Alpha Billionaire Series

ADDIE

After the car drops me off, confusion leaves me feeling unbalanced. I can't wrap my head around what I just saw. Tanner was kissing another woman.

No matter how many ways I try to justify it or think maybe I saw wrong, betrayal sears through me.

There's no mistaking that his lips were on hers.

I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but 'm not blind. A million terrible questions are swirling through my head. Was Thomas right? Is Tanner done with me? Does he want to move on and date someone else who's more suitable?

Ugh. My heart aches at the idea of losing him. And what about the baby?

Our baby.

I haven't even told him yet. Talk about a complete I80-degree turn. How could I have gone from so excited to share the new to now dreading it in less than an hour? This is the worst thing that could've happened and now I have no idea what to do.

I suppose I'm going to talk to Tanner. But if he’s going to break things off with me, I'm going to be well and truly devastated. can't even imagine not having him in my life. Since the moment we met, he's brought me so much happiness.

Am I a fool for thinking everything had been going so well between us? Did I have blinders on? I felt like we couldn't have been happier. And now this. It's like I just got hit over the head by a ton of bricks. Dropping down on the couch, I pull my knees up and rest my forehead against them. Now I'm wondering if I missed any sign that could've prepared me for this.

But the longer I think about the past three months, the more I'm convinced that Tanner was just as happy as I was. Unless hy was only pretending, and it was some kind of act. But why would he do that? Why would he want to hurt me like that? Tanner told me he loved me. I always believed when he said that it was more than mere words. For me it was, anyway. I gave him my heart and trusted that he would cherish it and keep it safe.

Something doesn't feel right with the situation. I'm the kind of person who needs answers and likes to take action. Granted sometimes I might make a decision too quickly or without all the necessary information, but I don't sit around and do nothing. Waiting drives me crazy.

When my phone rings, I look down and see Kayla's name on the caller ID. “What does she want now?” I grumble. The last thing I want to do is deal with her complaining about her money problems. I'm on the verge of ignoring the call and letting i go into voicemail, but something tells me to pick up and talk to her.

“Hi, Kayla," I say. My voice sounds flat and with the way I'm feeling, there's no way I can muster up any enthusiasm and pretend I'm happy to hear from her.

“I'm 50 sorry, Addie," she says.

Kayla sounds really upset and worry fills me. “What's wrong? Is Mom, okay?”

“Mom's fine,” she answers quickly. “I was talking about you"

Me?How could she possibly know anything about my situation? “What're you talking about?” I ask carefully.

“You don't have to pretend, Addie. I was going to bring it up earlier but didn't want to upset you even more. I know that Tanner is interested in someone else.”

My heart plummets. “What? How?"Content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

“Oh, shit. I don’t know how to tell you this, but Tanner came to me for advice."

I'm floored. “What kind of advice?” I ask, voice low and full of dread.

“He asked how best to break things off with you, Addie. You know, let you down gently."

“What?” I can't believe what 'm hearing.

“He met someone new, and he wasn't planning on it or anything. He said it just happened. Now he wants to be with her, but he doesn’t want to hurt you. I guess he feels bad, but I still think he's a huge jerk for putting you through this."

Her words leave me absolutely stunned and I fight to pull in a shaky breath. What is happening? How did my life go from nearly perfect to an absolute shit show in a matter of hours?

“Tanner came to you?" I whisper.

“Yesterday,’ she says. “I don't know what to say. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

How in the world would I be okay? I'll never be okay again.

“I have to go," I say and hang up as the tears start sliding down my face.

My gaze lands on the check from Thomas Beckett that's still laying on the side table. Heart in my throat, I pick it up and shred it to pieces. He is the very last person I would ever take money from. Arrogant, pompous bastard.

What is happening? My entire world just tipped over and shattered into a million pieces. And I have no idea how to put it back together. All I know is that I need to get out of here. I know I should try to calm down and think this through rationally, but I just lost the love of my life and now I'm pregnant with his baby. Besides, the pregnancy hormones raging through my body are making me a little crazy.

All rational thinking goes out the window. While I'm debating what to do, I can't help but wonder why Tanner isn't here. After he saw me run away- because I'm pretty sure he did- why didn't he bother chasing after me? Do I mean that little to him that he couldn't even try to explain the situation?

No call, no text, no visit.

Nothing.

I'suck in a shaky breath and cry harder. Kayla said she talked to him yesterday. Yesterday! He told my sister almost a day age that he wanted to break up with me, but he never had the decency to tell me. The fact that I had to catch him in a lip lock with some other woman before knowing the truth is the worst thing in the world.

All know is I need to get out of here. Go somewhere, regroup and try to figure my life out. Because suddenly, it's going to be very different than I imagined it being.

And that breaks my heart.