Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 119184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
The older I get, the more I see it, because that’s what I want.
Not to be trapped in a never-ending media circus I have to fight and claw my way out of.
“The next part is the worst.” She clears her throat. “Please don’t say anything until I’m done?”
“Sure,” I promise.
“It happened on his boat, and it was the final straw.” Her voice is distant. “Harry was kinda depraved. He always wanted me to let him film us while we were—you know.”
I hate that I do.
And the knot of fury in my chest snowballs when I hear it.
Tearing that asshole’s suit jacket wasn’t nearly far enough. I should have busted his head open.
“At the time, I didn’t think much of it, not at first.” Her eyes are glassy, staring at the floor like she can’t bear to face me.
Like I’ll judge her for what happened.
I have to bite my lip to avoid interrupting.
“I just wanted to make him happy. But then he went cold. He took a trip to Florida, and he was barely answering my texts. Then the boys on campus started staring at me. Laughing behind my back. Deep down, I knew, even though I didn’t.”
Oh.
Oh shit.
I clench my fists so hard my knuckles pop.
“About a week passed with radio silence from him. They started calling me ‘boat brat’ when they’d whisper, and—it wasn’t hard to go home and type it in.” Her voice hitches, head dipping as she struggles to breathe through it.
I wrap my arms around her, choking back everything I want to say.
Not right now.
She needs space to speak and feel like she can tell her story.
“Turns out, he had a porn account. Photos and videos of me. And other girls too. Always Harry with a new woman, all recent. New ones I guess he moved on with, if he wasn’t with them behind my back.” She presses a hand to her cheek. “It was vile.”
My next breath feels so fucking hot it scares me.
Touching her. That’s the only reason I don’t erupt.
I close my eyes, pressing a kiss to her temple. She’s sitting with her back to my chest now, and I think it’s better this way, even if I want to see her face, to caress her and kiss her so hard she forgets that backstabbing fuck.
But right now, Lena doesn’t want me to see, and I can respect that.
She idly brushes my thigh, and I force myself to relax.
“I’m okay now,” she whispers.
“Go on.” I sound like I’ve been gargling nails. “What did you do?”
“Cried, obviously. Felt like I’d never stop. Finally, I confronted him when he got back, and I told him to take it down, and he just . . . he refused. For months. I threatened to get a lawyer, but I didn’t have the money or the time. He called me on my bluff.”
I tighten my hold on her waist. She touches her hand against mine, linking our fingers.
“He took them down eventually, just in time for his graduation. I suppose he wanted to clean up his image for future employers. God knows he never cared about mine.”
I’m frozen in my seat, knowing there’s a good chance I’m going to wind up a murderer.
“But then these assholes kept calling, and then a few of them showed up in person. Stalker porn freaks from the internet who somehow put my name and face to the videos. Wanting to know if I’d treat them the same as Harry. They wanted to pay me like a high-class escort. Called me ‘boat brat’ in front of my mom. It got so bad—the drama, the visits, all of it—that she closed her ice cream stand and moved away.”
“Holy shit. It cost your mom her business?” My nostrils flare.
“That was the worst. Raven Swirl was a seasonal thing for extra cash, but she poured her heart and soul into it. She’d built up a nice local following, too, and we were getting more tourists every summer from word of mouth.” She sighs. “Mom never asked for much—just a happy place to churn fresh flavors in the morning and smiling kids with sticky faces at sunset. Her Rainier cherry ripple flavor made people cry, Brady. She was living the dream, and I’m the idiot who went and blew it up.”
I’m breathing raw fury down her neck.
“I hope you know,” I whisper against her skin. “I hope you know that what those bastards did to you and your mom is scum-of-the-earth, snake shit. And there’s no way—no fucking way—I’ll let that man hurt you again.”
She twists around in my arms until her nose almost brushes mine. Her eyes sparkle, wet with tears she tries to hold back.
“How many times have I told you? This isn’t your fight. Don’t defend me.”
“Sass, I don’t care if I have to plunk down ten times your check to keep that damn clinic out of his hands.”