All Chapters of Secret Marriage To My Brother's Best friend : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Kaleigh's gaze is sympathetic as she gestures towards the door. "You know, once you step out there, the sharks will be circling," she says."I know. I have a plan." I swallow hard, feeling like I can't breathe. "I just need to get through the next hour or so."Understanding flickers in Kaleigh's eyes. "Cora, I'll be sorry to see you go. I can leave early and spend the day with you if you don't want to be alone."Tears well up, and I manage a weak smile. "I'd really appreciate that."Kaleigh nods, standing up. "You go deal with whatever you need to, and I'll get ready to leave for the day.""Thank you for not hating me for keeping this from you. I promise the way everything was written is not the way anything happened at all."Kaleigh gives me a reassuring smile as I grab my bag and head for the door. "I know it isn't. When you're ready, you can tell me as much or as little as you want.""Thank you, Kaleigh."Leaving her office, I head straight for Griffin's, feeling the weight of whis

If she thinks there's even a chance we could make this work, she'll fight like hell. It’s what she does for the people she loves. I’ve seen it time and time again. I don’t deserve that kind of love. “I said we needed a wake-up call. We’ve been living in a bubble for too long, and it was bound to break sooner or later.” She barks out a sharp laugh. “Yeah. If it makes you feel better, my mom calls me and asks if I’m okay. I feel so guilty for hiding everything from her. She finds out that I’ve been lying for months, and she still calls to ask if I’m okay.” My stomach ties itself into tight knots. “We never should have let things go this far.” “You think?” Cora scoffs and shakes her head. “Say whatever it is you keep dancing around, Griff. I’m a grown-up. I can handle it.” I don’t know if I can handle saying it. All I want to do is cross the room and convince us everything will be okay. But it’s never going to be okay... Not when I can’t protect her from my family’s toxici

When we arrive, Kaleigh sits at a table with a cheese pizza and a couple of beers in front of her. She grins and raises her beer to me. “It’s nice to see that you’re returning to the land of the living. We’ve missed you.” “I make no promises to stay here long.” I slide onto the bench seat beside her and reach for one of the other beers. Kaleigh smiles and takes a sip of her beer. “That’s understandable. All of this seemed to come out of nowhere.” Sophie sits down across from us and snags a slice of pizza. “That’s because he is an idiot with too much money who’s used to buying his way out of any hard situation in life. Now that he can’t, he is running away like a scared child.” “I don’t think that’s all of it.” I grab a slice of pizza and take a bite. Children laugh and race by our table, heading for the rows and rows of games. Loud music pounds through the building, making it nearly impossible to hear anyone more than a few feet away. Kaleigh shrugs, her expression though

"That's not the point, Griffin." Jake rubs his temples. "She loves you, damn it. You married her, you started a life together, and now you're just ending it like it's nothing?"I slam the mug down on the counter, some of the steamy coffee sloshing over the side and onto the back of my hand. “For fuck’s sake.”Pain blooms as I spin and cram my hand under the tap, turning on the water and letting it run until the sting subsides. I wrap my hand up in a towel before cleaning the spilled mess.When I’m done, I look at Jake, tightness spreading in my chest. “Do you really think that leaving Cora was easy?”“You sure make it seem that way.”I sigh. “No. It’s not. It’s hard as hell, and I feel like I’m climbing a mountain with the weight of the world strapped to my back every fucking day.”Jake’s brow furrows, the lines on his face deepening. “None of this is making any sense. Your relationship got leaked to the media, so what? Nobody cares.”I bite my cheek, trying to figure out how much he

Gloria’s deep burgundy lips curl as she turns to face her son. “Really, if you must lower your standards, at least find someone decent.”“Enough!” Griffin’s voice is louder than I’ve ever heard, his gaze blazing with rage. “I told you to leave my house, and I meant it. I won’t have you here, and I won’t be part of your lives anymore. I’m done living a puppet life!”Gloria crosses her arms, cocking a hip to the side. “Griffin—you’re going to regret this.”Griffin gives a bitter laugh. “No, I don’t think so. It’s what I should’ve done the moment I became an adult, and I definitely should’ve done the moment I found out you two were behind leaking the story about Cora.”My blood boils as I glare at his parents.How can his parents hurt him so much?Griffin looks at me with an expression I can’t quite read before brushing by all of us and holding the door open wide. “Mom and Dad, you can both leave now. I’m done with this conversation.”Rick shakes his head, his face turning a deeper shade