Page 123 of Meant to Be

“Don’t leave me.”

Harley laughs and it’s a sharp, flinching bark. I step back and he shakes his head, staring down at me.

“I asked you that exact thing. You looked me in the eyes and chased after another guy.” He pulls away from me and stalks out the door.

My throat closes on itself. No air, in or out.

“What a shit show.”

Brennon shoots me a wolfish grin over his drink before he takes a sip.

I glare back at him. Furious. Confused. Drunk. I take a steadying breath before speaking.

“This won’t last long.” I bite back. “You and Belle. She will realise what a piece of shit you are and then she will be gone. Just like Elise.”

Brennon’s grip tightens on his drink and he slams it onto the table. Liquid sloshes over the side, spilling across the table. In two strides, he is around the table, leaning close to me, his hot, stale breath plastering across my face.

“I’ve always hated you. You’re a precious little bitch, and much more trouble than you’re worth.” Little bits of spit fly from the corner of his mouth. Involuntarily, I lean away from him. “I don’t regret what I did to you. Not for a second.”

“And what’s that?”

“Leaked your sex tape.”

Everything inside me freezes. The music is blaring, people are swerving around us, but everything else is in standstill. There’s a ringing in my ears as I look up at his filthy smirk.

“That’s right.” He grins. “I filmed you. I posted it. It was allme.”

Everything is slow, and stuck in time. My mind can’t catch up with what he is saying.

“I had it set up. A little surprise I was doing for Elise. But then she pissed me off, and Rianna came to find me, and it all happened so fast. I forgot about the camera. When I found it later”—he lets out a dry cackle—“I couldn’t believe it. Princess Josie, getting her hands dirty. I was going to show it to Harley, have a laugh about it, but then I remembered what you said to me that night.” He leans in close, so close that I can smell the stale beer on his breath. “Do you remember what you said? Do you remember throwing that drink at me?”

I remember every fucking second of the night. Clearly.Tooclearly.

“So I posted it. I went on Harley’s phone after he fell asleep and shared it.” He sends me a wicked gleam. “I hid it from his timeline. It was hilarious, watching him be so oblivious, when the internet was blowing up over the biggest scandal the town had ever seen.” He rolls the sleeve of his shirt up, unable to resist showing the satisfied smirk on his face. “He was so drunk by the end of the night, I told him that we posted it together. He kept saying he wouldn’t do that. Of course he didn’t. Harley is a good guy.” He shrugs. “I said the lie so many times, I even started to believe it. Hell, I think eventually he did too.”

His words whirl around inside my mind.

Harley didn’t do it.

“You ran me out of town.” My voice is a mere whisper. “It was allyou.”

“All me.” He leans onto the table, clasping his fingers together. “I told myself to never say it out loud, but God, seeing your face.” A sadistic smile stretches across his face. “Definitely worth it.”

Everything is too loud. It’s all too much.

“I kept thinking … how am I going to be able to get rid of you this time?” he asks, lips tilting. “But it looks like you’ve done that all by yourself.”