Page 8 of From Angel to Rogue

“You didn’t want sex,” I said, threading my fingers through her soft strands. “Because it reminded you.”

I didn’t saywhat, but she knew.

I felt her still, and for a long second, she didn’t say a thing. Eventually, she whispered, “Yes.”

I nodded. I didn’t like that she suffered in silence all these years.

I was her other half. I wanted to bear some of the weight, maybe all of the weight that’d been holding her down. I wanted to rip it all off and free her from her own chains. I wanted to freeher.

I wanted to bring back that girl with glowing green eyes and an ever-present smile, carefree and beautiful.

“Let’s take a break, K,” I whispered. “We have nothing on our plate now. Let’s take some time just for ourselves. Just the two of us. Talk, fuck, eat, I don’t care what we do. Let’s just get away, go on a vacation or something.”

My suggestion made her muscles freeze.

“We can’t,” she muttered. “I have a full schedule.”

Frustration leaked into my veins. There it was, one of her favorite excuses. She might have gotten away with it a long time ago, but now I knew for a fact she was lying.

After six years of being milked by our previous label, which almost ruined our lives, we decided to quit and start out on our own.

We had enough money, fame, and power to do that now. That was what initially propelled my bandmates’ move to New York. There was nothing left for us in LA. Well, except for Katy, who had been clinging to this city like it was the last tether that was keeping her sane.

Now, our band was on a break, our first break in a long fucking time. And we had nothing on our schedules except for a few lone events here and there. Katy shouldn’t have work if the band she was managing didn’t have work.

“Katy, stop please, I’m tired of your excuses. We literally have nothing. You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

Her small hands splayed on my chest as she brought herself to a seat. And I sighed, shifting away from our comfortable position.

This right here was what annoyed the fuck out of me when it came to her. She just couldn’t sit still—she always had to be on her feet while her mind worked a million miles an hour.

“I’m not lying. We have Matty’s label launch, remember?” she said, not even meeting my eyes. She pulled her discarded T-shirt over her head, hiding her beautiful lean frame, and tugged on her 80s-style black jeans over her long smooth legs.

And I followed, dragging my shorts back into place.

Matty’s lifelong dream was to start his own indie label, a recording company that would help unsupported artists and rare talents. Since we were finally free from the confines of our previous label, he deemed it was finally time.

Even though all of us boys were in it as co-producers and would eventually also release our next studio album with his label, it wasn’t anytime soon.

I knew Katy had to be there to help with the launch, but it was weeks away, and she slipped earlier that she had already hired an entire team to run things smoothly. So she literally had nothing to do except supervise unless she wanted to dig her nose into everything. Knowing Katy, she loved to do that, drag so much more than she could handle just because she could.

“Katy,” I started, but she was already busying herself cleaning up the discarded pillows that I had knocked out when I crashed her into the couch. “Katy,” I said, louder this time and took hold of her hand, bringing her attention back to me.

“Will you just stop for a second and listen to what the fuck I have to say?” I snapped, pinning her with my sharp gaze. “I’m so fucking tired of you avoiding and ignoring me like this.”

Her eyes widened. “I’m not avoiding or ignoring you,” she said, licking her lips like she did every time she lied.

I gritted my teeth. “I’m also so fucking tired of you lying to me, Katy. Do you think I’m stupid for not catching onto your blatant lies? It’s all you do, Katy, lie and lie and lie. How long do you think I’m going to be here listening to it?”

A gasp left her lips and all the life I brought back to her eyes died. “I’m not lying, Lan. I really am busy,” she lied, licking those pink fucking lips once again.

I loved her, and at this moment, it was the only reason that was keeping my fury at bay.

“You’re lying again,” I said and before she could say anything, I held a hand. “When was the last fucking time we had a conversation, K? Last time we had a date? Last time we spent some time together, just the two of us? Because I don’t fucking remember,” I roared and reached for her left hand. The huge diamond ring I gave her gleamed like a star on a moonless night.“We’d been engaged for a fucking year and you won’t even sit down to talk about fixing a date. And don’t you dare blame it on me. I have been so fucking patient and I am fucking trying here. I got exactly the ring you wanted, waited exactly five fucking years to propose, all because you made a stupid plan for our future, and for what, Katy? So we could end up here while I fight for fucking ten seconds of your time?”

“It isn’t like that,” she said quietly. “I wanted to get married earlier, too, but I kept thinking,” she hiccuped. “I kept thinking, the thing that comes after marriage, the thing I am incapable of doing.”

“Then you should’ve told me about it, Katy.” My mind still couldn’t grasp the thought that she went through something I didn’t even know about. I kept thinking how alone and hurting she must’ve been. At the same time, anger flooded my blood, knowing I wasn’t the person she called. I wasn’t the person she ran to.

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