FORREST
“YOU’RE NOT going to see him, Forrest,” Meadow demanded, pinning me with a pointed stare.
Knowing that my mother was around, I flexed my jaw hard as I tried not to lose my temper.
I didn’t even have any fucking idea why she was here in my penthouse with my mother when I was clear with my order the last time we spoke about Mama’s safety.
“What? Are you just gonna stare at me like that?” Unbelievable!
“No.” I squeezed my eyes shut and dug my teeth against my bottom lip as rage radiated off of me. “Listen to me very carefully, Meadow. You don’t get to decide for me. Not anymore. It’s my life, my decisions, and not yours. We’ve been there once, and you decided to leave me instead. Where were you when I needed you? When I was had some shitty days alone. You don’t know anything about me anymore. People get to change for almost six years, Meadow. Just like you said, you can’t wait for that long.”
Her expression hardened. Determination flickered in her eyes before she blinked it off. “Then, at least listen to your mother. We didn’t travel all the way here just for nothing, did we? She couldn’t even sleep, so worried, thinking that her son is about to do something stupid. Then we just watched you while shagging that woman against the bloody door.”
A hazy red flared behind my eyelids. If I wasn’t sure she didn’t care about me anymore, I would have thought she was jealous. “Don’t!” I barked, pointing at her. “Don’t you ever say that word again?”
Meadow swallowed hard, shrinking a little when I raised my voice. I didn’t give a damn to hide my emotions anymore—I was beyond furious.
“Remember your place, Meadow! You don’t have a say to any woman I slept with. It was your decision, should I remind you about that? You chose to stay in England. And don’t you dare talk about Megan that way because she’s not just any woman to me.”
Shit! I completely forgot about her. I snapped my head toward the door where I left her, only to find it empty. Megan was gone.
“Damn it—” Where the fuck is she? I was on the verge of losing control to punch a wall when I sprinted toward the door. A wave of guilt twisted fiercely in my stomach that slowed my pace.
After I threw the door wide, I lashed her a steely stare. “This is your fault. You shouldn’t have come here. I trusted you that you wouldn’t take my mother anywhere without my permission, but you defied me. You put her life at risk. And you shouldn’t be wearing that fucking ring. I will decide what to do to you when I come back and expect that I won’t be easy on you, Meadow. I am the last person you wanna cross, and you just disrespected me and Megan.”
Fury made me say careless words sometimes, but I meant every word I said. I hoped she received the message clearly. “I wish I could say fancy seeing you.”
A surge of anger and worry crowded in my chest when I got inside the damn lift. What happened tonight was the last thing I ever expected.
I thought I could trust Alan with my plan. He did this lest of killing myself in the process and he used his last card—he knew Mama was my weakness, and the only person I would never cross and hurt.
Then Meadow appeared in the picture. Damn it! She would be the last huge mistake I ever made. I had no plan on repeating it.
I reached the ground floor and made my way towards my car, but there were no signs of Megan anywhere my sight could reach. I could hear the pounding of my heartbeat as I ran toward the security post, believing maybe she was still there, waiting for me.
Morgan approached me immediately when he noticed me in such a hurry. “Good evening, Mr. Wood. How can I help you?”
“It’s already morning. Where is she?” I cut the chase.
“I called a taxi for her, and she left about ten minutes ago.”
I ran my fingers through my hair out of frustration. I completely forgot the world when I saw Mama in my penthouse. Then she was angry and upset with me—the last thing I wanted her to feel. The fact that she flew over here, I knew she was so damn serious to stop me from pursuing my plan.
“Fuck,” I muttered through gritted teeth as I fished out my phone. There was no message from Megan telling me that she went back to her apartment. There was no to be continued or flirty message.
She was mad.
I forced myself to accept the possibility that she was safe in her apartment. So I dialed her number.
“Pick up, Megan.” She didn’t answer.
I dialed again, mentally demanding her to pick up, but it just ended.
I rubbed my face. My chest ached. My world started spinning with so many emotions wanting to burst out. I redialed and pressed the phone against my ear, hoping she was just in the shower, not ignoring me.
Jesus Christ! I shut my eyes closed, blaming myself for getting too carried away with our intense and seemingly infinite connections, for trusting myself that we had a future together.
I was aware Megan wasn’t the type of person who committed to relationships, but that was before we slept together. I broke my rules for her, and she did the same, and it fucking hurt that she still left.
What if it was just a part of her game? No, no, no. Don’t go there, Forrest. I believed people changed. What we had was all real. She liked me. I could feel it—I saw the truth in her eyes.
Fuck! “Megan, please?” I choked.
Deep breathe.
I typed a message, hoping she would see it later.
Megan, answer me, please? I need to know you get back to your apartment safe.
Gut-wrenching terror seeped through me. I sent another text, expecting that it gave her a message that I was worried about.
I’ll call you in the morning. I have to deal with something.
Call me as soon as you read this, okay?
I waited. Minutes passed by, I got no reply, and I was terrified.
WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?