Beloved (Toni Morrison Trilogy #1)(73)

Standing here, facing each other, the silence stretches for miles. Both of us trying to read the other. Both lost in some form of grief. Gripping my hips, he pulls me close. I close my eyes and relish his embrace. Here I feel okay. I’m safe when his arms are around me, protecting me, but is my heart? In this moment I don’t care. I mold to him, allowing his strength to surround me.

“I won’t let you fall. I’ll be here, but sometimes I’m going to be a dick. Sometimes I’m going to say the wrong thing. But if I didn’t want to be here with you, I would’ve walked away.”

I look up and the sincerity on his face matches what I heard in his voice, but the last thirty minutes did nothing to allay my fears. If anything, my doubts have intensified. “Then why were you so distant before?” I ask.

He speaks in a low, hushed tone. “Today brought up a lot of memories for me. Memories I’ve tried extremely hard to forget.”

Jackson takes a deep breath and places his hand on the small of my back as we start walking to my apartment. He’s silent for a few minutes and I sense he needs the time to collect his thoughts.

“I just want to he—” I stop short when I see someone in front of my apartment complex.

Neil. Why the hell is he here? Today of all days. My stomach drops as the reality of my past and present collide. I’ve tried to get rid of him. Ignoring him hasn’t worked, so now he’s apparently going to stalk me. Great. My body begins to tremble, shaking uncontrollably as fear, anger, and hate overtake me.

“Catherine?” Jackson asks, looking for whatever caused me to freeze.

Neil steps forward with his eyes fixed on Jackson. “Well, it seems you didn’t miss me all that much, did you?” he sneers.

“What do you want?” I return acidly.

“I’ve been calling. We have to talk. You have something that’s mine,” Neil says.

Obviously he’s been calling and I’ve been avoiding him. I swear he wasn’t this stupid before. Or maybe he was but I was too blind to see it. Either way, I don’t think I can handle this confrontation today.

“I have nothing of yours,” I say, trying to step around him.

Jackson moves next to me, angling his body so he’s between us. “Who the hell are you?”

Neil steps to the side, blocking me from getting past him. He jerks a thumb toward Jackson. “Who’s this guy?”

Jackson takes a step closer to Neil, who huffs and steps back.

“I’m her fiancé,” he says with a sardonic smile.

“No, you’re not!” I scream. “Are you f*cking kidding me?”

He’s purposely trying to ruin my life. Why? What the hell did I ever do to him? He broke my heart and I didn’t do a damn thing to retaliate. I didn’t steal from him, hurt his precious career, cheat on him, or anything else. Now he stands in front of my apartment, trying to take something else from me. Rage pulses through my body with each heartbeat. The first good thing I have he’s going to try to ruin. I look to Jackson whose eyes are wide. No! He can’t believe this.

Jackson stands there and crosses his arms across his broad chest as he lets out a mocking laugh. “Care to explain?”

I’m struggling not to cry. The emotions I’ve been swallowing all day are making their way back up. “Jackson, this is my ex-fiancé. He’s a liar and a piece of shit!”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Neil sneers from behind me.

I’m unable to control myself anymore. I’m done. I’m lost. There’s no stopping me as I unload my anger in Neil’s face. “Shut the f*ck up! You cheated on me! Why are you here? We haven’t been together for months! Go away!” I’m breaking. Every single part of me is falling apart.

I turn back to Jackson. The look on his face makes my stomach clench. He looks like he’s wavering between anger and pride. Both of us are dealing with too much right now, but I desperately need him to listen me.

“None of this is true! He’s with another woman. He’s lying!” I yell, feeling my sanity slip away. “This is Neil Mullins. He works for Boyce. We were engaged and then he cheated on me with Piper.” This is definitely not how I planned to talk about my ex, if I ever decided to talk about him at all. I implore him to believe me with my eyes. “Jackson, please. We’ve been over for months!”

Neil barks out a laugh. “Your memory is a little off, love. You stole my numbers so I left you. I should’ve had the Raven account. Now, I want my f*cking ring and the money you owe me back.”

Jackson steps away from me. He curls his lip while flexing his hands and glaring at Neil. “Wait a f*cking minute,” he says and then looks at me. “Neil? From Boyce, the other PR firm?”

I nod, trying to choke back the tears that keep spilling down my face. This is the worst day of my life. It feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest.

“Since you know who I am, I’ll ask again. Who the f*ck are you?” Neil says, puffing out his chest.

Jackson glares at Neil. “I’m Jackson Cole.”

Recognition registers on Neil’s face as his angry smile grows. “Well, that explains everything. You f*cked the client, Cat. I didn’t think you had it in you.” He steps toward me, his eyes hard and cold.

Jackson pushes me back behind him as anger rolls off him in waves. You can smell the testosterone in the air. His knuckles are white from clenching his fists so hard, and the vein on the side of his neck is protruding. I need to calm him before this gets out of hand. I place my hand on his shoulder and move around him, but his arm grips my waist, keeping me safely behind him.