Handed to me. That’s how he’s seen this arrangement: him spoiling the rich girl who’s never had to pull her own weight.
He said he wanted me and Cami to have a nice place to live. He said he wanted to take care of us and this was all part of being a family . . . and now my name’s not even on the lease, so I don’t have a leg to stand on. I knew better, but I told myself it’d be okay because Julian isn’t like my father. Julian’s kind. Julian cares about me.
History repeats itself. Only now, instead of finding myself at my father’s will, I’m at Julian’s.
“Where do you expect me to go?” I ask, my voice shaking.
“I don’t give a shit where you go, Brinley. As long as it’s nowhere close to me.” He pulls out a dresser drawer and dumps it over an empty box, sending bras and panties all over the place. “Go live with that man you married. Then again, I hear he left town on Monday. Maybe he doesn’t want you, now that he knows his wife’s been fucking me for the last six years.”
I flinch. “Julian, can we just—”
“Or go to Florida and move in with your mom and dad.” He smirks and gives a condescending tilt of his head. “Wait. You can’t do that either. Guess what? No one wants to take in the spoiled bitch.”
I don’t want his words to hit home, but they feel so true that I’m nauseated. “I am sorry I screwed up,” I say. “Please listen. I—”
He holds up a hand, just like my father. “You’re lucky I didn’t send someone to get your shit out of here. I’m trying to do you a solid.”
“By kicking me out?”
“By helping you pack.”
* * *
My day was a disaster, but luckily I have the best friends in the whole world. Once I decided I’d had enough verbal abuse from Julian, I promised him I’d be out by dark and suggested he leave before my cousin Smithy arrived. That was it. One final angry glare and Julian was gone, and shortly after that, my friends were there.
Savvy, Stella, Abbi, and I moved boxes into the U-Haul I rented minutes before they closed, and Kace, Smithy, and Stella’s brother Dean loaded my furniture into it.
We took everything but a couple of suitcases of necessities to Kace’s garage for temporary storage, and now we’re all exhausted.
I jump in for a quick shower while everyone cools off with beers in Kace’s living room. Since Kace is the only one with two extra bedrooms, I’ll stay with him for the time being. I considered moving into his pool house, but it’s a studio, and as much as I love my daughter, I love occasional privacy too. Hopefully I can find a place quickly that can get us in right away, but I’m exhausted just thinking about it. I feel like I’ve been beaten from the inside out.
As much as I’d like to pretend Julian and my father are both wrong about me and my decisions, the truth rang clear in so many of the cruel things they said. I’ve made a fool of myself and my family too, and now my shitty decisions are going to throw another wrench in Cami’s life.
I climb out of the shower and head to the guest bedroom to change out of my towel and into clean clothes. Stella’s sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for me. She gives me the kind of sad eyes people usually reserve for mutilated puppies. “Hey, baby girl. You okay?”
I want to be strong. I really do, but this week has been too much, so all I can do is shrug.
“I am so sorry.”
“Why do people keep apologizing to me?” I ask, my eyes filling with tears. “I’m the asshole here.”
She stands and frowns at me. “How do you figure?”
“I got drunk in Vegas, married a guy my parents hate, and then nearly committed a federal crime by accident to marry a guy I don’t even love. Then we broke up, and I conveniently forgot he’d been giving me a break on my rent.” I stretch my arms out to my sides to indicate the metaphorical disaster all around me. “And I don’t even know what’s going to happen with The Orchid.”
“Right. That.” She shrugs. “No, I’m sorry we didn’t all tell you sooner that Julian’s a big asshat and he doesn’t deserve you.”
To be fair, they did tell me. They just tried to do it nicely.
She takes my hands. “If we hadn’t let you get engaged to him, this never would’ve happened.”
“First of all, I’m a grown woman and it’s not your responsibility to keep me from making mistakes.” I blow out a breath. “Second of all . . . thank you. I’m not sure I deserve you.”