Page 39

Chapter 39

Aiden

With my hands gripping the handle of my car door, I glare up at my ex. “For God’s sake, Casey. Let go.”

A double-entendre in this moment. Not only do I want Casey to release her grip on the door so I can go, I also need her to drop the hope of us getting back together.

“No.” Her fingers squeeze against the edge of the door. “I’m not letting go until you explain yourself.”

“This might be hard for you to believe, but I’m doing this for your own good,” I reply.

Dating her solely for a chance to get in the NHL—that’s not right, regardless of what she’s done to me. I’m done hurting people while trying to achieve my goal. In hindsight, if I hadn’t been so hellbent on making pro, Scarlett would be safe and sound.

“My own good? Aiden, I want to be with you. How will this benefit me at all?”

With a sigh, I release the door. Gently tugging on the band-aid isn’t working, obviously. Time to rip it off and move on.

“Are you still hung up on that threesome—"

“I’m in love with someone else, Casey,” I interrupt, staring right in her eyes as I say it. “You and I, we’re never going to work.”

Casey gasps, her face scrunching into a painful expression that tugs on my heartstrings. Regardless of our history, I don’t want to hurt her.

“Casey—” I reach for her, but she brushes my hand away.

“Don’t touch me,” she snaps. “Go be with that bitch, whoever she is. Soon enough, you’ll realize she’s not enough for you, but don’t come running back to me, asshole.”

She pushes the door and I put my body inside just in time for it to slam against the frame. I shake my head as she storms off while typing in her cell phone. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s contacting the next victim—I mean, potential boyfriend. Casey never does well being single.

At the moment, neither do I.

I pull out my phone, hoping to see Scarlett’s response to the flowers I sent, but there’s nothing. When the call goes straight to voicemail, I shift the gear into drive. I should probably leave it alone. We’re both transgressors in this mess, but she’s not willing to meet me halfway, to forgive like I’ve already done, then maybe it’s not for me. It leaves me with a painful sensation, but what the hell? I’ve endured worse.

But as I slow down at the stop sign near Scarlett’s neighborhood, I admit that’s a goddamn lie. I’ve never felt such agony in my life.

Rolling through the front gates twenty minutes later, I frown at the sight of Mom’s car in the driveway. She’s not due from her girls’ trip until tomorrow. For as long as I’ve known her, she has never cut her vacation short.

The sudden crashing that sounds suspiciously like breaking glass forces me into a run, leaving my car door open. I burst through the side door and enter the living room to find her with the fireplace poker, railing into the flat screen TV on the wall. Half of the living room is already trashed, with broken glasses everywhere.

“Mom, what the hell?” I rush at her, but she sees me coming and swings in my direction. I dart out of reach, narrowly missing being maimed by the tip of the poker. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I’m sick and tired of this shit.” She growls and dashes toward the glass cabinet where my trophies are.

Oh, hell no.

I grab her from behind. She screams as I wrestle the poker from her grip, then force her down on the couch. Did someone ply her with drugs on that resort, or something? This wild behavior is not like her.

“What’s happening to you, Mom?”

Still pressed down on the couch by my hand on her shoulder, Mom pants, glaring up at me. “I had a choice of either tearing this house apart or killing your dad,” she huffs.

With a sigh, I ease back. There’s no need to ask why she wants to kill him. “Mom, it makes no sense to keep paying private investigators to track his movements. You’re not leaving him.”

She sits up, her eyes still wild with fury, fingers digging into the couch. “A PI didn’t catch him this time, Aiden. I did.” She points toward the stairs. “In our fucking bed.”

“Jesus Christ.” My dad has done some shitty things in the past, but this is uncontested.

“In our bed, Aiden.” Tears fill her eyes, harsh sobs racking her body. The sight breaks down the emotional wall I’d built between us and I pull her up, enveloping her with a hug. For a moment, we rock in silence, her cries filling the wrecked space.

“What’s worse, he has her locked up in there, refusing to make her leave,” she mutters angrily, and I ease her off me.

“They’re still here?”

Without waiting for her reply, I dash up the stairs and down the hall, gently knocking on their bedroom door in less than a minute. “Dad, it’s Aiden. Open up.”

The click on the lock sounds immediately, then his face appears in the crack of the door. “Oh, thank God you’re here,” he greets me. “Your mother has gone bat shit crazy—”

He staggers back with a grunt from my fist, pounded right into his nose. A soft scream turns my attention to the redhead curled up in the bed. My mother’s bed . I see red, then black. I turn my focus back to my father, who’s gaping at the blood in his hand.

“What the fuck, Aiden?” He touches his nose again, gasping when he sees more blood.

With my hands curled, I move toward him. “How dare you disrespect my mother in her own house? Don’t you think you’ve done enough out there?”

He stares up at me, glowering. “She shouldn’t have been back until tomorrow—”

“Which makes no difference. Whether or not she’s here, this is still her home, her bed.” I glance back at the redhead. “Her fucking robe your mistress is wearing. What the hell were you thinking?”

Dad scoffs. “Oh, please. Don’t stand there acting all self-righteous. I’ve seen the women you parade out of here every other night. You’re not the patron saint of monogamy, either.”

“And whose fault is that, I wonder? The difference between us is that I’m not a married man. You took a vow to love my mom only but broke it a dozen times over.”

“Which he will pay for dearly,” Mom’s weary voice comes from behind me. I glance around and see the poker in her hand.

“Mom, no.”

She points it to the redhead. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

Dad sighs with frustration as his mistress scrambles from the bed and grabs her clothes from the armchair. “Why did you come home early, Marianne?”

She shrugs, appearing way calmer than downstairs. “Fate, I guess. It was time I got the message. You and I, we’ll never make it.”

“You’re blowing things out of proportion. Destiny means nothing to me—”

“I want a divorce, Adrian,” she cuts in firmly. “You once said I had nothing more to offer you and guess what? It has finally sunk in. My son once told me it’s better to be alone and at peace and I finally get it. I wanted to keep being your wife so badly that I was willing to do anything, even ruin the only person who truly cared for me.”

She looks over at me, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, Aiden, for everything.”

Dad’s mistress runs past us as I pull Mom into a tight hug while taking the poker from her grip. “You’re already forgiven, Mom.”

He snorts. “Divorce, my ass. We all know you can’t live without my money—”

“Our money,” Mom snaps, pulling from my embrace. “I helped build all this and I’m entitled to half.” She closes the gap between them. “Even more if I prove your infidelity, which I can, trust me.”

His face goes white. “You’re bluffing.”

As Mom starts rattling out dates and locations, even descriptions of the women he’s been messing around with, Dad’s skin pales even more. He knows enough of our state’s laws to realize his net worth is in serious trouble. From the way Mom stands firm, hands resting squarely on her hips, she means business.

“You’re going to sign those papers without trouble. Otherwise, I’ll send the information to my attorney, understood?”

“Marianne, let’s talk about this—”

“Do you understand?”

Dad looks over at me, obviously wanting help. I narrow my eyes at him. The only thing I’ll be helping with is getting him packed and out of here. He sees the clear response on my face, which makes him sigh.

“Yes,” he mutters.

Mom whips around. An awareness crosses her face and she turns back to him. “One more thing. If you dare send that email to New York, I’m contacting my attorney. Stay out of Aiden’s way.”

“Come on, Marianne. That was an empty threat. Do you really think I’d ruin my son’s future like that?” He cast an earnest look at me. “Aiden, I swear to God, I wouldn’t have sent it. I just wanted Casey’s dad in my back pocket.”

“Well, you’re going to need to figure another way to do that, because I’m not taking Casey back,” I announce, turning to follow Mom out of the room.

“Seriously?” he calls after me. “Aiden, come on!”

Ignoring his protest, I catch up with Mom, slipping my arm around her shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

She shakes her head. “You shouldn’t be. Look at what I’ve done to you. Blackmail, ruining your relationship with Scarlett… you should be disgusted. I know I am.”

“Look, I can’t deny how pissed off I’ve been with you, but you’re not responsible for me and Scarlett breaking up. You didn’t force her to take that money.”

Mom stops. She sighs deeply, her gaze dropping to the floor. “She didn’t actually take the money, Aiden.”

What feels like a solid punch in my gut forces me to suck in a breath. It takes me a moment to finally get out, “What do you mean?”

“I offered her the check and she refused it, so I placed it on her dresser before leaving. To date, she hasn’t yet cashed it.”

Backing away from her, I breathe harshly, dragging fingers through my hair. Holy shit, I fucked up . This is all on me, not Scarlett.

I fucking ruined everything.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she whispers.

Dipping into my pocket for the phone, I dial Scarlett’s number, almost clearing the side door when the voicemail chips in. It closes behind me with a bang and I slide into the driver’s seat of my car, a dozen thoughts racing in my head. As the car speeds through the main gate, there’s only one on the forefront. I need a miracle to get Scarlett back.