it anymore.
“Everyone should know exactly what kind of woman Evelyn Ryan is. Tristan should watch out,” Dustin said.
Well, you heard it here. Tristan should watch her carefully. Keep her at arm’s length. Not that the recent pictures from his manager’s club last week show him taking those precautions.
You know what they say? Once a cheater, always a cheater.
Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
I dropped my phone on my desk and bit back my tears. How could he do this to me? What purpose did this serve? He’d cheated on me, not the other way around. What could Dustin possibly gain from this bullshit?
Questions continued to swirl around in my head as I picked my phone back up and tapped on Tristan’s name.
How many stories would it take before he started to doubt me? Doubt us?
TRISTAN
My phone buzzed next to me on the couch, Evie’s name popping up, and I tapped on it.
Evie: There’s a new article about me. My ex was interviewed and said I was cheating with Jamie.
Shit. I’d been waiting for this call, hoping she hadn’t seen what her asshat ex had said. I wasn’t going to be the one to tell her. The last week had been hard enough. I hated that she was in this situation—that we were in this situation. But more than that, I hated that she was slowly slipping away from me. It hadn’t been obvious, and I’d wanted to believe that I imagined it, but last night she’d said she wanted to sleep alone.
Tristan: I know. Josh sent it to me this morning. We’re going to have to say something.
Evie: It’s not true. I didn’t.
Evie: I hadn’t even met Jamie when I was still married.
Fucking hell. I needed to hear her voice, to reassure her. I tapped on her name and called her, wishing I was physically with her. I should’ve told her about the article, but it was one more hit stacked against her. Against us.
Call me selfish for hoping she wouldn’t see it.
She picked up after the first ring.
“Hi,” she said, her voice watery. I heard her choke on a sob she tried to hide. It gutted me.
“Evie, do not think for one second that I believed any of that garbage. Come on, babe. I know you wouldn’t do that. I’m ready to kill your ex. I can’t believe he would pull a stunt like this. And for what?” I tried to keep my anger in check. “Where are you? At work? Want me to come get you?” I asked, willing to do anything for her.
“What? I’m at work, but no, don’t come here,” she said.
“What can I do to help you?” This helplessness was fucking bullshit.
“I don’t know. How are we going to fix this? When is this going to end? Maybe we should take a step back.”
And there it was. I punched the pillow next to me, wishing it was douchebag Dustin’s face. I’d never been a violent man, but I was ready to destroy that faceless—and spineless—man.
“No,” I all but yelled into the phone. “We love each other. We’re not going to be railroaded by the media or your ex.”
“But it’s one thing after another, and I’m dragging you down with it,” she said, her voice breaking again.
My heart stuttered.
“I’m coming over,” I said, knowing that my words weren’t accomplishing what I needed them to. Maybe if she was in my arms, she would stop this nonsense, because we weren’t going to take a break and let this blow over.
“No. I have clients, if they don’t cancel on me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said, sounding slightly stronger than she had when she’d first answered her phone.
“You can talk to me about anything. I love you, Evie. We’re going to get through this.”
“I think I just needed to hear you say that.”
“We’re having a sleepover with James tonight, right?”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Absolutely. The band will be here until the late afternoon. Then we’re going to all have dinner, and when they leave, it’ll be just the three of us.”
I was determined to show her that we would work, as a family. Unconventional, yes, but a family, nonetheless. She and James meant more to me than anyone else—even my bandmates. It was insane how that had happened in such a short period of time, but I wasn’t going to ignore what was right in front of me. I would embrace it, and I had to hope that she would, too.
I hated that I was leaving