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I don’t feel sorry for him, though. He deserves to be haunted. He should suffer. And if he’s smart, he’ll use it to grow and change, to be someone worthy of the sister he raised and the girl he broke. Vanessa won’t ever take him back, but he still owes it to her to become someone better. He owes it to Sutton, too.

“Do you think he’ll really get help?”

I hesitate, not sure how to answer that. Can he do it? Yeah. Do I think he will? I don’t know. He’s spent the last five years running from the truth, hiding it, throwing others in front of himas shields. Is he really capable of changing, or is he already too far gone? I don’t know.

“I hope so,” I murmur instead of giving her false hope. But, for her sake, I hope he does. After everything, she deserves that much from him. Hell, she deserves everything.

I dip my head, brushing my lips across hers. “Get some rest, princess. We’ve talked about him in this bed long enough.”

Chapter Twelve

Sutton

The next three days are rough. Jordan tries his best to keep me distracted and happy, but I’m miserable, and it shows. I just can’t get over what Jamison did. And it’s not even just that he took videos of Vanessa and showed them to his teammates.That’s horrible enough. But the fact that he did it for such a stupid, selfish reason is hard to wrap my mind around.

He wanted to punish her. He wanted to hurt her. How am I supposed to reconcile that with the guy who rushed in after our parents died and took custody of me? The one who raised me to do the right thing and be the best version of myself? I just can’t.

“Hey.” Jordan walks up behind me on the third day while I’m standing in front of the bathroom mirror, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just thinking.” I force a smile, meeting his worried gaze in the bathroom mirror. “I should be ready to go in a few minutes. I just need to finish dressing.”

He has to be at the arena soon. They have a game tonight. I’m going to hang out with Emilia, Peyton, and Wren while they get ready. I think Micah’s wife, Elodie, will be there, too.

“I have something for you,” he says.

I turn around in his arms, lifting my gaze to his. “What?”

“Two things, actually.”

“You really have to stop giving me things, Jordan,” I protest quietly. He wasn’t joking when he said he intended to spoil me. I’ve woken up the last two mornings to a new gift on my pillow. One was a gorgeous diamond necklace. The other was the matching earrings. Yesterday, he had flowers delivered to the hospital where I work. It’s so damn sweet, but I don’t need gifts. I just need him.

“Are you mine, princess?” he asks, quirking a brow at me.

“Of course I am.” That’s not even a question. I love him so much, I’m not sure how I’m going to survive it. One day, my heart will just freaking explode because he’s taken up every inch of space inside it. It’s beautiful and overwhelming and intense and exactly like I always dreamed. Only, it’s better because it’s real this time.

“Then I get to give you whatever I want,” he murmurs, tipping my head back to brush a hard kiss across my lips. “Quit bitching and accept it, baby.”

I huff at him, but I’m not really mad. He is who he is. Ilovewho he is.

He just grins at me and then slips his hand into mine, leading me out of the bathroom. I open my mouth to protest, and then snap it closed again, deciding not to even bother. It won’t do me any good. He’ll just get all hot and bossy…and then he’ll be late getting to the arena because I’ll have my hand on his dick in two seconds flat.

He leads me straight to the chaise in the corner and then gently nudges me until I’m seated. I stare up at him, my brows furrowed, when he grabs his iPad.

“Scoot forward,” he demands.

I scoot, giving him room to slide in behind me.

He places the iPad in my lap, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I talked to Vanessa.”

I crane my head to look back at him, my heart suddenly lodged in my throat. “Y-you did?”

“Mmhmm.” He jerks his chin at the iPad. “She has a few things to say to you.”

I stare at the iPad, suddenly shaking. “W-what?”