“Stop Brad!”Brad’s fist collided with Bryan’s jaw. Bryan stumbled and hit the body of the car. Brad grabbed Bryan’s collar again and slammed him into the car.“What the hell were you thinking?” Brad blasted“Brad, stop. It’s not what you think.”Brad slammed him on the car and shoved me behind him.“Get out of the way. Are you trying to get hurt?”“You’re causing a sense!”“Why the fuck would you do this?” He barked at his friend.Bryan brushed blood off his upper lip and glared at his friend.“I haven’t done anything.”“You don’t understand. Can we all get in the car and talk?” I whispered.People had their phones out, filming us. I gripped Brad’s arm and tugged him to the car.“Please…”“Did he hurt you?” Brad demanded.More people came out of cafes and restaurants to see what was going on. Gosh, what if someone called the police on us?“He didn’t. You’ll want to hear what he has to say.”“Fine.”Bryan climbed in the backseat while Brad and I got in the front. I started the car up

I decided to leave Rufus at the kennel another day. There were so many boxes for me to unpack. Mom and Lilly were busy so I took on the task on my own. While unpacking Brad’s clothes I realized how much I missed my husband. I buried my face in his suit jacket and inhaled. Tears nearly sprung from my eyes. I decided to leave his belongings alone and focus on the kitchen. I got new appliances that needed unpacking.When I called Brad his phone was either busy or out of reach or he just wouldn’t answer. When I tried to call him again when I settled down completely exhausted in the evening I realized I called Brad seventeen times today and he didn’t pick up once.I slammed my phone on my brand-new white sofa chair. I wasn’t jealous I just wanted my husband to answer me. The blistering headache I had was not helping my mood and being neglected wasn’t helping either.I was thinking about ordering a pizza and heading to my room to eat since I hadn’t ordered any curtains for the living room.

“I don’t see why we have to leave so soon. Mason wanted to see France.” Sydney cradled her son.“Mason needs to get home to his father where he’s going to be comfortable,” I said.“You’re not going to be bitter about that are you?” Sydney scrawled. “I wasn’t sure okay. And you had no right to have a DNA test on my baby without asking me.”“It was either that or have you rob me blind,” I muttered.“Stop you too. Mason will still be in Brad’s family. You’re his uncle. You did a good thing for your family.” Nora said.Sure Mason was Gianna’s nephew. I glanced at my phone again. It was seven thirty in the morning and I hadn’t gotten a single call from Gianna. Not even a missed call.We arrived quickly. I made sure of it. I tried calling her cell but it was disconnected.“Is something wrong Brad?” Nora whispered.“Gianna won’t answer the phone.”“Her father left me a dozen calls last night. I just hope—”I didn’t let her finish her sentence. I was dialling Ronald’s number seconds later. He

The red lingerie came in the morning. A set of a red push up bra and a crotch less underwear and leg rings. I let out a shaky breath as I stared at myself in the mirror.“This is going to be okay,” I told myself.I grabbed a light coat from my closet. I’d always wanted to walk around in a coat and nothing but lingerie underneath.“I’m going to forget about Rocco.”He’d clearly forgotten about me. I ended things last night and there hadn’t been a text or a call. I should expect as much from a loan shark. I was nothing but sex for him.I locked my apartment and climbed into the elevator. I should have been at work today to make up for all the days I hadn’t gone in. I had gotten caught up with Rocco going to who knows where having the time of my life.I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned. If only you could burn the memories in your mind. Chad didn’t know I was coming this was going to be an epic surprise. This was something we never did. I made it to his office in fifteen minutes.The bui

“You haven’t touched your food. You should this will be the last time you have a decent meal in a long time,” Rocco said slicing into a mid-rare steak. The lobster in front of me begged to be eaten but my stomach was in knots. I was drowning in debts that weren’t mine and Rocco wasn’t going to cut me a break. “I don’t know if I should be taking charity from you. You might just add it to my debt. Debt you know isn’t mine.” “Every document I have says it’s yours.” “What happens if I go to the police?” I narrowed my eyes at him. He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. I thought I struck a chord. “Then you’d be potentially sending the only man that sets you on fire to jail. Do you really want that, Lilly?” “Could you really go to jail?” “Of course not. You can go to the police if you want but it won’t do you any good. Now, you can pay everything you owe plus interest. Because we’ve been such good friends I won’t include daily interest in your debt. See, I’m not a monster.”