Savage Love

Kallie tried calling Ash three separate times before she pulled up her social media.

She guessed he was being that opaque about it.

She scrolled through the contents of her social media life and scoffed at what she saw. Women applauding her for using men the way they’d used women for so many years. Other women debasing her for being the poster child for why men never trusted women. Never leaned on them for anything. And it didn’t take her long to stumble upon pictures of Ash.

Pictures of him with other women.

His arm was around a young, black-haired woman in a short black dress. Thigh-high boots. She was handing him a drink before another picture showed them dancing together. Grinding on each other. She recognized that club. That was the club he had found her at. The club Eris had dragged her to that night.

Despite what she knew was best, she clicked on the article and continued scrolling.

Pictures of him in that place were everywhere. Blond women. Brunettes. Tall and short. Thick and thin. Covered in glitter and completely clothed. All of them up against him. All of them being touched by him. He had a massive smile on his face. He gazed into their eyes as he ground his hips into them. His legs were between theirs and his arm was hanging onto them. He was throwing back drinks and laughing with fervor, surrounded by beautiful women she could never hold a candle to.

Well, he certainly didn’t take much time replacing her.

What an idiot Kallie had been to think otherwise.

What she and Ash shared hadn’t been real. It couldn’t have been if he didn’t trust her. If he couldn't see through James’s bullshit. If it was this easy for him to flee to a club and wrap himself around other women, then he clearly never could have loved her. Never could have enjoyed her the way she thought he would. She felt her heart slide to the floor as it gasped for air. She kept scrolling through the pictures, hoping to find some redeeming quality. Maybe a photo of him walking away with a grimace on his face. Or a frown. Anything to signal to her that it was a ruse. Or fake. Or simply a mistake on his part.

But there was none.

Only smiles and laughter and drinks and beautiful women.

Ash Worthington.

And he wondered why he was a goldmine for gold diggers.

“Knock, knock.”

Eris’s voice pulled her from her trance just before her office door opened.

“I come bearing gifts of food.”

“I’m not hungry,” Kallie said.

“Then I’ll eat it while I sit with you in this very small office you still haven’t upgraded,” she said.

“What are you doing here?” Kallie asked.

“You mean besides coming to comfort you while James lies about your entire existence to the nation?” she asked. “Nothing, I guess.”

“I haven’t heard from you in days.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been a little missing in action lately. But, apparently, Jeremy is more distracting than I originally assumed.”

“The guy from the club? You’re still doing that?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. I’m very much ‘still doing that,’” Eris said. “And he does what he does very well.”

“At least someone’s life is headed in a positive direction.”

“Have you talked to Ash about this?”

Kallie shot her a look.

Eris held her hands up. “Just asking.”

“I did talk with him,” Kallie said. “And it didn’t go well.”

“What? Did he not believe you or something?”

“He didn’t just not believe me. He called me a gold digger. Said James was right. Told me that he didn’t know how in the world he’d fallen for my ruse and then downright told me he didn’t trust me. I showed him our texts, Eris. All we did was call while I was on the island. Three times!”

“Yeah, those messages are bullshit,” Eris said. “I can’t believe he’s getting away with this.”

“I’ve been trying to track down whoever he hired to be the photographer for the wedding, but there’s nothing. That was his job. The photographer and the reception. I was supposed to do the ceremony and coordinate with the musicians,” Kallie said.

“Honestly? With the shit he’s spinning, there’s a good chance he’s paid the photographer or some shit to get rid of the pictures.”