Page 140 of The Renegade Billionaire

“Please,” Clover adds. “Elle is on FaceTime too.”

“Ugh,” I groan, then immediately the guilt hits because I haven’t been to see Elle or her baby all week and she’s having a horribly difficult time getting around.

Her birthing story scared the hell out of me. Why didn’t anyone ever tell us that you could potentially tear from belly button to butthole? I might be exaggerating, slightly, but still, it feels like something we should know.

“What did you expect? You’ve been avoiding them all week too.” Sage tsks. I do love the kid, but sometimes I want to tell him to mind his own dang business.

“I’m not avoiding anyone. Your uncle dropped a bomb that we have to move into a rental house so he can get three crews in here to gut the place. And he never even consulted me.”

Sage shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “He wanted it done as quickly as possible.”

I swallow a spiky ball of emotion that cuts with jagged edges of glass going down. Does he want it done quickly for us, or is he just trying to get the hell out of here as fast as he can?

He hasn’t asked me specifically if I took the pill, but he reminds me every day that he supports me.

Why hasn’t he asked?Why haven’t I offered up the information?

“There you are,” Savvy says. “You know, he hired movers to pack up all this stuff and put it in storage for you.” She drops the flat boxes in her hands to the floor.

“Say hi to Elle.” Clover shoves the phone in my face.

“Just because I can’t be there helping doesn’t mean I’m not helping.” Elle holds up a piece of paper that has tears welling quickly. “It’s the kitchen. And it will look exactly like this by the time we’re done.”

She’s kept everything that made that room feel reminiscent of my grandmother, and it’s overwhelming. All of this is overwhelming.

“Sage,” Pops calls from downstairs. “Come help me.”

Sage looks from me to the door. He’s been my shadow since his uncles left, and I can’t tell if it’s because he’s worried about me or them, but I give him a reassuring nod, and he hustles out of the room.

Savvy shuts and locks the door behind him. “Spill it,” she demands.

I don’t want to lie to my friends, but I don’t know how to share all of this either.

“Mads, don’t make me come over there,” Elle says.

“You’re not going anywhere, woman. You’ve got stitches holding your hoo-ha together,” Cian growls from somewhere behind the camera.

“Out,” she demands. Cian drops his face into view and gives me a scolding glare.

“Listen to what she says, Madi. I mean it. She’s not getting out of this bed.”

I nod, then crumple to the ground.

“Aw, feck, Mads. Do I gotta kill him? I was just getting used to the fecker.”

I laugh, and snot forms at the tip of my nose. “No,” I say, wiping it away with my sleeve. “He’s fine.”

“Uh-huh. Fine. I know what that means. I’m married, remember?” He kisses Elle’s forehead, takes the baby, and exits the frame.

“Spill, Madi. What’s going on?” Elle uses her best mom voice on me, and I crack.

I tell them about the broken condom and about the Plan B. But it’s explaining that it was Braxton’s father that published all those lies about me that stuns the room to silence.

It’s Savvy who pulls herself together first. “Okay, I need to repeat this out loud because it’s not computing in my head. When Harry Balls drove drunk into that tree and shattered his collarbone in three places, then told everyone that you were driving when you weren’t even in the state.” She stands and paces the room, not unlike her archenemy Grey. “You’re telling me that the person he fed those lies to in an attempt to save himself, his scholarship, and his football career was Braxton’s dad?”

I nod. The tears are coming so fast I can’t keep my face wiped dry.

“And it’s his dad who owns the Whisperloop that was doing those shitty exposés blaming all the college girlfriends for the professional football players’ bad decisions.”