Chapter Thirteen #3
I’m gob smacked by what he’s said until he floors me further. “You want to know the worst thing about this mess? Deep down, I think I’ve always known she was in love with me, but I ignored it.”
“Daniel—”
“No, Han, there’s no excuse. It’s my fault she’s the way she is. I did that to her.”
“Shh, no Daniel, you can’t think like that.”
“Why not? It’s the truth. When we were younger, Freya and I had some of the best times and then, I don’t know.
I suppose we weren't as close once I got married. I should have realised then.” He leans over me, grabs his beer and takes an enormous mouthful before he says, “I spent too much time avoiding both her and Joe. It was a total nightmare, and to make things worse, she didn’t stop trying.
She tried kissing me again and again until I lost it.
I was so damn mad I reminded her she was married to my brother and threw a whole heap of abuse her way.
That’s when I found out she’d been the one to drive Josie away. ”
My hand cups my mouth, “Oh my God.”
He stares into space. “I could see in her eyes how much she wanted to hurt me so it all came out. How she’d befriended Josie, told her I was no good, a womaniser, how I’d cheated.
Freya wore her down and drove her to the brink.
When I asked about the photo, she admitted she hired a private investigator to take the photos months before.
Even when I was single, she kept track of what I was doing. ”
“She what?”
“Yep. She was tracking me way before I met Josie. It was convenient she had so called evidence to use against me. After that, I was done with her and had to come clean with Joe. It was bloody hard, but I couldn’t go on without him knowing and didn’t want him to look like an idiot.
I risked losing him permanently, but it was a chance I had to take.
After that, I did what I do best. I went off the rails again, but harder this time.
I wanted to hurt Freya in the same way she was hurting Joe.
” Daniel looks up. Our eyes connect and his Adam’s apple visibly slides down his throat as I brush my fingers along his jawline.
“The worst of it is, she hasn’t given up, Han.
She just keeps causing scenes and ruining any happiness I find. ”
My thoughts and feelings are all over the shop.
Part of me has to swallow the pang of pure hatred that rises through my body.
She needs to keep away from him. He is mine.
But in the next moment, it all sinks in.
Freya wanted to be his lover and he rejected her.
What a bloody mess. To go to those lengths, she must have been desperate and devastated all at once.
I understand her resentment towards me, but I also see the pain she causes everyone around her.
I want to protect him; he is my man. I take in a deep breath, “I’m here now. She can’t hurt you again.”
I’m unsure of how to help, but I will do whatever it takes to shield him. Daniel smiles and rubs the pad of his thumb against my cheek. He sighs and drops his hand to my knee where he keeps his focus.
“Joe and I didn’t talk for a long time and I put my parents through hell. I had the worst reputation, and the papers loved it. They were on the doors of every club and inside every event. They got their money’s worth out of me and I didn’t give a shit.”
“Jesus, Daniel. Your poor family have been through the mill.”
“They have, and it was my mum who finally brought me to my senses. One night, I was walking past her room and dad was telling her it would be all right; that they’d help me find my way back somehow.
Her tears were because of me, because of what I’d become.
I hated how much I’d hurt them both. It was a huge reality check, and I realised I had to put my life back together, for the sake of my family. ”
I rub the palm of my hand to the side of his cheek and look into his beautiful, desperate eyes.
“I cut myself off from our so-called friends. They’d let me down, but more than that, they’d, let Lou down by keeping her secret.
I kept away from anywhere the press might be. Joe and I, we had a tough time of it, but we soon realised Freya was tearing us apart and neither of us would let that happen,” He strokes my face, “and I won’t let her come between us either.”
“She never could. Not now.”
I can’t help wondering why Joe is still with his wife.
There has to be more to this, but I’m too exhausted to take any more in.
Our firm hold of one another has never eased this whole time and I’m scared to let him go in case he crumbles.
“Let’s get out of here, we can pick up a takeaway or something. ”
He breathes in deeply through his nose. “Yeah, let’s go home.”
All thoughts of food have left our minds as we head straight to bed. We hold each other as if our lives depend on it and as we lay skin to skin, I realise something. All my adult life, I’ve been looking for someone to protect me, but right now, I want nothing more than to protect my man.