Page 69 of Discord
His fists flexed. “I should have remembered who your father was before inviting you into my home.”
* * *
Mia
I gasped. Milo’s acid words burnt through my chest.
Brandon tensed next to me, jaw ticking. His walls were up, though his grip on my hand remained firm. Brandon had no intention of letting go, nor would I let go at this moment.
“Get out of my house,” Milo delivered the final blow.
A lump formed in my throat as I stared in disbelief.
Milo’s eyes softened when he caught my reaction. He stepped toward me but raised an index finger to point at Brandon. “I meant him.”
I wouldn’t have life inside me if it weren’t for this manin frontof me. My parents practically abandoned me, and he took over even though it wasn’t his responsibility. He raised me. Held me. Comforted me. My past consisted of Milo taking care of me.
However, without the other mannextto me, there was no future because all roads led back to Brandon. I wanted Milo and Raven to be a part of my life, but I had no more fight left in me to regress. There was no moving on from a love like ours, and I was utterly exhausted from denying that truth and from hiding. I wanted the world to know we belonged together.
So, I hoped Milo understood my decision. “We come as a package deal. If you’re kicking him out, then you’re kicking me out as well.”
“Mia,” Raven interjected swiftly. “Of course we’re not kicking you out.”
Yet, she didn’t add an implication that they wouldn’t throw Brandon out.
“Wewill be back when you’re ready to invite both of us into your home.”
Tears stung her eyes. “Mia, please don’t leave,” Raven said gently.
“I’m sorry it had to be this way.”
Milo stayed quiet, studying us intently.
I withdrew from the room, fingers interlaced with Brandon’s. He didn’t appear phased when I paused at the foyer. I contemplated going to my room to pack my stuff or at least retrieve a particular item.
On second thought, it might be best if I didn’t.
At some point, Raven would go to my room. She’d poke through my stuff to understand how she missed the signs of my ongoing relationship with Brandon. If she stumbled upon the item unsolicited, it’d be better than anything I could verbalize to explain my relationship to her.
Turning around, I walked out of the door with Brandon by my side.
Brandon
"I can’t believehe is doing this,” Mia groaned. She paced in front of the couch, nervously toiling with the hem of her shirt. She’d probably stretch it out, but now wasn’t the time to mention it.
I reached out to grab her by the waist and pulled her to my lap. “It’s fine,” I assured her, kissing her temple.
She covered her face with both hands, shaking her head. “It’s not. He is destroying you.”
“Baby,” I pulled her hands down, “we knew this was going to happen. We prepared for it.”
The last few weeks had been challenging. After the revelation at Milo’s apartment, he had gone on a rampage. Whatever retaliation we expected, it was worse.
As his first line of offense, Milo tried to sever my ties with our business contacts. However, I expected this attack. Before disclosing our relationship to Milo and Raven, I had fortified my shields by preliminarily reaching out to our mutual contacts.
Next, he insisted that Jaci and Alexa—who were already privy to the situation—back him in kicking me out of the company. With their help, I found a way to change the bylaws of our company. A majority owner could no longer kick out another partner.
Next, Milo froze my access to the company software. Mia and I made duplicates of all essential files and documents prior to the interception.
