Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 115308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
The hitch of a breath had me launching to my feet and whirling around.
Maia stood in the doorway, violet eyes shimmering with tears. A sob caught in her throat, and she forced out hoarsely, “I heard. And I won’t let you lose everything because of this.”
My heart lurched. “My—”
“Call him back. Tell him it’s over between us. This campaign has done enough damage. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Bear.” Her voice broke on the last word as she swung the door shut in my face, the lock sliding aggressively into place.
It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to react.
No.
Fucking no way!
“Maia!” I jiggled the door handle, but it didn’t budge. “Maia, don’t! I’m not losing you over this!”
I heard her sob on the other side of the door and tears thickened in my throat. “Maia, open the door. Let me in. We can fix this.”
“I—I a-am fixing i-it. You-you d-deserve better t-than this. Than me.” She sobbed harder, and the sharp ache in my chest made me breathless.
Tears burned my eyes as I banged on the door. “Maia.” Her name caught on a sob, and I didn’t care if she could hear me crying. “Maia, I love you. Don’t do this. Don’t fuck this up and twist it in your head, baby. Don’t let her win.”
In answer, her crying grew quieter as she moved away from the door.
Panic suffused me. “Maia! Maia!” I pounded on the door, begging her to open up. I didn’t know how long I slammed on her front door before a voice cut through mine.
“Right, that’s enough!”
I whirled to find an older woman I’d never seen before standing in the doorway of the flat opposite.
Her hard expression softened at the sight of me with tears on my fucking cheeks. “Och, I see. Well, I’m sorry, lad, but if the lass doesn’t want you at her door, then you need to leave. Or I will call the police.” She pointedly had her mobile ready to go in her hand.
Wrath at her, at the whole fucking world, threatened to consume me. I wiped at my cheeks and forced myself to walk away.
Temporarily.
This wasn’t it.
There was no way a bunch of arseholes would interfere in our relationship.
But it wasn’t really them I was afraid of.
It was Maia’s demons.
That seed her mum planted in her mind all those years ago, the one she’d worked so hard to get over … only for this to happen and prove that bullshit was rooted deep.
Deep enough to stop what was growing between me and her.
My chest felt tight at the thought, even as I tried to convince myself that in twenty-four hours, once she’d calmed down, Maia would come back to me.
She had to.
I’d never get over it if I lost her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
BAIRD
While I’d been lucky so far in life to not have lost someone I loved, I knew from my injury how the course of your existence could change in an instant.
The dark place I’d fallen into after my career-disrupting accident was nothing compared to the black fucking hole that yawned before me at the thought of losing Maia forever.
I think I was still in shock because it had happened so quickly. She hadn’t given me a chance to tell her that there was nothing in this world that would ever make me walk away from her.
Maia had shut me out completely, and according to Callan, she wasn’t answering Beth’s calls either. It had been a full day since I’d seen her, and a quick call into Pennington’s told me she hadn’t turned up for work.
“She called in sick,” Eli informed me. “She didn’t tell you?”
“No.” I’d forced the word out. “I’ll go check on her.”
Eli’s voice lowered. “Tell her we’re here too. I know what it’s like to have a crap parent.”
“Thanks.” I’d hung up and tried Maia again, but her phone went straight to voicemail.
That morning, I missed training because I was afraid I’d spew my rage all over the gaffer and he didn’t deserve it. Ultimately, Fred was the money, the owner, and he made the final decision, even if the gaffer didn’t agree with him. That left me at home, pacing and stewing. When the notifications sounded on my phone and I picked it up to see people on socials were sharing a new article, I lost my shit.
The journalist had followed up the story with an article on Maia’s dad and the fact that he’d spent time in prison for assaulting his sister’s ex-boyfriend.
The thought of Maia seeing that, of the hurt and guilt she’d feel for bringing her dad and aunt into this, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. My mind wiped blank of everything but rage. There was nothing but a need to mete out justice for this bullshit. I googled the address I wanted and then I thundered out of my flat. I’d just reached my car when the sound of car doors slamming and my name being shouted registered.