Page 4 of Bully

Karrington released a hard sigh, but Asylum was the one who answered.

“I promise I wish we could.”

“Then there’s nothing you can do for me,” I replied, burying my face in Merc’s neck after he wiped my tears. “Why did he leave me?”

“We don’t know,” Beethoven said, “but if we hear from him before you do, we’ll tell you. You’re staying with Neo and Merc, right?”

Even with me shaking my head, Neo and Merc said yes simultaneously.

“I just want to bealone,” I expressed, sitting up and trying to scoot away, but there was nowhere for me to go. Neo was on my left, Merc was on my right, and the rest of the guys were at the foot of the bed. As frustrated as I was, all I could do was chuckle because they didn’t play about Bully, which meant they also didn’t play about me. My hand rested on my belly as I sighed. “I appreciate you all being here but I just… need some time to process everything.”

“Then we’ll stay here,” Neo said, gripping my hand.

“Go home, best friend. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Nah—” Merc rejected with a shake of his head, but I gently cut him off.

“I need to be alone. If I need anything, I promise I’ll call.”

“Are you sure?” Karrington confirmed.

“Positive,” I replied, forcing a smile as my eyes watered.

“Aight, we’ll leave, but none of us will be far away,” Asylum agreed.

Neo gave me the saddest puppy dog eyes before we embraced. I thanked them all for making sure I made it home safely before they left. It appeared Bully had been here and gotten some clothes before they came to get me from my parents’ house. So whatever he was doing, he planned for it to last a while. I didn’t know if I was more hurt, angry, or confused.

What could have been so important that he’d leave me on our wedding day?

It was my pride telling him never to talk to me again if he left, because as soon as he did, Iachedfor him. I called him and got no answer. Eventually, the calls started going straight to voicemail. At that point, I decided I was done and that when he wanted to talk, he’d have to come to me.

In the silence of my solitude, my thoughts finally settled. Regardless of the questions I had, Bully was gone. What was supposed to be the happiest day of my life had been ruined. I had no grace to sit in my feelings because our baby girl would be here any day now. Even if he didn’t want to be my husband, I hoped he’d still show up to be her father. If he didn’t, I’d have to take it as a very unexpected loss and make sure she never felt the lack of his presence, though I knew I’d feel it every day… for the rest of my life.

* * *

The Next Morning

My plan wasto sleep the day away. My heart was hurting, and I wasn’t ready to deal with how I felt. Knocking on the door made it clear someone didn’t plan to let me sleep and sulk. I wanted to tell whoever it was to go away, but since I was hoping it may have been information about Bully, I checked the camera before getting out of bed and heading toward the front door. As soon as I opened it and Gabriella saw me, she burst into tears.

The random display of emotion caught me off guard, but when I came to myself, I hugged her and gently pulled her inside.

“This is all my fault,” she said through a sob as she clung to me.

“Shh… What are you talking about, Gabby?”

“This… He left because of me.”

“Bully?” She nodded. “Okay, talk to me.” I pulled back slightly and wiped her cheeks, but fresh tears coated them again. “Why do you think this was your fault?”

Sniffling, Gabriella wiped her face as I closed the door behind her. We walked toward the living room hand in hand, and she waited until we were seated on the cream colored couch to answer.

“The guys said PJ came to get Bully. If this has to do with Rocco, I’m 100 percent sure it’s because of me.”

“How so?”

Her head hung as she twiddled her thumbs in her lap. “A little over five years ago, I was raped.” A quiet breath escaped me as I clutched my chest. “Bully wanted blood. I begged him not to go after the guy himself because I didn’t want him to lose his career or freedom, so he got someone else to handle it. Though he never told me the exact details, I had a hunch Rocco was involved.”

“But you don’t know for sure?”

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