Page 120 of Runaway Bride's Guide to Love

“I stole money from my fiancé,” he says.

Crack!

“Don’t hold back. Tell me what a bad boy you’ve been. Tell Mommy everything.”

“I used her for stock information,” he says. “I looked at files she had access to and bought and sold stocks. Put the money in an account with her name on it. Then she quit, so I lost her log-in and access. And then I lost the money. I lostallthe money!”

Crack crack!

“Holy shit,” I mutter. “That’s why he wanted me back. He thought if we were back together, I’d come back to work at the firm. Once I was gone, he lost access.”

“And he probably thought after the wedding you were going to quit,” Maeve says. “That’s why he filed the lawsuit. He wanted to scare and intimidate you. He knew you usually just let things slide away. No way would you have wanted a lawsuit. He scares you with it, you, in his mind, come to your senses, and after a few chats everything goes back to normal. You go back to work. He has your password. And the trading continues.”

“I’m going to snap his damn neck.” Emmett growls as he starts to make a move through the adjoining door, but I hold him back. “Just wait. We need to let him bury himself.”

“Is that it?” Nadia asks as we all turn our attention back to the main show.

He shakes his head. “The government is investigating. Imade it look like Stella did everything. I think I got away with it. But I lost all the money. It was all for nothing!”

“We got him,” Simon says, which is all the permission Emmett needs to go barreling through the door. Before Duncan even knows what’s happening, Emmett has him pinned against a wall, holding him up by a flimsy white T-shirt. We all enter the room, and I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m doing all I can to not look at Duncan’s dick swinging below.

Partially because I think he’s about to pee himself.

“You’re fucking done,” Emmett says. “You think you can set Stella Banks up and there not be repercussions? You’re a bigger fucking idiot than we realized.”

Emmett slams him against the wall before tossing him on the bed, setting him up for Simon, who comes in with a punch straight across the face.

“I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I met you.” He winds up and throws another one. “Fuck with my family again, and you won’t walk out of here alive. Understand?”

Duncan nods, fear in his eyes as his now ghostly white face tries to get a sense of bearings. I grab a blanket as I walk over to him, tossing it over his crotch, because we don’t need to see that.

I lean over, making sure that he looks me square in the eye. “I fucking loved you. I wanted to be the best wife, best partner, best friend you ever had. I did everything for you. And what was it all for? Nothing? Con the woman who had access to everything in the law firm just so you could get rich? Was that all this was?”

Duncan shakes his head as he sits back up. “No, Stella. Baby. I loved you. I still do. I can explain everything.”

It’s been a minute since I slapped someone in the face. Never a man. Then again, is Duncan a real man? Either way, the slap I deliver straight across the face stings my hand in the best way. He falls back on the bed, holding his face that’s now received a slap and a punch as I go stand over him.

“I want you to remember this. Remember me. Remember that you could’ve had everything, and your greed and pride is whyyou’re going to be in jail. Alone. You threw your life away for a few bucks. And as for me? I’m going to say thank you. Thank you for being a greedy asshole. Thank you for being a worthless human. Thank you for being a goddamn idiot and getting caught in every shady thing you did. Because it led me to the happiest I’ve ever been. With a man who loves me for who I am, crazy and all. I’m going to live happily ever after, and you’re going to rot in fucking jail.”

I turn on my heel and walk away, head held high and more confident and free than I’ve felt in years. And why shouldn’t I? My name is about to be cleared. Any and all lawsuits are about to be dropped. Duncan is about to be exposed for everything he did. I get my reputation and name back.

Yet, I’d go through this all again if it meant finding Emmett. The running. The shitty relationship. Almost going to jail. If I knew Emmett was waiting for me on the other side, I’d experience it all again.

Because once you know a love like ours? You realize that there’s nothing you wouldn’t do to have it in your life for as long as possible.

35

emmett

~~ Eight weeks later ~~

“Come on Cap!You’re not getting out of it today!”

I let out a groan as I turn to Stella, who’s walking into the bathroom where I’m finishing brushing my teeth. “I hate the sun.”

“No you don’t,” she mewls, coming over to me and placing a kiss on my cheek. “Sun’s out, guns out, baby. It’s time to go to the beach!”

The last time we were in Florida, I convinced myself I didn’t mind the beach. Granted, I was looking for any excuse I could come up with to spend with Stella. But now that we’re solidly together and it’s November, I figured I could avoid the sandy hell this time around. But no, it’s an unseasonably warm day, which means Tiger wants to go to the beach.

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