Devastated (Anger Management, #1)(68)



“They live in fear that something or someone will destroy everything by telling the truth, that they’re fakes. It’s why they targeted you because they couldn’t control you. You saw them for what they really were; weak, pathetic, cruel, and evil and they didn’t like that. You were being punished because you’re a danger to them, Kylie. Even now they’re terrified of what you can do to them. It’s why they trash you to their friends, why they make you look like an ungrateful bitch who used them and tried to make them look bad and why they sent those letters. They’re hoping that if they destroy your life that they’re safe. They don’t care what they have to do or what happens to you as long as no one believes you. They will do anything to protect their bullshit existence and they will never stop.”

“But I-I’m not doing anything to them,” she said, trying to make sense out of what he was saying.

“No, you’re not, but they don’t see it that way. The problem is that you still believe all the crap that they shoved down your throat. You think you’re a mistake, that you’re not good enough, and that everything that they do to you is somehow your fault,” Grey said, as she sat there, nodding slowly because she couldn’t deny it.

“To you, your parents are still powerful and terrifying, but that’s because you still see them through the eyes of a terrified child. You don’t see them for what they are, pathetic. Think about it, Kylie. If your parents were really this powerful then why aren’t you in jail? Why aren’t any of the people that they’ve been going around accusing of the same things that they’ve accused you of in jail as well? Why did your parents’ restaurant fail? Why do they have to sue people to get what they want? Why do they have to destroy people? Why do they have to lie?”

“I don’t know,” she mumbled, unable to help but frown as she thought about every question that he was throwing at her.

“You really have no idea just how strong you are, do you?” Grey asked with a rueful shake of his head. “Your parents have created a fake world that you bought into, but think about it, all those people that they loved to gossip to and about, how often did they invite your parents over for dinner? Let them around their children? Invite them over for a barbecue? Holidays? Birthdays? I’m guessing not very often and that’s because deep down they know what your parents are. They’re using your parents, but they’re also wary of them. With every lie that your parents spread about you now, they’re putting more cracks in this fake world of theirs because you aren’t there. Their obsession with destroying your life is becoming clearer with every vile word that leaves their lips.”

“But they’re still helping them,” Kylie said, thinking about all those emails they’d sent.

“It’s only a few people. Your parents aren’t special. They have no power over you and never have. Nothing they do affects you, because you were strong enough to get away. You’re nothing like them, Kylie. From what I’ve heard, you are an incredibly kind person. You just need to accept it.”

---

“Let me call you back,” Ryan said absently, hanging up the phone as he watched the office patio doors slam open seconds before Hunter, who looked ready to kill something, stormed out and-

“Oh…shit,” Ryan said hollowly as he watched Hunter pick up a patio chair and hurled it through a window as he released a pained-filled roar.

“Fuck!” Hunter yelled, grabbing another chair and sent it flying.

“Shit!” Ryan said, shoving his phone in his pocket and reached for the kitchen patio door when he saw Kylie step onto the patio as Hunter grabbed another chair and—

Ryan watched as the small woman who’d been to hell and back, bring Hunter to his knees. Dropping the chair, Hunter reached for her, pulled her into his arms and held on tight.





Chapter 36

Three Months Later…

February 17th

“I’m going to kill him,” Hunter decided, as he watched the asshole smile at something Kylie was telling him.

“We’ve been over this,” Ryan said absently with a bored sigh as he continued going over his release papers to make sure they were all in order.

“Tell him that,” Hunter said, narrowing his eyes on the large bastard that had infiltrated their lives. For the past three months, he’d had to deal with the asshole showing up for breakfast and manipulating an invite out of Kylie to movie night, dinners, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the shit in between and—

The asshole was actually helping her.

Kylie hadn’t wanted to do therapy, wasn’t ready for it, but Grey seemed to understand that so instead, he’d slowly won Kylie over. He started showing up early for Hunter’s mandatory therapy sessions and talked to Kylie about living in Florida, things they both missed from living up north, anything and everything except her family. From what he could tell, Grey never brought them up. That had eventually led to having Grey staying after sessions to hang out with Kylie to staying for dinner and eventually getting Kylie to start opening up to him.

Sometimes she asked Grey questions. Other times Grey just listened as she told him things, or he talked to her about whatever it was that normally had Kylie sitting by the pool late at night, lost in thought. He’d also started to get Kylie to venture out of the house more for something other than work, something that he hadn’t been able to do for her. Grey took her out for lunch, got her to go to the movies after a glaring match that Hunter ended by picking her up and putting her in the car, took her shopping, had her help decorate his house and office, and basically found a reason for Kylie to stop hiding.

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