Page 90 of My Bully's Crush: Vol1

For years I was in control; everything was going my way.I don’t even remember when it all started to go left.I vaguely recall that it had something to do with Mary and her bitch daughters, who I hate more and more each day.

Ever since things started going downhill, they have been trying to distance themselves from me in public, but they forget that I know some not-so-very nice things about them, so if they think they’re going to leave me holding the bag on this, they’ve got another thing coming.

I was so flustered I hung up the phone in the middle of our conversation.My only worry was whether or not Ryder had seen this latest scandal.It was only lately that I’d lost complete control of his social media to the point that he’d changed his passwords on everything, and I couldn’t even guess what they were any longer.

That’s a good thing; I suppose since the old ones had been her birthday or something to do with their time together.It had galled me to no end each time I had to use it, but the pleasure of using his platforms to drag her more than made up for it.Making the world think that he hated her that much had given me hours of pleasure.

But now he’d found some of what I’d done, not all, thankfully not even the worst of it, but it was enough to make him change everything.Why would he do that if he didn’t still care?Not that I didn’t know that, but it was like a slap in the face for him to make it so obvious.

And what fucking disease are they talking about?I started to panic at the thought that I might have caught something, but we’d used protection, except for that one time, but nothing had come of that surely; it was only the once.

My phone buzzed in my hand, and I was ready to chuck it, but this would be my third or fourth in a couple of months, and the last thing I needed was the hassle of having to buy a new one.

‘Did you like your flowers?We know you like the smell.You might want to go to the doctor soon.Your face is about to fall off.’What?I looked across the room at the bouquet that had arrived early this morning.I’d been so surprised and pleasantly pleased thinking that Ryder had been the one to send them even though there was no card attached.

The fact that one of his watchdogs had brought them to me convinced me that they were from him.I ran from the room in search of the man who’d brought them to me just as my cheeks started to burn.

I changed course and headed to my bedroom and a mirror, and what I saw made my blood run cold.My screams were loud and air-splitting, but no one came to my rescue as I fell to the floor in pain and shock.Not my face; what’s Ryder going to think?

I rolled around on the floor, tearing at the burning, itching flesh on my cheeks, wondering why this was happening to me.Why had my life come to this?Is it so wrong to want to be loved by the man I’d fallen in love with even before I knew what love was?

Was it so bad that I wanted him even though he belonged to someone else?Shouldn’t the true love I felt for him mean more than anything else in the world?I screamed until I lost my voice, and the pain in my face only grew worse.

Like a moth to a flame, I couldn’t resist taking another look at the horror that my skin had become.Red ugly blotches formed around the peeling skin of my cheeks as my eyes grew puffier even as I looked at myself.As I looked closer, I saw that it was even worse, as something like boils started to form in the midst of the blotches.

Who had sent me those flowers?Did I really have to ask?The text made it obvious that this unknown MengeLiNi person was behind the attack, and for the first time since they started, I felt real fear.

Chapter 50

*Ryder*

As expected, she wasn’t handling the news of Rachel’s betrayal very well.I held her through her crying jag, which broke my heart into pieces, and then I had a hard time getting her to calm down and not do anything rash once the tears were over.

She wanted to confront the other woman as soon as she returned in a day or two, but I had something better up my sleeve, something I was hoping she’d agree to not only for her sake but for my own peace of mind as well.

Since I couldn’t stay here with her just yet, there was no way I wanted her here alone, so when she took a trip to the bathroom to wash her face, I made a quick call to the guys with my suggestion.Since we didn’t have a lot of time before she got back, I didn’t exactly get an answer from them, not that I needed one in this situation.

As long as it was about her safety, I wasn’t about to take any chances, and I was almost certain they’d see things my way.So I waited for her return to put my plan into action and hoped for the best, meaning I hoped I didn’t have to overpower her so soon after we’d mended things, which, knowing how stubborn she is, could be an issue.

I broached the subject as delicately as I could without giving too much away, knowing that if she knew the whole truth of what I was asking, she’d deny me.But this was the best course of action for her safety, so I was willing to face her considerable wrath.

“You want me to just disappear?”

“Not really, no, just tell them you’re taking some downtime.You’ve done it before, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.”

“And where pray tell will I be going?I don’t really feel like traveling, and besides, I have to be back in New York in a week or so.”

I’d almost forgotten that filming for her new series was about to start back again soon.“That’s fine, I just want you away from her for the time being, and since she doesn’t travel there with you, it should be okay.One more thing, I want to make sure that place is secure as well.Will you let me?”I plan to ask Tyler and Zak about seeing about that since they seemed more capable than anyone I could hire on my own.

“I have my own security team there.”

“I know that, but I would feel better if you let me take care of it.”I didn’t tell her that I didn’t trust anyone anymore because I didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was.If I could keep her with me from now on, that would be best, but I get the feeling that what I’m about to hear isn’t going to make that easy.

I’ve suspected for a long time that I was being used as a front, and I think I’m about to find out what for.And even without knowing what it is, I don’t want her anywhere near it.New York would be perfect except for the fact that I’ll still be here, but at least I’d know that she was away from whatever was about to go down.

I wouldn’t put it past Mary and the others to follow her there or have her followed because I’m unsure if her part in all this is over yet.From what I’ve seen so far, they have their hands full covering their own ass, plus there was already tons of speculation about their part in our breakup and my sham of a marriage, so all eyes were on them.

I doubt they’re dumb enough to pull anything with all that heat on them, but nevertheless, I won’t be taking anything by chance; that’s why I’ll be asking the guys to have something done to ensure she’s safe while in New York.