The Future of Love (Bachelor Billionaire #6) (22 page)

“
No,
you don't,” she said. “You're an asshole. The entire time
we were together, you put me down and pointed out each of my flaws.
You didn't spend time with me. I put everything into our
relationship, and I wasn't happy. You did nothing but cheat on me.
When I filed for divorce, you fought for things that weren't even
yours. You have my damn house.”

“
You
were my wife,” he shouted.

“
It
was a mistake. We never should have gotten married, Jim. Take me back
now,” she yelled back.

Jim's
hand went up and smacked her in the cheek before he pulled it back
quickly. Her hand moved to cover the spot his had made contact with.
She couldn't believe he'd done it.

“
Do
not say that. Is it because of him? Is it that jerk from the other
day?” he asked, as he turned to look at her.

“
Watch
the damn road, Jim. What's wrong with you?” she asked
nervously.

“
Do
you love him?” he asked.

“
Take
me back now,” she said.

“
Answer
me, Jenny,” he yelled.

“
Stop
the car,” she screamed.

He
sped up and made a sharp turn.

“
Fucking
answer me,” he screamed, as he turned to look at her again.

“
Jim,”
she yelled out.

“
Do
you fucking love him?” he yelled, just as she heard a horn and
then the crash before her world went black.

Kyle

Kyle
sat through work knowing that he had only hours before he'd be able
to see her. He was planning on putting it all out there after a nice
dinner and was hoping she didn't reject him. It was time she knew
just what she meant to him. He'd gone almost the entire week without
seeing her. California was awesome. He always loved going there, but
that trip was different. He couldn't stand being so far away. He
missed her so damn bad.

He
walked out of work with a smile on his face knowing she would be
waiting in his driveway. They hadn't been able to text too much that
day. He wanted all of his work done so he could spend the entire
weekend with her. If he had his way, she was going to be curled up
against him instead of one room over. Kyle pulled his phone out and
sent her a message.

Kyle:
I'm on my way. We're definitely going out to dinner. You pick the
place. Don't even think about trying to change the plan. See you in a
bit.

He
knew she left work before him and would have been at his house
already. She left at five and he left at six every Friday. When his
phone didn't go off the entire drive, he got a little nervous. Then
he pulled into his driveway, and she wasn't there. Where was she, he
wondered? Was she backing out? Nothing had happened during the day to
upset her. They hadn't even talked. He missed her so much. She said
she'd missed him. There was no reason for her not to show up. Maybe
she went by Gavin's to change or get something, he thought.

Kyle
went inside, changed out of his suit, and threw on some jeans and a
button up. He turned his laptop on in his office to get some work
done while he waited. It would be less time he'd have to take away
from her later.

When
Kyle looked at the clock again, over two hours had passed. There were
no calls or messages, and he was getting worried. The only person he
knew that could help him was Becky. He decided to try Jenny one more
time.

Kyle:
Are you okay? Did you forget about me?

He
waited fifteen minutes with no response. Then he called her number,
and it went straight to her message. He didn't want to involve Becky,
but he couldn't let it go. Just as he found her in his contacts, his
phone buzzed. There was a message, but it was from Becky.

Becky:
Jenny was in an accident. We just got to the hospital. She's in a
room already. Everything's going to be okay, but she looks pretty
bad. I don't know exactly what happened yet. I just got here with
Gavin. He'd be pissed if he knew I was messaging you. I know you're
just friends and all, but I think she's going to need you.

What
the fuck, he thought. Kyle was freaking out. He turned his laptop off
and hurried to get some shoes on. As soon as he got in the car, he
sent her a reply. She said Jenny was going to be okay, but he needed
to see her. He needed to be there.

Kyle:
I was just getting ready to call you. She was supposed to be here
between six and seven and wasn't answering my messages. What was she
doing? I'm on my way.

Before
he even got down his driveway, he had another message.

Becky:
It wasn't her car. Her car was still at work, but Gavin couldn't find
her in the office.

Kyle:
I'm on my way. What room?

Kyle
kept going through his mind trying to figure out who she could have
been with. Was she walking? Becky said it wasn't her car, so it must
have been a car, he thought. He drove as fast as he could to get
there. She was supposed to go to his house. What could have changed?

He
pulled into a spot in the hospital lot and checked his phone. Then he
took off running for the room Becky had sent him. He was running
through the hall and threw the door to the room open. By the time he
stopped, he was so scared. Gavin and Becky both turned, and her eyes
connected with his. He walked right by Gavin and looked down at
Jenny. Her eyes were closed, and she was hooked to machines. She had
cuts on her face, and her eye looked bruised and swollen. He couldn't
take his eyes off of her.

“
How
did he know she was here?” Gavin asked from behind him.

“
I
told him,” Becky answered.

There
was a moment of silence.

“
Don't
you start your shit,” Becky said.

“
Why
would you tell him?” Why is he here?” Gavin asked.

“
Because
I love her,” Kyle said without looking away from Jenny.

Her
eyes opened slightly, and tiny tears escaped them.

“
I
do,” he said. “I love you, Jenny. I can't pretend that I
don't. I can't keep it inside anymore.”

“
Bullshit,”
Gavin said from behind him.

Kyle
took a deep breath and turned around.

“
I've
had enough of your shit, Gavin. I know that you're John's friend.
That's the only reason I've held back all this time. I wanted to talk
to Jenny the day I saw her at the shower, but you gave me the whole
stay away from her talk. You've done it more than once. Anytime I've
even looked at her, you've given me shit. I'm tired of your dirty
looks and crappy comments. I'm a damn grown man. If she doesn't like
me that's fine, but you aren't going to stop me anymore. I've been in
love with her for years. I had to watch her marry an asshole that
ended up hurting her and taking her house from her. What's your
problem with me? Tell me right now. What's so bad about me?”

“
You
were young, and you had just moved here,” Gavin said. “I
didn't want you to hurt her.”

“
You
still give me shitty looks when you see me talk to her. She can't
even breathe without you acting like her father.”

“
I
just don't want her to get hurt. I wasn't careful enough, and that
ass hurt her. I'm not letting it happen again,” Gavin said.

“
I
don't plan on hurting her, and I don't care what you think anymore.
If we weren't meeting up without you knowing, maybe this wouldn't
have happened. We've been spending time together for three months
now. We run almost every day together. She was supposed to me at my
house tonight. If I had picked her up, this wouldn't have happened.”

Gavin
looked over at Becky and she shrugged.

“
Just
because your sister was in trouble and you didn't know doesn't mean
that you can suffocate everyone you care about, babe. She's a grown
woman. You have to let her do what she wants. I know you care about
her, but you can't control her life,” Becky said, as she took
Gavin's hand in hers.

“
You
knew about them?” Gavin asked her.

“
I
did,” she said. “I've paid attention ever since they
kissed on the beach.”

“
This
shit started in Hawaii?” he asked.

“
He
saved her from some guy at the bar that was being a jerk,”
Becky said. “I knew she was going to see him. I could tell just
from watching them. He's a great guy, Gavin. You need to back off.”

Gavin
let out a huff.

“
Who
was she with?” Kyle asked.

“
What?”
Gavin asked.

“
If
her car was still at work, who was she with?” Kyle asked in a
deep tone.

Gavin
and Becky looked at each other and then back at Kyle.

“
Who?”
He snapped loudly.

“
Her
ex,” Becky whispered. “He was driving.”

Kyle
flew around to face Jenny. Her eyes were open fully. She looked up at
him with sadness in them.

“
What
happened?” he asked as calmly as he could with his entire body
on fire with anger.

“
Kyle,”
she whispered.

“
What
happened?” he repeated.

“
He'd
been texting me all week,” she began.

“
You
didn't tell me that. I asked you to tell me if contacted you after
the one message. You said you would. You also said you didn't want to
be with him.”

“
I
didn't and I still don't. You flew to California. I didn't want to
worry you when you weren't even here. He sent a couple of messages a
day. I thought he'd just go away. I hadn't heard from or seen him
since the divorce. The day we went to play pool was the first time.
Friday went by and he hadn't sent one text, so I thought everything
was fine. I planned to go home and change before coming to your house
for the weekend. When I walked out of work, I heard someone call my
name. It was him. He said he had something to tell me. I told him he
had five minutes. He said Gavin would be pissed if we stood there, so
I got in the car. He said he was going to drive around the block once
and drop me right back off.”

Kyle
let out a growl but didn't speak.

“
He
took off. Then he told me he wanted me to go to dinner. I told him I
had plans, and he got pissed. He was telling me he loved me and I was
his wife. When I told him it was a mistake, he smacked me. I kept
asking him to bring me back to work, but he kept looking over and
asking if it was because of you. I was yelling at him to watch the
road. That's all I remember.”

“
He
put his hands on you,” Kyle said.

“
Kyle,”
she whispered.

“
Where
is he?” Kyle asked.

The
room was quiet. He turned back to Becky and Gavin.

“
Where?”
he asked again.

They
looked at each other, and Gavin shook his head.

“
A
few rooms away,” Becky said.

Kyle
was mumbling something he wasn't totally sure of himself.

“
Kyle
please,” Jenny said. “He's not worth it. It's my problem,
not yours. You have too much to lose.”

He
turned and walked the few steps back to her.

“
It's
not your problem,” he said. “It's his. He will never put
his hands on you again.”