Page 60 of Vengeful Lies

After this, she had no reason to ever believe him again.

It didn't matter that the truth was he was doing this because he couldn’t stand the thought of her ever being in danger because of him again. He was doing this to protect and keep her safe, because he cared deeply for her. Deeper than he’d realized until she was snatched away from him.

But why would Gabriella believe that?

“I can't believe you would do this to me, Cade. I can't believe you would rip me away from the only people I have when I'm at my most vulnerable. I can't believe you would take me away from Essie when she needs me. I can't believe you would use me for sex and then throw me away like trash.”

“You are not trash,” he growled as he stalked toward her, but she scuttled away from him like she was afraid of him, and he froze, his chest sliced open, his heart tumbling right out of it. He’d done that. Taken her feelings for him and soured them to the point that she was now scared of him and couldn’t stand to be near him.

“Of course I'm trash. I've always been thrown away like I didn't matter. By my father, by my mother, by all the foster families I lived with, by my ex, and now by you. Of all of them, you were the one person I thought would never hurt me. I thought you were the one person that actually saw me. I thought I'd finally found a place where I belonged, where I was wanted, where I was supposed to be.”

Her tear-filled words destroyed his soul, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he’d just lost one of the best things to ever happen to him.

September 8th

8:42 P.M.

How could this be happening?

Never in her life had she felt so incredibly stupid.

Not just stupid but naïve and gullible as well.

How else could you explain why she had ever believed that Cade could truly want her?

Even her own parents hadn't wanted her, and none of the foster families she’d lived with had ever cared about her beyond the money they got for having her live with them. Her husband had dumped her when she couldn’t give him the heir he craved, and now Cade was throwing her away because she was no longer useful to him.

What was wrong with her?

Why didn't anyone ever stick around?

Was she truly that unlovable?

“Look, Gabriella, I …”

Against her will her gaze darted to Cade when he spoke. He was agitated, his hands raking almost compulsively through his short dark hair. She got it. He felt somewhat bad about kicking her out, but she didn't want to hear anything else he had to say.

Any feelings she had for him died when he told her she was fired.

Damn that word hurt.

Mainly because it made her feel like she had only ever truly been the nanny, nothing more. Anything else she’d thought she’d seen or felt when it came to him and his family had clearly been nothing more than her overactive imagination and deeply ingrained desire to be loved and belong somewhere.

It was pretty clear this wasn't where she belonged though.

With no care or thought about what she was going through, what she’d suffered, he was kicking her out in the middle of the night and leaving her to fend for herself.

Feeling hollow, she snatched up her leggings and panties and quickly yanked them on then hurried down the hall to her room. She was vaguely aware that Cade had followed her and was standing in the doorway watching as she yanked out a suitcase from the back of her closet and threw clothes in it.

Growing up in foster care she’d learned how to pack quickly. She also learned that having too many sentimental belongingswasn't worth it because those could too easily be left behind if someone else did the packing for her.

Neither of them spoke as she filled the suitcase with as many clothes as she could fit into it. Whatever she couldn’t fit, she’d leave behind. She had more than enough money to buy herself a thousand new wardrobes so she didn't mind the loss.

Anything to get away from there and cut contact as quickly as possible.

This wasn't fair to her, and it wasn't fair to Essie.

Regardless of what Cade said or thought, that little girl loved her and needed her. They’d endured that ordeal together and needed one another to get through the next few weeks and months.

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