Chapter 70: CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

Alexis POV

I was staying in a crappy hotel room.

I had to leave.

We both needed the space.

I was still feeling some major guilt over the whole Cassie, Alex and Jericho situation.

I know I wasn’t entirely to blame but I still had guilt, nonetheless.

I lay down pondering the things I could have done differently.

But am disturbed by the uncomfortableness of this bed.

Jeez, you’d think paying top dollar for a room they wouldn’t cheap out on the mattresses.

Nothing to be done now about it, this was my choice.

I gave up my bed to save my friendship.

Easy call to make when you think about it really.

I loved that girl way too much to even give it a second’s thought.

She was hurting and I was partly the cause.

I just needed to give her time and hopefully she will forgive me and trust me again.

Who was I to think I could meddle in her love life.

She was a big girl.

She could make those decisions on her own.

I just wanted to give her a little nudge.

That was before I knew about Alex being a nasty pervert.

God…

What was wrong with me.

I’m usually so good at judging someone’s character.

But that…

That was something I could have ever seen coming.

As I lay back on my uncomfortable hotel mattress, I start to punish myself more and more.

Jericho POV

As I delve into the story about how things with Sarah were not as they seemed I watch as Cassandra sits and makes herself more comfortable ready to commit completely to the story I was about to tell.

“Well, you know the jist of it, but what Alex failed to mention was Alex and I weren’t the only ones on Sarah’s hook.”

Her eyes widened in shock.

“What do you mean.”

She asked ever so inquisitively.

“I mean…”

I said with a grin.

“That there was another guy who had Sarah’s attention.”

She was pondering this for a moment.

“Please understand Cassandra we were kids at the time and Sarah was a beautiful girl.”

She frowned after I said that last part.

I clear my throat.

“Anyway, little did me and Alex know that she was entertaining this other guy, but we also found out that he was someone we knew.”

Cassandra moves closer.

She’s more invested now.

The tale I’m spinning has her glued like a fly caught in a web.

“Who was he?”

The grin I have on my face widens.

“Ah, so many questions Miss Knox.”

I chuckle.

“Just tell me Jericho.”

I start to laugh.

“Ok, ok his name was Greg.”

“He grew up with us in the Hamptons.”

“He was just like us.”

“Rich, parents away all the time.”

“You know the usual.”

She rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, because that’s just normal.”

“Everyone has those kinds of problems.”

She laughs.

I could listen to her all day.

That laugh was the sweetest thing I had ever heard.

I wanted to hear it for the rest of my life.

If she would let me.

“So, how did you find out.”

Little miss eager.

“Well, if you can believe it, he told us.”

Again, shock all over her face.

“What.”

“Why would he tell you something like that?”

“I don’t think it was intentual Cassandra.”

“Let me give you the context.”

“We were drinking.”

“It was one of those times where both our parents were away, so we thought fuck it let’s get trashed.”

She gives me a look.

I shrug.

“Like I said we were kids.”

She smiles.

“So, this Greg just blurted out he was sleeping with yours and Alex’s girl.”

“Not exactly.”

I get up from the table and start to pace.

“Ok, then how exactly do you tell the two people who manage to be brothers and who are also with the same girl tell you that their also with the same girl?”

“God, that was a mouthful.”

She laughs.

“Well believe it or not it involved a game of truth or dare.”

Now she starts howling.

“I thought only girls played that game.”

“You’d be surprised what boys do when you girls aren’t around.”

I confess.

“Anyway, without me jeopardising too much of my man hood as you know you ask the person truth or dare and Greg the dick chose truth little did, he know Alex was going to ask him the question that led to his confession.”

“So, really it was Alex who managed to get the truth.”

I frown.

“Unknowingly, yes I guess you could say that.”

“Poor Greg didn’t know what was going on when we both nearly knocked him out.”

“After we explained the situation to him, he was absolutely livid.”

“He was so hurt as well.”

“You could see he truly felt for her, I felt sorry for the guy.”

“So, all three of you were seeing Sarah?”

“What did you do when you found out?”

“Did you at least confront her?”

I stand behind the chair I was sitting in and lean on it.

“Well, I just stopped seeing her and went back to school.”

“I think Alex and Greg came to some kind of agreement.”

“But that wasn’t my kind of thing.”

“When I fall in love, I want it to be with someone who’s mine and only mine.”

I look up at her just so she knows I mean her.

“Ok, so you stopped seeing Sarah?”

“So, why does Alex hate you so much?”

I move from the back of the chair and sit back down in it.

“Because he seems to think our parents loved me more than him.”

“Which is complete nonsense.”

“I just think I made them prouder because I took over the family business.”

“Alex was more of the rebellious type.”

“Didn’t want anything to do with the family business, he always wanted to be a builder.”

“And now he owns his own construction company.”

“So, I guess it all worked out.”

She’s processing all of the information I’ve just given her.

“Did you always want to be in the publishing world?”

“I mean, what did you want to do before taking over the family business?”

“You must have had dreams of your own?”

She really wanted to know about me.

And my life.

“I actually wanted to be a doctor believe it or not.”

“I wanted to help people.”

“Even studied pre med.”

“What changed?”

She asked ever so gently.

Afraid I might break.

“Obligations Cassandra.”

“I knew that Alex wouldn’t take over from my father, so I had to let go of my dreams and let Alex chase his.”

Thinking back, I realise that I had a choice.

I didn’t have to take over the business if I didn’t want too.

Reliving the past makes you rethink the decisions you made.

And it also makes you thankful for the ones you did make.

As I sit here opposite the most beautiful woman I have ever met.

For once, I am more than happy for the decisions I made.