Fakemates

Chapter Ten

Dean

How fucking dare he call her a bitch? I should've killed him right then and there for daring to speak to her like that. I didn't believe in violence.

I never have, but fuck, I wanted to shove the knife on the table in his neck and watch the blood spill out of him.

I settled for a quick fist to the face, and even that felt like it wasn't enough. I left him the bill and dared him to fucking do or say anything about tonight.

As long as I was breathing, no fucking man or woman would ever disrespect Evelyn. I'd fight every person on this earth that tried. I couldn't show her I cared because I didn't want to lead her on.

I didn't want her to think that I protected and defended her honor, so I had to fucking make a big show about money. As if I fucking cared about money.

Evelyn was worth more than any contract I could sign, any branch I could open up, and any check I could cash. Evelyn is everything to me. She hasn't always been, but she'll always be.

I had to cool off after our argument in the car. I headed straight home to work out this anger inside of me. I was running so fast and hard on the treadmill, that the sweat dripping down my body was blinding me.

I had to slow down the machine to rub it out of my eyes. My breathing was labored, and my heart was pounding, and it didn't matter how fast I ran or how much I worked out my tension.

I knew I had upset Evelyn. I knew she was mad at me. I hated, fucking hated, knowing she was upset with me. I hated knowing she left disappointed in me because she thought I didn't do anything.

She probably thinks I'm going to snitch to Nick because of her mistake. It wasn't even a fucking mistake.

I was happy that she spoke out against him. I liked hearing her defend my achievements and my charity event. It filled me with pride and joy hearing her response to his rude and unfiltered question.

I was glad she didn't let him speak to her like that. I hated that I didn't let her dump her wine glass over his head. That fucker. I had half a mind to go to his house and hit him again.

I turned off the treadmill and wiped my face with the towel. I sat down on the nearest chair and tried to calm my breathing and erratic heartbeat.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket, expecting to see messages from Evelyn, but sadly there was nothing.

Maybe I should text her? I opened up our messages, and my thumbs ghosted over the screen. How do I apologize without apologizing? How do I tell her I knocked that fucker out without actually telling her?

I'm sorry.

I fucked up.

I miss you, baby.

I put my phone away, deciding on just leaving her alone, and headed out of my gym and upstairs to my bedroom. I showered, taking my time thinking about what happened at dinner. I couldn't get her face out of my head.

Evelyn was always happy, so full of light and joy, yet she always seemed to be getting hurt when she was with me. I've hurt her more times than I could count.

Why the fuck would I choose to blackmail her? And why is it every time I saw her, I didn't know how to act?

I never knew how to watch my mouth around her. I hated the whole situation we were in, even though I forced her into it. A fucking contract. What the fuck was I thinking?

No one treats the woman they like how I treated Evelyn. Unfairly, horribly, unjust. That's not how it works, yet I was a fucking moron.

Too afraid and cowardly to tell her I actually liked her, so, of course, I found some shit loophole and shoved her into it. I couldn't just ask her out like a fucking normal person because I knew she'd say no.