"don't act like this is easy for me ." / @cherishluvs

" really ? " clearly uninterested to hear his side of the story , " did they also call you a slut and make up stories about you ? "

"scream then ," deadpans as he hoists her into the car , strapping her in the backseat before knocking on the divider to let milo know he can take off . "it's nothing i haven't heard before ."

strong arms wrap around her petite frame , and before she knows it , she's inside his car with no way to get out . unless , she just unlocks the door and jumps out of the moving vehicle . but at this point , she knew better than to do just that . her earlier actions had already pissed him off , probably why he had hunted her down . " i could have gotten in willingly , " she lies , fully knowing that she would have ran away in the other direction if she had spotted him first , and not the other way around . " you just like showing off that you workout , have these fucking huge muscles . next time try pounding on your chest , since you love to act like a caveman , " she mutters , arms crossing over her chest . couldn't believe she was in the same situation with him again .

his reaction was to be expected , remaining poised in front of him as the sun casts a halo around her head , “i live here .” for the time being while they renovated her family home . finding comfort in the hotel gave her reprieve from the life she left behind , coming to re-imagine what it would be like had she stayed in milan . it wasn’t smart to live on the aftermath of what-ifs but seeing him again made her want to , heartbeat stilling in her chest . he looked the same , maybe even better — much better . “what about you ?”

if she was shaken up by his presence , her features gave no indication of such . in fact she looked happy to see him , wish he could say the same for himself . was she really over him already ? remembered that the decision to call off the wedding had been hers , so maybe it was just him reliving the past all this time . " you moved back ? " last he heard she was hiding in milan , refusing to step foot again in the streets of manhattan . " press tour , " he replies , mind still reeling from the fact that she was back , and no one told him about it . not that he wanted to hear anything about her after receiving the ring in his mail . their common friends also made sure not to talk about her in front of him . but this kind of information could've been an exception .

he knew making a reappearance would get him into trouble , but he needed to show face from time to time . it wasn’t easy staying away especially when he knew she stayed there . wanting to protect her now that she was tied to him , that kind of knowledge dangerous depending on whose hands it fell into . when she steps in , he rolls his eyes before closing the frame behind , cutting off any outsiders . “you should probably learn .”

knew his house should be one of the last places she should be in . should in fact not feel as safe entering it even , yet her relaxed state says otherwise . the homme could have easily dragged her out , but a victorious grin spreads across her glossed brims as he closes the door behind him . " but it's more fun seeing you get frustrated . you're not used to insubordination , are you ? " she might as well be poking the bear now . her mouth always moving on its own — possibly her greatest downfall .

“good . the asshole doesn’t deserve you , anyway ,” wipes his knuckles on the back of his shirt , but he can see the panic in her voice and face . “i’ll get you another job , okay ? wherever you want just tell me what you’re looking for .”

knows she was better than this . deserved better than her less than minimum wage , while having to deal with a creep who has problems keeping his hands to himself . but desperation helped put food on the table . " you can't just do that ! it wasn't your shit to handle , " unsure why she's pissed off exactly , because he had done something she's been dying to do since the day she began working there . " what are you even doing here ? "

“why do i have to list out the many reasons why you’re a piece of shit ?” getting involved with him was something she thought she could take to the grave , but seems like the universe had other plans . “are you back together with her ?”

" thought we were becoming best friends . you're wounding me , carls . " didn't plan on getting back together with juliet , hence why he had no problem slipping his fingers under the other femme's pants . but now the situation was different , and it's all because he couldn't say no to pleasing his father . " seems like you already know the answer to that . don't think i have to spell it out for you . is that why you're avoiding me ? feeling guilty ? "

"that piece of shit got what was coming to him and i'd do it again ."

" are you serious ? " whips her head around to face the homme , lack of remorse clearly written in his features . " never mind , don't answer that . he's my boss , corey ! i could lose my job ! "

"i know that you're a liar ."

" and you've been avoiding me . now , are you going to tell me what's wrong , or are we going to keep talking around it ? "

"you know what's funny ?" stuffs his hands in his pockets to keep them busy for the time being , "you say you don't know me anymore but you're the one who can't look me in the eye when they speak . see , the bri i knew , had no problem telling me what was up . now suddenly , you're mute ?" shakes his head , "i don't buy it , but fine . i won't force you to talk to me . you want to pretend you hate me ?" shrugs , "i won't stop you . matter of fact , i won't even invite you to come see the show tonight since you're so hung up on what was , you have no time for what could be ." if she'd just let it . was it manipulating ? probably , but he wasn't above it if it meant getting his point across and seeing this through . "i won't even let the crew text you the address ." corner of his mouth lifts to hide something he'd better kept hidden . "have a good night ."

listening to him on streaming apps didn't give justice to his voice like it did live . that was one thing she couldn 't deny — the passion he had for his music allowed him to own the stage , and he deserved every single piece of accomplishment . she wants to be happy for him , watching every single one of the crowd be captivated by him , a mirror of her past self . nonetheless , bitterness was still a familiar feeling as she reminisce how things went down between them for him to be up there . could hear the praises the crew were throwing his way before he came into view . all of a sudden , the tightness in her chest is forgotten as she drinks him in . sweat - slicked , breathless , and radiating a magnetic sort of arrogance that made her pulse spike for all the wrong reasons . and in that moment of weakness , she thanks nadia for forcing her to go and to be able to witness this in person . everything seemed to slow down , her vision solely on him as he walks towards the group . their friends immediately shower him with compliments , thanking him for their passes . as for her , she's still rooted in the same place , unsure of what to say to him . that is until the commotion dies down and she has no choice but to acknowledge him , and so she settles on a " that was a nice show . " downplaying how blown away she really was by him .

"it's not that simple !" cries out , unwilling to hide her emotions . desperate to keep them at bay , to be normal like all the other girls who could hide it well . mindful of their tone and demure in their display , but he made it impossibly hard to be normal , having thoughts running a mile a minute where he was involved . all their memories flash in her head like a scrap book , keeping her rooted in place and while her head screams for her to turn back and leave with cohen , her heart begs her to stay where home is : right there with him . "i can go with him right now . i can turn back , i can let him take me home and the entire time i'll be thinking of you ." shrugs , laughing though nothing about this is funny . it's cruel and unusual punishment . wants to believe he knows exactly what he's doing by putting this on her , making her make the decision she knows will make her hate him . "can you look me in the eye and promise that if i walk away , you won't go back to her ?" it was selfish of her this time to ask , to pin the result on him , but she needed to know if he would change or if this was just their cycle until one of them ran out of steam . "are you going to call her when i leave ?"

how did he let them reach this point ? the constant bickering , inflicting emotional wounds on each other , the lack of trust between them ... they were nothing like the safe haven he promised her to be back then . his chest tightens , also stuck between giving her what she needed versus what they both wanted . he's selfish , wants her to stay with him and be with him despite her confession that he was a stain in her life . but also he's lonely , so fucking lonely , that the thought of being alone while she kissed and looked at someone else caused a sinking feeling in his stomach . " if you're just going to be thinking of me the whole time , then why can't you just come home with me ? " desperation evident in his question . " why do you keep saying that you're leaving ? that you're walking away ? " he almost whimpers , his eyes wide and glassed over , frantically searching for any indication that she wasn't about to choose the other over him . knows he's avoiding her question , not providing her with the reassurance she needed , but it's really because he didn't know the answer to them either . he wants to swear on his life that he won't , that he'd wait patiently for her , but that wasn't who he is . " i - i don't know , ven . are you coming back to me ? would you even want to go back ? " because after all , his own mother never once looked back . maybe the femme would also realize that life was much better without him .

countenance remains unfazed , nodding his head like she's reading the sunday times to him despite the inside of it turning , figuring all the ways he could make them pay . in some sick , twisted way he got gratification from being the one to cause an uproar than having someone else start the fire . he shrugs , "so what ?" brows raise to prompt a response . "even if you were a slut , what's it matter ?" she could fuck the entire club and it wouldn't make a difference if he managed to get her in his bed . had equally no problem tearing their eyes out of sockets so that they couldn't think of her naked again . he bites down on ash before handing the stick over to her , "here . sharin's caring and all that ." corner of his mouth lifts , running his eyes over the crowd to find the culprit of her tears , wondering if he pulled her flush to him , it might sound off the warning sounds . "i usually let them kiss my cock to make it better , but this works , too ."

she has no idea why he stayed and continued to her prattle on about stupid problems and insecurities , but she found herself grateful for his presence despite what his intentions may be . " i don't care about being called a slut , " she confesses , eyes trained on the stick her's offering out to her . without hesitation , she takes it and lifts it to her mouth , taking a long needed drag before handing it back to him . " it's who said it about me . " brows furrowed again as she remembers how it almost felt like a slap to the face when benny called her that . but before she could bury herself deep into negative thoughts , worry lines are replaced by a smile and a shake of her head . " do your lines actually work on other women ? " she asks , clearly amused at how he was trying to console her . but before she could tease him more , blue depths spot benny across the room , a blonde ( groupie , probably ) hanging on to his arm . doesn't miss the look of disdain he flashes her , causing a painful lump in her throat . she wants to look away , she should look away . yet eyes are following his every move , homme in front of her forgotten .

“why couldn’t you let me have this one thing, huh? admit it. you knew what you were doing.” // @cherishluvs

" it's one thing now , but another one later . do you even know what you want ? " given up on talking to her calmly , seeing as he wasn't getting through . he's trying to be supportive , but couldn't stand behind her this time .