The Man Who Has No Heart - Victoria Quinn Page 0,48
his disrespectful bimbos who left their red panties behind? He didn’t feel everything I felt? After everything we’d been through?
“I want this to remain professional. We go back to what we were and move on.”
I’d never been this hurt in all my life. When my husband told me about his infidelity and moved out to be with his new woman, I was numb inside. But this was worse, so much worse, because my feelings for Deacon were a million times stronger than what I felt for that piece-of-shit ex-husband of mine.
I took a deep breath and smoothed out the front of my skirt, trying to turn off my heart, turn off my soul, feel nothing so I could walk out of that residence with the grace of a queen. I wasn’t going to lie, I’d hoped to end up in his bed tonight, to make love so good that we touched the stars. But instead, I’d lost him entirely. “Alright, Deacon.” I straightened my back and squared my shoulders. “I’ll see you later.” I turned around and walked to the door, and the second my face was turned, I felt the tears begin, felt them flood my eyes and spill over onto my cheeks. I wanted to regret putting my heart out there and sabotaging what we had, but I didn’t. Now that I knew where he stood, how he really felt, I could stop wasting my time assuming I was different, that we were supposed to be together.
“Cleo?”
I stopped at the door but didn’t turn around. I couldn’t let him see my face.
He waited for me to face him.
Never. “Let’s just move on, Deacon.” I shut the door behind me and walked down the hallway to the elevator, doing my best to walk at a normal pace, not to sprint for freedom. He said he wanted to move on and go back to the way we were.
I could move on…but we would never get back what we had.
I got into the elevators and the doors shut.
A part of me hoped he would come after me, like in the movies. At the last second, he’d realize he’d been a dick and he did feel the same way. He’d wipe my tears away with the pads of his thumbs and kiss me, becoming the man I needed.
But my life wasn’t a movie.
It was a shitshow of mistakes.
No one would be awake at this hour, so I let my tears spill down my cheeks, let the sobs crack my chest, let myself come apart, my arms wrapped around my waist and gripping me tightly.
I wasn’t even humiliated anymore…just heartbroken.
I can’t just fuck you and pretend it didn’t happen the next day, so we can’t do that.
I had no opposition to one-night stands. I had no problem with a passionate night that evaporated the following morning. But hearing him say that…hurt so much. I thought I was more than that.
Guess not.
The elevator slowed down and stopped at the seventeenth floor.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
The doors opened, and Jake stood there in sweatpants and a t-shirt, like he intended to grab something from the lobby before returning to his residence. He stilled as he looked at me.
I was an ugly crier, so my cheeks were probably red, my eyes bloodshot. I probably looked like shit. My palms immediately went to my face so I could block everything out, pretend he wasn’t standing there looking at me.
The elevator shifted as his weight joined me.
Then the elevator started to move again.
“Baby.” He grabbed my wrists and gently tugged them down.
I didn’t push him off. I didn’t tell him to leave me alone. I’d hit rock bottom and stopped caring. I was numb to everything. I was a good person, but the world kept shitting on my shiny shoes. My husband left me, the first relationship I had with anyone was with a married man, and then I found someone who was really special…and he didn’t give a damn about me.
Jake looked at me, the emotion in his eyes. “Talk to me.”
I shook my head, my lips trembling.
The elevator hit the lobby, and the doors opened.
Jake turned to the keypad and pressed button 17.
The doors closed, and we headed back up to his floor.
Jake turned me into his body and wrapped his arms around me, letting me use him as a crutch, letting me use him as a tissue. His hand moved up my back as he comforted me. “I’m sorry he hurt you…”