Page 1 of Losing the Forbidden
Prologue
Six years ago…
Glancing over my shoulder at the house I grew up in, at the home where the people I love live, I know I don’t have a choice. Walking away is the right thing to do.
I knew Nick, my stepdad, finding out about us would only end one way, but I really thought it would be with me in the hospital.
I never imagined this.
That vindictive arsehole knows exactly how to get what he wants. It’s no different to how he wormed his way into my life. He wanted money and status, and my fragile, grieving mum was the perfect target.
Fire burns through my veins and my hands tremble with my need to find the motherfucker who’s intent on ruining my life, but I know it’ll be pointless. He’s probably already got a plan in place for that.
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I force myself to walk away, to do what I need to do to keep the two women I love safe.
I’ve no doubt that the threats he just dished out were true. I’ve watched him ruin people before. He doesn’t care about anyone, whether that’s an employee or his own wife and daughter. He’ll crush anything that gets in his way.
With one last look at the house my dad built with his bare hands, I tell myself that this isn’t over.
I’ll be back one day.
It might not be tomorrow, or even next year, but I will be back, and I will take what’s mine.
Lauren included.
Chapter One
Present…
“You can leave now,” I bark, sitting on the edge of my bed with my head in my hands. I wonder once again why I thought this was a good idea. Sex and alcohol have been the only things that help me forget. Even if it’s just for an hour, or a night, the reprieve from my memories is worth it.
Only now, ever since receiving that phone call, nothing takes away the images of my old life running through my mind like a fucking movie.
“You know, you really are a fucking arsehole,” the redhead says, snatching up her clothes from my bedroom floor and angrily pulling them on.
“I’m aware.”
“I’m sure I could make it better, whatever it is,” she purrs, sounding like a desperate slut. “I could release all that tension.”
“Get. The. Fuck. Out.” Normally I wouldn’t be able to refuse an offer like that. I’ve used woman after woman in my attempt to forget, but none of them have even come close toher.None of them soothe the ache or the hole in my heart that’s only been getting worse as the years have passed. Everyone around me might buy my act, but it’s getting harder and harder to hide the real me.
I left the house that night with nothing but the clothes on my back, my wallet, and my phone. I had no idea where I was going to go or what I was going to do. With the amount of money sitting in my bank account, the world was my oyster. It’s such a shame that the only place I wanted to be was the one place I couldn’t stay.
I walked away, leaving my heart and soul behind, but I knew I didn’t have a choice. The most important thing to me was to protect the two most important people in my life. My happiness was something I could easily trade for theirs.
I walked to the closest train station and got on the first one that arrived at the platform, not giving two fucks as to where it was going. I just knew that I needed to get away. I needed to be as far away as possible by the time she realised I’d gone. I knew that if I was too close then the temptation to reach out to her would be too strong, but I couldn’t risk putting her future in jeopardy like that.
My heart was already in pieces. I couldn’t cope with seeing what my leaving was going to do to her. I truly believed that they’d be better off without me. It wasn’t our time. I just had to hope that one day we’d have more luck.
That hope hung around for maybe a year at best. I found myself a new life and I was only living a lie to believe that we were meant to be. She’d have moved on. She’d be excelling at uni and making strides towards taking over the business that should have been mine. The thought of her moving on with someone else still makes my heart ache. It’s been six years. She could be married with a couple of kids by now, but I can’t shift the idea that it should be me. I should be the one she makes a future with.
I don’t regret anything.
If I had my time again, I’m pretty sure I’d have done everything the same. I fell hard and fast for Lauren, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything in the world.
“Fucking hell.” Pulling on a clean pair of boxers, I go in search of something to help squash the memories. Kristy…Kirsty…Kristal…whatever the hell her name is sure isn’t helping, so I go for the next best thing.
Whiskey.
