Page 61 of Beautiful Chaos
Her statement has a jagged hole tearing through my chest, and my breath is stolen from my lungs. This woman is my life, and she’s telling me she’s taking it away. Life without her would be unbearable. It’s a life I refuse to live.
I tighten my arms around her, expecting her to struggle when I lift her from her feet and carry her to the chair. Surprisingly, she doesn’t fight me. After I set her down, she refuses to look at me when I drop to my knees in front of her. Tears still stream from her bloodshot eyes as she presses her lips into a firm line.
In the next second, her features go lax and all emotion is wiped from her face as she continues to stare at the window.
Getting stabbed repeatedly with a rusty knife wouldn’t hurt this bad. I know this look. I’ve seen it a hundred times. She’s protecting herself from the pain by closing herself off. And there’s no telling what will happen next.
Or rather, who she’ll be.
I have to tread very carefully.
She lets me grab her cold hand in mine. Not a twitch or hitch of breath at the contact.
“How did you find out?” I ask quietly.
Her reply is mumbled and lacks feeling. “I found her thong in your pants pocket.”
I already knew this. The day she had a headache, and I brought her to our room to lie down, I saw the material peeking out of her pocket when I pulled her pants off. I also saw her looking at my phone when I left the room and knew what she was looking for.
As much as I hated knowing what she was thinking, I can’t deny that a rush of relief passed through me. Keeping Scarlett from her was tearing me apart.
I took a chance and a huge leap of faith in our love to set it up so she would follow me here today.
It was time Cat knew the truth. I didn’t want her to think I was cheating on her. That’s the last thing I would ever do.
“I also smelled her on you a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t the first time I smelled another woman on you.”
Dropping my head, I close my eyes. Shame slides instantly through my body. For almost five years, I’ve kept Scarlett’s existence hidden. Apparently, I’ve done a shit job of it lately.
“How long, Hunter?”
I look up at Cat, seeing her expressionless eyes watching me. My throat threatens to close, but I force the words past my lips. “Almost five years.”
Her face shows nothing, but another tear slips free to glide down her pale cheek.
“How can you do this to us? How can you say with one breath that you love me, and with the next, say you love her?”
I tighten my fingers around hers. “Because I do. I love you both with every breath I take.” I pull in a lungful of air and let it out slowly. “Just like I love Athena and Presley.”
Her brows crease in confusion and her hand twitches in mine. “Presley?”
“Yes.”
I watch as the name rolls around in her head, and I wonder what she’s thinking. It only takes a moment for me to get my answer, and it’s not what I expected. Her lips curl in disgust and she yanks her hand away, finally giving me more than a void look.
“What the fuck, Hunter?” She grabs the arms of the chair and tries to scoot back. She has nowhere to go though. “Please don’t tell me you touched—”
I cut her off before she has a chance to finish, anger making my words come out harsh. “You know me better than that, Cat,” I growl, appalled that the thought would even cross her mind.
“I have no idea who you are at all,” she declares. “The man I knew, the one I fell in love with, would never touch another woman.”
“What I feel for Presley is not the same as what I feel for you and Scarlett.”
Her eyes narrow. “Who in the fuck is Athena? You say you love,” she throws the word out with such hate, “her too. Where in the hell is she?”
I sit back on my heels, my hands resting on my thighs. “She’s here.”
Cat’s eyes widen as she darts them toward the doorway.