Page 425 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1

James' father lowered his eyebrows. Again, it reminded me of James. "What happened? Where is he?"

"He's fine. He's with Rob." It was the first time that it actually seemed like one of James' parents cared about his well being.

"Okay, well, Eric will see you out," James' mother said. She snapped her fingers and Eric appeared at the door.

"No. I'm not here to tell you about that. I got an email from Isabella this morning, blackmailing me and James. She had pictures of..." right now wasn't the time to be discreet. And I didn't care if Isabella was listening. She had never said I couldn't tell his parents. "Of James and I having sex in his office. She planted a camera in his office or something. And she said she'd leak the photos to some tabloids if I didn't agree to transfer 20 million dollars into her bank account. I didn't want the pictures to be leaked. I was trying to protect your son. I love him so much, I..." I was getting off topic. I blinked away the tears that were starting to well in my eyes. "I did what she asked. And she said I couldn't tell James that she made me do it. So I didn't. But she actually gave me the bank account of this guy I used to date. I couldn't tell James that she tricked me. I couldn't risk it. So he broke up with me. Because he doesn't trust me. I just thought you'd like to know that your perfect daughter in law just stole 20 million dollars from the son that you claim to care about."

"You're lying," his mother said.

I pulled out the bank slip that I had gotten and handed it to her.

"This doesn't prove anything. All it proves is that you transferred money out of James' bank account. Thatyoustole from him. Which is exactly what we tried to warn him about. No wonder he broke up with you. Eric, please show Miss Taylor out."

I wasn't sure who I hated more, Isabella or Mrs. Hunter. I handed her a sheet of paper filled with the texts that Isabella had sent me throughout the day. I had stopped and had them printedout. "Isabella was watching me somehow. It was like she could hear everything I was saying and see what I was doing. I just thought that you'd both like to know. Maybe she's not the girl you thought she was." I walked past his mother and toward the door before I could start crying.

"Wait," his dad said.

I stopped and turned around.

"Let me see your cell phone."

"I'm not lying. Those texts are from her. That's all the proof I have. I know it'll be my word against hers and..."

"I believe you."

That's what I had wanted James to say to me. His dad believed me? He didn't even know me. Maybe James would believe me if I could have told him the whole story. I pulled out my phone and handed it to him.

He ran his fingers along the back of it and peeled off what looked like a clear sticker.

"What is that?"

"The thinnest camera and recording device in the world. It was the last technology Blive Tech International came out with before James sold the company. She was watching you. And listening to you." He looked over at his wife.

She shrugged her shoulders. It looked like she was in shock.

Maybe Austin had slipped it on my phone when he had kissed me. That was the only thing I could think of. Which meant Isabella had been watching me all week. I felt a chill run down my spine. My phone was always near me. She wasn't lying whenshe said she had more pictures.Oh God."Maybe you could get the pictures from her? Ask her not to leak them? I don't want..."

"We'll take care of it." He handed my phone back to me. "And we'll talk to James. None of this is your fault."

"No." I shook my head. "It's deeper than that. We're not...it's over." It pained me to say it. But it was true. I couldn't marry James. He didn't love me. It didn't matter how much I loved him. If he didn't trust me after everything we had been through, he never would.

"I'm sorry to hear that," his dad said.

"Your son is wonderful. He's not weak. He just needs you both in his life. Show him how much you care. Because I can tell that you do. You should be so proud of him. He's the most amazing person I've ever met."

"You really love him?" James' mom asked.

"So much that it hurts." My voice caught. "I'm sorry, I have to go." I turned around and walked as quickly as I could out of the room.

***

I didn't care if pictures of me having sex were all over the internet. Scandals blew over. I knew that better than anyone. I was such an idiot. I should have just told him.

A raindrop landed on the top of my head. I looked up as a light drizzle started. I didn't have a jacket or umbrella. But I didn't care. The cool rain felt good against my skin. Rain had always been comforting to me ever since I met James. It reminded meof him. Walking under his umbrella back from the party that I hadn't wanted to go to. I wanted to go back to that moment. I wanted to do things differently. The rain wasn't comforting tonight. It just reminded me of what I had lost.

I took off my high heels and continued walking, letting my feet splash in the puddles that were forming on the sidewalk. It was only a matter of minutes until I was completely soaked. My tears had quickly mixed into the rain.

He shouldn't have given up on me. He shouldn't have said those things to me. All I had ever done was love him.Unconditionally.That's what love was. It was unconditional. James didn't love me. He had never loved me.