Spring Romance: NINE Happily Ever Afters

by Tessa Bailey

  I beg him to stop, screaming and crying, grabbing at his arm before he can take another swing at Benjamin’s face. Somehow, I get through to him, and he stops, but he looks at me with hurt in his eyes, breathing hard. Seeing Riley so upset destroys me.

  Riley stands as Benjamin tries to get a hold of reality, cursing and spitting out blood. He looks like total shit, and I know I won’t hear the last of this anytime soon.

  Before more words are exchanged, Riley walks away, shaking his hand out as he bends his fingers back and forth. I scream his name, following and not wanting him to go because it feels so final. He turns on his heels and glares at me as if I’m a stranger, someone he doesn’t care to know, and it’s more hurtful than any words he could ever speak.

  Was last night a dream? Could the man who told me he loved me with all of his heart look at me in such a way? I know I deserve it, but it doesn’t make it any easier. The love that we’ve shared already seems like a distant memory, and I wish I could go back and tell him all of my secrets, tell him about Benjamin and the engagement I didn’t want.

  “Is it true? You’re engaged to marry him?” he quietly questions me, but he’s heaving with anger. His jaw is so tight, I’m afraid it’ll break.

  “I wanted to tell you. I planned to…” I say, but he shakes his head, not having any part of this conversation or me.

  “You betrayed me, Zoey. You betrayed me and my family in ways I can’t even begin to describe.” His sad eyes meet mine, and I know nothing I can say or do will fix any of this right now. Riley gives me one last glance, his nostrils flare, then walks away.

  “You have twenty minutes, and we’re fucking leaving. I’m not playing these games with you,” Benjamin barks, and I run out of the barn toward Riley, who’s already made his way to the side of the B&B. I yell his name again, wanting him to stop so I can explain everything, but he ignores me. Before he climbs in his truck, I grab his hand and force him to look at me.

  “Please,” I beg. “Let me explain everything to you.” Before he can respond, Benjamin calls my name.

  “Go back to your fiancé,” he snaps, jerking his hand from mine. Riley gets into his truck, not giving me another look, and backs out of the driveway, spitting up rocks as he leaves. I watch until I can no longer see his truck. Sobs escape me at the reality of the shitstorm I’ve created.

  What have I done?

  Benjamin comes up behind me, and that’s when I notice the Mercedes parked nearby. Of course he’d rent a flashy luxury car. He sticks out like a sore thumb in his business casual, Rolex, and slicked back hair.

  “I’ve called you, and you’ve done nothing but ignore me. What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Zoey? I am your fiancé. You belong to me.”

  All I can do is scowl at him—the man who thought proposing at my sister’s wedding was a genius idea, the man who I said yes to because I had no other choice. With my parents and every person in their social circle there, I was put on the spot. Embarrassing them would’ve garnered lifelong consequences, and at the time, I didn’t know what to do. I knew it was what my parents wanted, and at that moment of weakness, I crumpled to their wishes. Coming to Texas and being with Riley grounded me for the first time in years. I found out who I was, the part of me that I almost lost.

  “We’re leaving in the morning,” Benjamin hisses. “Your parents are expecting us at dinner tomorrow night to discuss wedding plans,” he says it as if it were some business meeting for work that’s nothing more than an inconvenience. I look at him like he’s lost his fucking mind, but it doesn’t faze him in the least. For a man who asked me to marry him, he doesn’t even ask about who I was kissing before he showed up. That’s because he doesn’t care. I’m only a piece of property to him.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, finally able to find my words.

  He takes a step forward, his eye already starting to bruise. With a busted lip and rustled hair, he looks like complete shit. My parents will definitely notice and ask questions.

  “I came to get my goddamn fiancée from this shithole. I seriously don’t understand why you’ve been here for so long.” Benjamin makes a disgusted expression. “Look at this place.” He places his hands on his hips and looks at the B&B as if it were a fallen down shack.

  When I look around, all I see is heaven on earth, a treasure of a place where social status and the amount in the bank doesn’t mean anything, something Benjamin wouldn’t understand. He wants the best of the best and only cares about appearances, just like my parents.

  Studying his hands, I can see he’s seething. “Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if these were damaged? I’d sue the living fuck out of this ranch. I’d take them for every penny they’re worth and finish this place. We’d rename it Benjamin’s B&B.” He laughs at his joke and thinks he’s so damn clever.

  I try to steady my breathing, but my entire body shakes from the inside out, knowing that I might’ve lost the man I love forever.

  Benjamin stares at me. “You’ll need to fully explain yourself on the plane ride home tomorrow. I really don’t have time to be rescuing you, Zoey. This is childish and immature, and your parents aren’t happy. I may have never found you if it weren’t for Summer.”

  “Summer?” I ask in disbelief.

  “She told your parents you were staying at a B&B in Texas. I had my assistant looking for you for the past week. It wasn’t easy to track you down.” He takes a step forward. “You’ve embarrassed me.”

  His eyes grow dark and dangerous, and I step back to create some space between us before he hurts me. I wish Riley hadn’t left me with him, but I don’t blame him for it. “I’m sorry.” I swallow down my pride and say what he wants to hear.

  Shaking his head, he waves off my apology.

  “What about my car?” I ask, considering I drove. I need it to come back here once everything clears up.

  “I’ve already planned for it to be shipped back to Phoenix. I hired a company to pick it up before the end of the month. Enough slumming in this shithole.”

  “It’s not a shithole,” I spit back at him. I find a little courage to mutter my next words. “And I’m not going with you, Benjamin.”

  He remote starts the Mercedes. “Darling, you don’t really have a choice. Your parents want you home immediately. You’re about to lose the space for your job. Plus, we have a wedding to plan. Quit pretending your life is here, Zoey. It’s not, and you’re on the path to lose everything and everyone who cares about you. So let’s snap back to real life, okay? Playtime is over.”

  Just as he finishes his speech, my phone rings, and I see it’s my mother. I ignore it, but then she calls Benjamin, which he answers with a grin.

  “Hi, Mrs. Mitchell.” He pauses as I faintly hear my mom’s voice. “Yes, I found her. I know. I was worried as well. Yes, she’ll be on the plane with me tomorrow, and we’ll be there for dinner. She’s safe. I’ll pass on the message. Alrighty, bye.” He ends the call and glares at me. “She said she misses and loves you. So do you really want to ruin your mother’s happiness?”

  I resist the urge to roll my eyes at his manipulation. “I’m already married, Benjamin. You’re too late,” I throw at him, shrugging so he knows the wedding is off, but instead, he laughs.

  “A few thousand dollars can fix anything. It can get annulled in a few days. So, be a good little daughter for your mother and grab your things. We’re staying in San Angelo tonight.”

  I look at him and feel sick to my stomach because I know I’d just be another thing added to his collection. All of this is a political move, and if my parents think I don’t realize that, then they’re the stupid ones. My happiness doesn’t matter, and being with Benjamin would be repulsive. Before Riley, I considered the idea for a minute, but I felt nothing for Benjamin. There’s no connection, no chemistry between us, and I have no desire to see him. I continued going on dates with him to appease my parents, but I was ready to call it quits before I even went to Vegas. Once I returned,
and we got busy with the final details of Summer’s wedding, I didn’t get the chance to break it off for good. Then he put me on the spot with the proposal, and that was when I knew I had to get away from all of the bullshit.

  Even if I liked him enough to actually marry him, I’d be nothing more than a trophy wife, and if we had kids, they’d just add to his list of accomplishments. Bile rises in my throat at the thought, but I swallow it down and try to figure out how I can appease him enough to go on without me. The way he’s looking at me tells me he won’t allow that to happen.

  “Benjamin, I’m not going to San Angelo with you. I’ll check out in the morning, and you can pick me up here before the flight. It’s the only way I’m getting on that plane,” I counter, wanting to give myself just a little more time to clean up this mess of a situation I’ve created.

  Blood drips from his nose, and when he gets it on his hands, he opens the car door and pulls out a box of tissues and hand sanitizer. A few guests exit the B&B and look at my tear-streaked face and then at Benjamin. There’s too much attention on the two of us, and he notices. I’m known for being stubborn, and if he wants his way, he’ll play by my rules even though I know I don’t really have a choice. If I’m not back in Phoenix tomorrow, my parents will come for me next. Handling this is something I have to do before it’s too late to fight for Riley. I have too many fires to put out right now and not enough water.

  Between my parents, sister, job, Benjamin, and Riley, the stress and anxiety are real, and I don’t know how I’m going to solve any of these issues without hurting people.

  After Benjamin’s cleaned himself up, he grabs my arm and jerks me closer to him. The pain of his tight grip shoots through me, and I try to pull away, but all he does is squeeze harder.

  “I will do what you want this one fucking time, but when I come to pick you up tomorrow, you better not resist, Zoey.”

  I stare out into the pasture, the rolling hills, wishing the land would swallow me whole, wishing he’d disappear.

  “Pay attention,” he barks, pulling me back to reality, to the nightmare I’m living.

  “Okay. No argument. I’ll go willingly in the morning.” As much as it pains me, I agree. I swallow hard, knowing if I don’t get on that plane, I’ll have more to deal with than just him. My parents will want an explanation, and so will Summer, considering she’s believed all this time that the annulment was processed weeks ago. I couldn’t find the strength to admit my doubts. I didn’t want to hear her try to convince me that marrying Benjamin was the right thing to do because I knew deep down it wasn’t. The pressure from it all was too much, and I made one bad decision after another. All of my secrets, everything I’ve been hiding, will have to come out in the open, and it scares me to death. Getting married in Vegas on a dare? It’s irresponsible, I know, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

  I think about Riley, and my heart lurches forward, wishing I could go back and tell him everything from the beginning. He may never forgive me for this, considering I know exactly how this looks from the outside.

  Benjamin pulls me into his arms, forcing his lips against mine. I can’t even find the strength to kiss him back, but it’s not like he notices. He’s just going through the motions of being in a relationship. Turning around, he gives me one last glare before he gets into the car and drives away. The tears come in streams as my world crumbles around me.

  “What the hell?” Diesel shouts from the porch. “Who the fuck is that? And why were you kissing him?”

  When I turn to face him, Diesel shoots daggers in my direction with his arms crossed. I open my mouth to explain, but my words escape me again. Shaking his head, he turns and walks away.

  The last thirty minutes feel like a blur, and it’s hard for me to even comprehend what’s happened. I went from being on cloud nine to being forced into the pits of hell. I’ve really messed up this time, and I’m not sure I can fix it without a small miracle and some grace.

  I was willing to risk my heart, but it seems as if I’ve risked everything. And lost.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Riley

  I’ve never felt anger or pain on such an intense level. As soon as I walk inside my house, my body begins to shake, my knuckles bloody and sore, as the adrenaline rush finally catches up to me. It’s been a long while since I lost control like that. I probably shouldn’t have taken it out on him because he seemed just as oblivious as me, but the way he grabbed Zoey and jerked her around like she was a child, pissed me off. No man will ever touch her like that in front of me, regardless of the situation.

  Fiancé? How could this happen? How could she not tell me?

  Why the fuck did she lie?

  She’s the one who came here, searching for me, so this makes no goddamn sense. Now, I’m not sure what was real between us and what was an act, considering she had another man waiting for her back in Phoenix. The betrayal runs deep.

  Zoey was supposed to be mine and only mine, and I truly thought she was. Until I realized she wasn’t. She belongs to another man, and I feel like a fucking fool, played like a fiddle. My heart is throbbing so hard and fast, I can feel it in my neck. I know I need to calm down, but I can’t. There’s too much anger streaming through me.

  “Fuck,” I yell, pacing through my empty house that was supposed to be our home. Yesterday was one of the best days of my life, hell, even today was up until the minute her fiancé showed up and turned my world upside down.

  Why didn’t she file the papers as soon as I sent them back to her? Why tell me she wanted to see if we had something real if she was already with someone? What the fuck?

  Too many questions stream through me that I may never get the answers to. Maybe I should’ve stayed to hear her explanation, but truthfully, it hurt too much to look at her once everything unfolded.

  My mind wanders, and I know I need to relax before I give myself a heart attack, so I go into the kitchen and pour a double scotch. After shooting it down in one big gulp, I then sit on the couch and stare at the wall. It’s going to take more than that to ease my mind. Scotch and sleep sound like the perfect combination.

  A heavy weight sits on my chest, and it’s making it hard to concentrate on anything as my mind takes over, creating ridiculous scenarios involving that douchebag and her. Has she been intimate with him? Do they live together? How long has she been engaged?

  A minute later, the front door swings open, and Diesel charges through with fury in every single step. If anyone is in my corner, it’s him, always. Even though we give each other shit on a daily basis, he really is like a brother. We’ve been through the wringer together, and nothing will change that. Diesel sits next to me on the couch, and while he waits for an explanation, I don’t even know where to begin because I don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle.

  “What happened?” he finally asks, breaking the silence. “I saw her with the dickhead in the Mercedes. I almost took a crowbar to it and then kicked his teeth in.”

  “You should have.” Just the thought of her being with that asshole who treated her with zero respect has me seething all over again. He looked old as hell too, at least in his mid-thirties.

  “I saw them kissing,” Diesel says, the dagger driving deeper into my heart.

  “That’s her fiancé,” I say, swallowing down the words that taste like poison.

  He looks just as confused as I feel. “How’s that even possible? She’s married. To you.”

  “Means nothing, apparently.” Saying it out loud makes it seem more real. More painful, too.

  Diesel looks at me and shakes his head. “I’m so sorry, man. I know how much you really cared for her. Never in my life did I think something like this would happen. Especially with Zoey.”

  “Thanks. I didn’t either. I do care about her; that’s why it hurts so goddamn much. Maybe my parents were right after all.” I think back to the conversation I had with them when they warned me to be careful. Falling fast has its consequences. “M
aybe they knew something like this would happen. Maybe it was all fake for Zoey. Coming here was a last hoorah before she got married to a man who seems to be what her parents want for her.” Self-doubt is beginning to settle in, and I question if I really was good enough. I replay every conversation we’ve had since she arrived, and it all seems so obvious now.

  Diesel shakes his head. “No. Zoey cares about you, too. There’s no faking that. It was real. Trust me.”

  “I’d like to think it was,” I say, but I’m second-guessing everything right now. “Not so sure anymore.”

  “We should go out,” he says, standing. “Visit the bar and get shit-faced. Forget about it all.”

  I look at him, defeated. “I don’t feel like being around people. I wouldn’t be good company right now. I just need to figure all this clusterfuck out.”

  Diesel sucks in a breath and looks at me with pity in his eyes. I stand and walk to my room, grateful that he doesn’t follow me. He knows when I want to be alone, it’s best to just let me. I close the door and lie back on my bed. My pillow still smells like her, the sweetness a cruel reminder of our incredible night together. Squeezing my eyes tight, I try to forget the shitstorm that’s my reality, but it’s impossible.

  After an hour passes, I realize I’m starving. I didn’t eat lunch because it was interrupted. Opening the fridge, I decide to pull out some leftovers Mom sent home with me a few days ago. I pop a container in the microwave and sit at the table, reminiscing over the past few weeks, pissed I let her in so willingly. I keep wondering what the point of her coming here was? To run away from it all? Too bad it followed her.

  Once my food is warm, I take a few bites, and though my stomach is growling, I don’t have an appetite. As I push the plate away, I hear a few light knocks on the front door. I don’t have the strength to deal or talk to anyone right now. However, news travels fast around here, so I’m sure everyone knows what happened by now, and considering we were at the B&B when I slammed my fist into her fiancé’s face, people were looking. I’m almost certain it’s my dad coming to bitch me out for not controlling my temper. Dread washes over me with each step, but when I open the door, Zoey stands there with swollen eyes and a red nose. She’s been crying, but I keep my emotions buried inside, protecting what little piece of my heart I have left.