The phone might still be working, but the screen was cracked. He frowned, clicking on the envelope.

We really need to talk. Can I come over tonight? Can’t end it like this.

End? Was she serious? He reread the confusing text again. He’d known this would be an issue, one that might take him days to get over, but she was talking about ending things over this?

He didn’t even realize he’d brought his hand to rest over his chest until he felt the pounding heart against it. He almost hit the dial button to call her when another text came through.

I just want the truth, the whole truth. I can handle it. I promise.

Because what he’d told her wasn’t the whole truth? He started to respond, but he was so pissed he had to retype some of the words because like her first text they were all over the place.

Sounds like you already know the truth, or you wouldn’t be promising to be able to handle it. Have Alex tell you the WHOLE truth. Why the f**k do you need to hear it from me if you’ve already made up your mind whose side you’re taking?

He almost kept typing everything he wanted to say to her: how stupid he felt for thinking she’d automatically dismiss all the bullshit for what it was and how disappointed and disgusted he was that she hadn’t. Then he changed his mind and deleted the whole damn thing. He wouldn’t give her the pleasure of knowing what this was doing to him.

His dad’s words about the sacredness of his deep emotions came to him out of nowhere, straightening him out and pulling his head out of his lovesick ass.

No one has a right to know what you’re feeling deep inside but yourself. Showing it is a sign of weakness.

It would probably be the hardest thing he’d ever do in his life, but he’d been alone long enough. He knew he could do it again.

Don’t come over. I don’t want to see you anymore. Handle this, Ms. Brady. This CAN end like this. It just did.

He sent it then turned off the phone and tossed it on the table, feeling an all-consuming and unbearable ache in his heart. Stopping at the door of his bedroom, he wondered if he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life. For one very weak moment, he considered grabbing his keys and racing to her place to give her what she was asking for—swallow his damn pride and give her his side of the damn story—the whole truth. He could plead his case and beg her to believe him. But he shook his head.

“Never,” he whispered, feeling numb as he continued into his bedroom. “Not even for you, princess.”

~*~

Regina

Each time Regina read the text her heart plummeted even further. She stared at it until her eyes were too blurred with tears to be able to see it clearly anymore. He couldn’t be serious. He was ending things just like this—via a text?

She hit speed dial, feeling completely incensed, ready to tell him off. How dare he? This is how much she meant to him? One argument was all it took for him to just dismiss everything they had?

The call went directly to voicemail, and she grabbed her keys, ready to charge down to his place and face off with him. Then she had a terrifying thought. What if seeing Sofia again after all this time is what had made it so easy for Brandon to dump her just like that? Maybe there was something that ran much deeper between him and Sofia. Maybe there was more to their story than anyone but the two of them knew. It had to be something big for Brandon to be this livid with her, but what?

Putting her keys back down, she scrolled through her phone quickly until she saw Sofia’s name. With a trembling breath, she pulled herself together and hit the dial button before she could change he mind. She paced around her front room, not even sure what she’d say to her, but she had to get to the bottom of this.

“Gina?” Sofia’s voice sounded guarded.

“Yes, Sofia it’s me. Can you talk?”

“Um, yeah, give me a sec.” The line went quiet for a moment then Sofia spoke again.

She asked Regina about her dad and let her know she’d keep him in her thoughts. Regina thanked her then got right to it. “Listen, I spoke with Alex and Valerie tonight at my parents’ house. They told me a little bit about the things that happened between you and Brandon before you were married. Brandon had already told me a little also, only I had no idea you were the same Sofia he had mentioned.”

She wanted to make sure Sofia knew Brandon hadn’t left her completely in the dark about this, but it scared her to death to wonder what else he’d left out—what else Sofia might’ve confessed to Sarah about that made her feel so guilty. Regina was fully prepared now to hear they’d slept together—more than once even. What scared her more was the possibility that Sofia was the real reason why Brandon had decided he never wanted another attachment again. Maybe seeing her again reminded him of the fact that she was someone he’d never get over.

“I mentioned it to Brandon when I got home, and he got really upset. I get that he and your brothers didn’t get along, but I don’t understand why he’d get this angry. He stormed out of here and . . .” She decided to leave out the fact that Brandon had just up and dumped her. Regina wouldn’t accept that things were over until she’d at least spoken with him. Trying to keep it together and not break down, she spoke again, but she lowered her voice to a whisper in an effort to keep it from breaking. “He’s just really, really angry, and I’m trying to understand why.”

She heard Sofia inhale deeply. “This is why I was hoping you’d call. First of all, what exactly did Alex tell you?”