My Grumpy Old Bear - Jayda Marx Page 0,60

hair away from his face. I reminded myself he did this. He cheated on me and deserved none of my mercy. I looked away from him before I gave in and did something stupid.

I felt the cushion move as he stood from the couch and heard him sob as he went to our - no, my - bedroom to collect his things. A few minutes later, he returned to the living room. He scooped his keys off of the table and stood right in front of me.

“Can I keep this?” he asked in a broken voice. I looked up to find him hugging the frame I carved against his chest.

“I don’t want it,” I shrugged. The last thing I needed was a reminder of whom I so mistakenly thought was the most amazing man in the world.

He wept harder, his body shaking so much it jiggled the duffel bag hanging at his hip. “Brooks, I’m sorry. I love you so much.”

I bit my cheek to keep my own tears at bay. “Get out,” I growled again.

Noah cried all the way to the door, where he stopped and turned to face me again. “You can hate me for this, but please give Jay a chance. Meet with him, Brooks, please. He’s a good man.” With that, a tortured sob ripped from his chest and he hurried outside.

Did he actually just defend his side piece to me? I picked up the vase from the coffee table and chucked it at the wall, shattering it into a million pieces and spreading rose petals, glass and water all over my floor. I shook my head at the mess; I didn’t want to clean it up. It matched my life and my heart; broken and unfixable.

What the fuck do I do now? I wanted to cry. I wanted to put my fist through the wall. I wanted to knock down all of the pictures Noah hung of us all over my fucking house and stomp all of the stupid gifts he’d given me.

My attention was caught when nother ping sounded from beside me. In the heat of the moment, Noah left his phone on the couch. I looked at the screen to find another message.

Jess: Good luck again. Let me know how things go tonight with loverboy.

Loverboy. My lip curled as I read the word. Jess knew all about Noah’s other man too. I was the only dumb fuck left in the dark, blind to what was going on around me. I wondered if they laughed together at work about how stupid I was.

I shoved Noah’s phone in my pocket, finally making my mind up about what to do. I was going to pay Jay a visit. I wanted to look into the eyes of the man who took everything that was good in my life away from me. I was going to make him pay.

Chapter Thirteen

Brooks

I stood in front of Chez Pierre with my hands drawn into fists at my side. I’d already cussed out the doorman when he tried to usher me inside, for no other reason than I felt like it. Anger seeped from my every pore, and no one was immune to my wrath.

Especially Jay. I couldn’t wait to tear into him. Granted, I had no clue who I was looking for, but I’d still find him. My plan was to give the third degree to any man who approached the entrance without a date on his arm. Once I found him, it’d be game over. I wouldn’t stop until either I left the scene in a police cruiser, or he was carted off in an ambulance. Either way, I didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore. I had nothing to lose.

“Brooks?” sounded beside me and I whipped my face to the voice, prepared for the fight of my life. Noah had my back muscles loosened up and flexible; bet he never guessed I’d be using them to beat the shit out of his boyfriend. I gnashed my teeth and clenched my fists, but once I saw the face staring back at me, all of my bravado left in a rush.

I blinked hard, trying to make sense of the scene in front of me. Gray eyes studied my face, and a familiar smirk tipped the mouth of the handsome man before me.

“Jonathan?” My son stood right in front of me; addressing me. After years of trying to contact him and getting pushed away, he was right here speaking to me. My first thought