vibrated with a text from Justin asking if we could talk.
When I first read the message, I just scoffed and left my phone in my office.
I had absolutely zero desire to hear whatever bullshit excuse he was going to come up with for why he didn’t come home last night.
Or worse, the excuse he was going to make up for why I found a condom wrapper in his pants presuming he went home after I had left.
But by the time I was an hour into the morning rush, things had started clicking into place in my head.
All the desperate texts and calls from Noah.
The I need to talk to you.
Please, Bells. It’s urgent.
Call me immediately.
I don’t know what made it click, but nothing else made sense.
Noah knows.
That thought was solidified as soon as I saw the expression on his face when he laid eyes on Justin. And then Justin’s it was him, wasn’t it right after he’d asked me how I found out.
Somehow Noah knew that Justin was cheating on me and he was trying to tell me. And if Noah knew, so did others.
That infuriated me.
My leg bounces beneath the table as I try to contain my rage. I’m in my place of business full of customers that I have to face every single day. The last thing I want to do is give them a show and add my shit to their gossip circle.
I give Noah a barely perceptible nod that says I’ve got this and he nods back, tapping his knuckles on the table twice. “You know where I am.”
I bite my lip to hide the tremble in my chin as he glares at Justin one last time before moving to the counter, collecting his order and leaving.
I feel his eyes on me as he passes the window beside our booth, but I keep my attention on the lying asshole in front of me.
“You know where he is, huh?” Justin scoffs.
I ignore his comment. “Was what him?”
Justin’s forehead creases. “What?”
“You said it was him. Was. What. Him?” I enunciate each word. I don’t need him to elaborate, I just want to hear him say it. I need him to confirm my suspicions.
“That told you. Of course it was him, he’s just dying to get back into your pants.”
I lock my fingers together and place my hands on the table in front of me. Despite the turmoil of emotion raging on the inside, I’m the image of cool, calm and collected as I tilt my head. “And how would he know?”
All the colour drains from Justin’s face, and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
Good. I’m glad he’s uncomfortable.
“Well?” I push.
He adjusts his tie around his neck, attempting to stall. “He see us.”
“Where?”
With narrowed eyes, he spits, “don’t act like he hasn’t already told you. I bet he ran straight to you the second his brother’s carried him out of the bar.”
My heart drops.
His brothers.
The bar.
Everyone knows.
Does Killian know?
I quickly discard that last thought. There is no way my brother knows about this. Justin wouldn’t be sitting opposite me right now if Killian knew.
I scan the café, eyeing every person in here. At least one or two of them would have been in the bar last night.
I focus on the latter part of his statement. “You were in The Boot with her?” I ask and then shake my head. “You know what? I don’t even need an answer to that question. I’ll collect my things when I close up here.”
I push back from the table and stand, looking down at him for what I hope will be the final time. He looks completely different to me now. The person sitting at my table is a stranger and not the man I’ve spent the last two years of my life with.
“You can go.”
Justin stands just as quickly and grips my wrist. “Bella-”
I hold up a hand. “Whatever you’re going to say next, I don’t want to hear it. Get the hell out of my café.”
With that, I storm away from him, my head held high and my eyes trained on the hall leading to my office.
Three more seconds.
I just need three more seconds to get into my office and then I can breakdown but not a second sooner.
I refuse to let him or anyone else see me break.
A lump lodges in my throat and my vision blurs with tears as I round the corner, my office door in sight. As soon as my hand curls around the doorknob and it swings open, all the air rushes from my lungs and the first sob escapes me.
***
It’s after six when I finally get to Justin’s house to collect my things. The sight of the dark windows and empty driveway send relief flooding through me as I pull to a stop along the curb.
I don’t park in the driveway because that gives Justin the opportunity to block me in if he comes home while I’m here and I don’t plan on hanging around long.
I still have no idea where I’m going to go when I leave here. I could get a room at one of the motels on the edge of town but there’s a real possibility there will be scarce availability now that tourist season has started.
Rain hammers against my windshield as I turn off the car and rummage around in my bag for my keys. When I locate them, I quickly twist the key to the house from the bunch with the café keys on, tossing them back into bag. I’ll be leaving only Justin’s set behind when I leave.
I’m hit with the icy rain as I jog up the path to the door and slide the key into the lock. The house is silent when I walk in and I waste no time running up the stairs and straight into what was our bedroom, my stomach turning when my eyes land on the made bed.
I wonder how many women have been in that bed when I haven’t been home.
Shaking the thought off, I move to the closet and grab a duffle bag, not bothering to fold the clothes I throw in it. Once all the hangers and drawers are empty, I move to the dressing table – the only piece of furniture I contributed – and pull open those drawers, emptying them just as quickly.
I’m clearing the bathroom drawers when I hear the familiar creak of the bedroom door and my spine snaps straight.
Fuck.
Within seconds, Justin is in the doorway of the bathroom, his eyes glassy and red as he stares at me.
“What are you doing?” He asks, his words slurred.
I continue packing up my belongings, throwing face creams and hair products into a bag. “I’m packing.”
“Why?” Justin asks quietly. If I were a more na?ve woman, I’d actually be concerned about the sadness in his tone, but I’m not. It’s all a show.
“Let’s not play this game, Justin. I’ll be gone in a minute.”
“Please don’t do this, Bella,” he pleads and I roll my eyes, ignoring him.
“We can work this out. It was a one-time thing. I swear.”
I still don’t respond but I do huff an incredulous laugh. One-time thing my ass. It’s just the first time he’s been caught.
“Bella, can you stop?” He asks as I throw in my toothbrush. I continue ignoring him but turn for the door.
His arms are stretched above his head as he holds onto the doorframe above, blocking my exit. This is exactly why I wanted to do this while he wasn’t here. I knew he’d pull some shit like this.
I sigh. “Can you get out of my way?”
He shakes his head. “No. I’m not letting you walk away like this.”
“We’ve said all we needed to say. Can you let me leave?”
A lone tear rolls down his cheek, and I have to physically restrain myself from rolling my eyes a second time. So now he’s going down the narcissistic route.
“I love you, Bella.”
I scoff. “Not enough, clearly. Get out of my way, Justin.”
Before I even register what he’s doing, his lips are on mine, the bitter taste of whiskey invading my mouth as he pushes his tongue between my lips.
With the bag still clenched in my hand, I push against his shoulders until he stumbles back. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
He advances toward me again, causing me to take a step back until I’m wedged between him and the bathroom counter. “Come on, Bella. We were good together, weren’t we?”
His hands grip both sides of my face as he slams his lips against mine a second time. There’s more force behind his kiss this time. My cheeks are squashed beneath the palms of his hands to the point of pain, my body sandwiched against cold marble as he grinds himself into me.
Every part of me recoils.
I attempt to push him off again, but his grip is firmer, stronger.
One hand slides from my cheek down to my breast and he palms it, his thumb flicking over my nipple.
It doesn’t feel pleasurable in the way it usually would.
My body doesn’t react the way it used to.
Instead, I’m overcome with nothing but fear as it moves farther down my body.
I try to tell him to stop but with his mouth against mine all that comes out is a mumble. Justin must mistake the noise for a sound of encouragement because his movements quicken, his hands finding the button at the top of my jeans and unfastening it.
“That’s it, baby. I told you we were good together,” he breaths at the same time I shakily say, “please stop.”
Tears burn my eyes, panic crawling up my throat as he grinds into me again, his erection obvious as he rubs it against my hip.
I need to get out of here.
I can’t let him get any further.
My eyes are trained on the open bathroom door, my bag with only a few items of clothing still clutched in my fist while the others sit on the bedroom floor where I left them before coming in here.
I’ll leave all of those behind.
Justin unzips the zipper of my jeans and pushes his hand into my panties.
The feel of his unwanted touch against my most intimate part fills me with a terror I’ve never known and in an act of pure desperation, I bring my hands up to either side of his face, my bag falling down my arm as I cup the sides of his head and dig my thumbs into his eye sockets as hard as I can.
“Ahhh, fuck!” He shouts, tearing himself away from me and covering both eyes with his hands.
I don’t waste a single second before I take off running.