Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
I stumble away from the counter, my chest tightening with despair.
Make your choice before it’s too late, Riley.
Her words echo in my ears.
… before it’s too late…
I numbly walk out of Caroline’s shop. Standing outside, in the cold winter air, I take out my phone and call him.
He answers on the first ring. “Riley,” he breathes, and I hear the relief in his voice.
“Grayson.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Colton— 21 years old
I’m pissed.
And more bitter than I’ve ever been in my life.
How dares he come back and act like everything is still the same? He broke her heart and left me to pick up the pieces, but now he chooses to come back?
When Riley has finally decided to trust me, to give me a chance. To give us a chance. I’ve been waiting for her to see me for the last two years, and now she does.
Riley sees me…
She wants me.
She kissed me. She moaned my name.
Grayson is the reason it has taken Riley this long to come to me, to trust me. And now he decides to fucking come back and ask for another chance.
No, fuck that.
He’s lucky to be Riley’s first love, he stole her heart first and he got his chance to make it right— but he ruined it.
This is supposed to be my chance now. It’s not fucking fair that I have to share it with him. Grayson thinks he still owns Riley’s heart— that she still loves him.
And the most distressing part about this… is that I think he’s right.
She’s angry at him, but deep inside? Riley’s heart is still soft for Grayson.
Two weeks ago, Riley and I flew back to Boston together. Since Lila and Maddox are back in Manhattan, I moved into Maddox’s apartment for the time being. To be closer with Riley. I made that move before the Christmas gala.
After our conversation on the ferris wheel, I thought something changed between us. It had changed. The dynamics of our relationship, or whatever we had between us.
Riley had finally acknowledged the chemistry between us and our affections for each other— she had been willing to give us a chance.
But that was before Grayson came back.
That was before Grayson asked her for another chance.
Riley has been avoiding me since that night. She can’t even look me in the eyes now. She’s quiet and stays in her apartment, spending the time alone with her own thoughts. And that’s dangerous. Because she’s overthinking.
That means she’s analyzing all the pros and cons of our relationship. She’s probably thinking of all the ways I could break her heart. After all, that’s her greatest fear.
I can’t even convince her anymore. There’s nothing left for me to prove. Because I’ve already given her all of me. What more can I possibly do to make her choose me?
Yesterday, when we ate dinner together, she kept glancing at me with a gut-wrenching guilt on her face. And I found it sickening. That expression…
And the confusion in her eyes.
Why is she guilty?
Is she guilty because she’s already made up her mind… and I’m not her choice. Is she guilty because she has decided to go back on her words?
She gave me hope— that there could be an us. On the ferris wheel, Riley talked about changing the status of whatever relationship we had now.
Friends with benefits, to test our feelings.
But everything is jaded now.
I raise my fist, to knock on her door. Except, I don’t have to because she’s opening it. Riley’s head snaps up at the sight of me standing in front of her. She blinks, shocked.
Riley is dressed warmly from head to toes.
“You’re going out?” I ask roughly.
She swallows uncomfortably and then gives me a small nod. Riley meets my eyes for one heartbreaking second before her gaze flickers away.
Thud. My lungs squeeze painfully.
There are dark circles under her eyes, almost like she has slept all night. Her face is slightly pale, looking a little sickly.
“Do you have a fever?” I ask, frowning. Concerned, I reach out and touch her forehead. But she’s cool and her skin is clammy. “Do you really need to go out? You look a little faint.”
She clears her throat, her pink lips parting as if she’s about to speak but the ringing of her causes her to pause. Her jaw snaps close as she brings it up, checking the Caller ID.
Riley flinches.
My eyes flicker to her phone screen and I see Grayson’s name on it.
My heart slams into my throat. “You’re going to see him?” Pain slashes across her face, and I have my answer. Searing agony racks through my body. “Why?” I ask, hoarsely.
Remorse fills her eyes, and she bites hard on her lower lip, almost like she’s trying to hold in a despairing cry. Riley is grieving and I don’t even know for whom.
Every breath I take is downright excruciating.