Page 81 of Rulebreaker

I go to the one place that has never let me down.

The office.

Because fuck love.

Work is the only thing I’ll ever trust again.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Lily

The press isout in full force when I land in Nashville, and I’m glad that Desi had the foresight to hire extra security for me.

“Lily, does your husband know about you and Atlas Delarosa?”

“Lily, is Atlas coming to join you here?”

I keep my head down and move directly toward the waiting limo.

Fuck.

This is the part that’s going to be tough to navigate. The part I thought Atlas and the others would have my back for. Of course, if you need someone to have your back, you have to actually tell them what’s going on. And aside from Sandy, no one knows anything.

Guilt and shame and frustration wind their way through my gut, leaving me lightheaded and nauseous as the limo inches throughtraffic.

This is my worst nightmare, the entire reason I avoided dating–and falling in love–all these years.

I knew it was a risk but for some stupid reason–I trusted him. Trusted him to be the man I thought he was. Instead, he’s like everyone else.

I’m not blameless.

I should have told him–no doubt about that–but he wouldn’t even listen. Wouldn’t let me explain the situation, or how afraid I was that this exact scenario would play out.

And it hurts.

So much more than I thought it would.

My phone is blowing up with messages but I can’t muster up the energy to read them. I see the names–Jade and Sandy and Desi--but what is there to say? Yes, I’m married. Yes, I lied to everyone about it. Yes, Atlas and I broke up.

Did we ever.

I’ve never seen fury in his eyes like when he swept everything off the table. And yet, I wasn’t afraid. Not physically. Emotionally I was terrified, but even in the midst of our argument, I knew he wouldn’t put his hands on me.

I almost wish he had, so I could feel something other than guilt and shame and soul-crushing heartbreak. I’ve never felt anything like this before, a kind of pain that makes it hard to think, walk…breathe.

How the hell am I going to put one foot in front of the other going forward? Without Atlas, my life feels empty. Meaningless.

Dammit.

I’m not one of those women who falls apart over a man. Whose broken hearts break everything else. I’m strong, rich, and independent. Stan found that out the hard way.

But Atlas isn’t Stan.

I loved Stan but was neverin lovewith him, and now that Iknow the difference, how the hell do I go back to a time before I knew what true love was?

“Ms. Maxwell, there’s press camped outside the gate,” my driver says.

I sigh.