Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
“A fight?” I snort; the pussy lied to his mother. “He was cheating on me, Mom. We broke up.” Why should I have to hide who he really is? Plus, telling her now is better than doing it in person. She can chase me from room to room, and our house is big. Now I can tell her how I feel, then hang up and go about my day.
“You know that no relationship is perfect, right?” she responds.
My mouth falls open. I know she’s not implying what I think she is. “You can’t be serious?”
“Of course, I am. I think your father and I have given you a false representation of what marriage is like.”
“So, you think I should put up with someone being unfaithful?” I snap.
“I think that sacrifices are made in a marriage-“
“Well, thankfully, I haven’t married him,” I interrupt her, my blood boiling. I don’t know why I’m mad because I knew she’d be this way. That’s why I was afraid to tell her what happened.
“The wedding is still on, Blakely,” she states.
She wants it to be next summer after I graduate. She and Kimberly have been planning it for years. “Mom …”
“You have plenty of time to work through things. This is an opportunity for you.”
I blink. An opportunity? “For what?” I wonder.
“You’ll see.” She hangs up.
I pull the phone from my ear and just stare at it. What the hell is she referring to? An opportunity for what? To see how far he’ll go to make it up to me? The fucker hasn’t even reached out to me. Silence speaks louder than any gift a man can give you. If he wanted to, he would and all that shit. If a woman would just pay attention, a man will tell her everything she needs to know without him even saying a damn word.
My mother once went two weeks without even looking my father’s way. He bought her a vacation home-an oceanfront estate in South Hampton-after that. She forgave him quicker than a stack of cards falling over from a breeze. Now I understand it.
An opportunity to see what I can get out of him. Too bad there’s nothing that fucker could give me that would make me forgive his cheating ass.
I silence my phone before placing it back in my pocket and have that feeling creeping up my spine again. Like someone is watching me.
Looking up, I find a set of emerald eyes. Ryat is leaning up against the far wall. A girl with short, bleach blonde hair stands in front of him, and she’s speaking to him, but he’s looking at me. He doesn’t seem to care that I caught him staring.
Then like he never even saw me standing here, he looks down at the girl who continues their conversation. He nods a few times, and then his lips start moving, but I can’t hear what they’re talking about.
A guy bumps my shoulder, pushing me to the side, not even bothering to say he’s sorry. I spin around, looking at all the faces that fill the hall. My breathing picks up, thinking about the weekend at the house of Lords. It could literally be anybody. I didn’t think about it that night, but now that I’m sober, it’s got me wondering. What if it was Matt? I asked him, and he said no, but that doesn’t mean he was telling the truth. Fuck, he’s already been lying to me. What’s one more? I try to remember what his voice sounded like, but I can’t. I do remember him saying that Matt was over me. He had been watching me. But maybe that was his way of telling me he was done with me. He didn’t like that I caught him and left him. He wanted that power.
Or I’m overthinking it, and it’s someone else. It could have been someone who doesn’t even go to Barrington. It’s a college town tucked back in the mountains of Pennsylvania, but that doesn’t mean people don’t vacation here. Some cabins sit in these mountains that cost millions, and we’re only an hour from a large city. People come out here all the time to get away for the weekend. But why the cloaks and masks? That part doesn’t make sense. Were the Lords dressed that way, or was it something else?
The reasonable answer has to be Matt. He knew I was there. He knew I was mad at him, and that was his way to get even. He fucks someone and then makes me think I fucked someone else. No hard feelings. It’s a trick he played on me.
“Hey?”
I turn around to see Matt standing in front of me as if I had summoned him. “Hey?” I laugh maniacally. I’m pretty sure I’m having a fucking mental breakdown, and the first thing he decides to say to me after I find him cheating is hey?
“We need to talk.” His eyes narrow on me with accusation.
Talk? What is there to say? I think about what my mother said to me, and I decide to use this chance as an opportunity. Just not the kind she meant. “I think we said enough at the party.” I cross my arms over my chest.
He runs a hand through his hair. “I wanted to talk to you …” He pauses and looks over my shoulder, squaring his. His eyes come back to mine. “Ashley got sick, and we had to leave before I could find you again.”
“Wait?” I hold up my hand. “So, we didn’t see each other again?” I’m not even surprised he left with her.
He frowns. “No.”
So, it wasn’t him I spread my legs for. For some reason, that makes me feel better. I’d rather it be a complete stranger, anyone but him.
“Why?” he asks.
“No reason.” I blow him off, going to step away, but he grabs my upper arm and yanks me to a stop.
“What the fuck did that mean, Blakely?” he growls, getting in my face.
I lick my lips and give him a sweet smile. Fuck you, Matt. “I just realized you weren’t the guy I fucked that night.” Okay, so I’m not a hundred percent sure I had sex, but I want him to think I did. He not only cheated, but he also lied to me because he told me he was going back to Texas for the weekend. He thought he’d be safe at the house of Lords, knowing I wouldn’t be there. Fuck, what if I hadn’t gone? How long would he have kept this from me? Would we still be pretending we’re a couple?
“What?” he shouts, tightening his hand on my upper arm. “You what?”
“You’re hurting me.” I try to pull away, but he yanks me closer to him.
Lowering his face to mine, he snaps, “You better be joking, Blakely. I swear to God …”
“Problem?”
I look over to see Ryat has joined the conversation, now standing next to us.
Matt growls at him. “Go away.”
“I wasn’t speaking to you.” His green eyes meet mine, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is this man bothering you?” The tone of his voice doesn’t sound concerned in the least. A total contradiction to his question.
Matt snorts. “I’m her boyfriend. You know that. Now fuck off, Ryat.”
“No, you’re not. And yes, he is,” I answer him. Finally able to yank my arm free of Matt’s grip, rubbing the sensitive skin.
“You just admitted to cheating on me, and you’re saying I’m the problem?” Matt shouts, getting everyone’s attention.
“You were cheating on me.” I shove my finger into his hard chest. “And that’s why I dumped your lying ass.”
He runs his hands through his hair, releasing a deep breath. His body is tense, and he looks like he’s about to punch something. “I knew you’d be just another fucking whore. You’ve been throwing yourself at me for years.”
I want to be embarrassed that he just said I beg him for sex, but I can’t. I’m in too much shock that he’s mad I cheated on him when he was the one who was actually cheating. I broke up with him, then messed around with a stranger. Not the other way around.
Ryat looks back at Matt and tilts his head to the side. “Looks like someone chose your bitch.” He shrugs carelessly. “Told you that would happen.”
“You son of …”
“Matt?”
What the actual fuck? His girlfriend also joins our conversation. Does she go to Barrington? If so, what year is she? “What’s going on?” she asks, coming up to us, her eyes searching all of ours.
Matt thins his lips. I wait for him to push her away, to explain all of this to me. He said we needed to talk, so now is his best chance if I’ve ever seen one. He can fill her in on us, and I can find out just how long he’s been screwing her.
Instead, he takes her hand and yanks her down the hall. She throws a look of concern over her shoulder at me, and I have a second of pity for her. I bet she didn’t even know about me.
“Unbelievable,” I mutter to myself, a laugh escaping my lips. What did I really expect from Matt, though? He has already proven to me what kind of man he is. I just never paid much attention. Now my eyes are wide open.
I see Ryat lower his lips to my ear out of the corner of my eye. My laughter stops, and I hold my breath as he whispers, “Told you he was over you.”