Chapter 8
Kayden
A better man would leave.
Iwatch her disappear in the back and I’m nearly gutted.
When she looked up and her pretty blues landed on me, I saw it.
The hatred and the anger, the remnants of the pain I caused.
There wasn’t a single flicker of happiness in seeing me.
There was no hello, no hug, no fucking joy in her voice or in her eyes like there used to be when I entered a room.
I’d played the scenario over in my head a million times on the drive here.
I pictured her jumping into my arms, wrapping her small frame around me.
I pictured her breaking out into happy tears, knowing I was free.
I never once pictured her looking at me like she wished I was still in the slammer.
And I never imagined her first words would be asking me to leave.
It was probably a long fucking shot hoping she’d forget all those horrible things I wrote her and that she’d be thankful I was here.
I intended for her to hate me, and damn, was I successful in that.
But I’ll say this: I’m not fucking going anywhere until I can explain.
There’s no way I can go live my life without knowing I gave it my all to win her back.
But…I still have to consider the fact that she’s engaged.
And now, she’s probably in the back calling her fiancé to help calm her down.
And he may be on his way here to give me a beatdown and make sure I never disturb his girl again.
I know that’s what I would do if I were in his shoes.
Fuck. I’m not sure what the hell I’m supposed to do.
But one thing is crystal clear. I need to make things right with her.
If she never wants to speak to me again after that, fine, I’ll suffer the consequences for the way I handled things and then I’ll go die a slow agonizing death, alone, drowning in my fucking misery.
But if there’s a chance she wants to be friends, I’ll thank God for what I can get.
I’d rather have her smiling at me than looking at me with hatred.
Even if I do have to watch her live her life with someone else, I’ll deal with it.
Just as long as I can earn her forgiveness.
I may hate the fact that she’s moved on, and every part of my being may want to steal her away from him, but I will not destroy her happiness. I already did that once, and I can barely live with myself knowing that.
For now, I’ll give her space. Let her process the fact that I’m here.
Let her anger settle. And in the meantime, I’ll be digging further.
I need to know who her fiancé is and where she lives.
I need to know what she’s been doing since I’ve been away.
And I’m guessing there may be some kind folks in this town with big mouths.
Little towns like this are full of gossip.
Everyone knows everyone’s business, and I’m sure by this evening, I’ll have Wren’s entire life story.