Chapter 184: D.H On My Ass

HOLLY’S POV

I grinned.

Like a Cheshire Cat. Then I whispered, “I have a tattoo.”

Silence.

Then—“No. Where?”

“On my butt.”

She screamed.

“What does it say?!”

I buried my face in my hands. “It’s not words. It’s initials.”

She gasped. “Whose initials?!”

I peeked through my fingers, giving her a dramatic glare. “David’s.”

Kayla shrieked again, sliding off the couch like she’d just been told I committed tax fraud. “YOU GOT DAVID’S INITIALS INKED ON YOUR ASS?!”

I nodded with the seriousness of a war general. “D.H. Right there. So when we finally do it—and trust me, it’s going to be life-ruining sex—he’ll see it and know. That I’ve always belonged to him. That I willed myself to him. Spiritually. Emotionally. Anally.”

Kayla choked so hard I thought she’d die.

“Hol—Hols! That is not romantic. That’s mental illness with a receipt!”

“I call it loyalty,” I said, flipping my hair.

“You need therapy.”

“You were my therapy!”

We collapsed into each other again, wheezing, giggling, arms tangled in that messy, sisterly way we always did. For a second, it felt like the world outside didn’t exist.

“I hated myself after you left,” I admitted. “I thought maybe you hated me. I blamed myself. And then… I hated you for leaving. But I didn’t know my best friend was going through hell. And I wasn’t there.”

Kayla wiped her face, smiling through the tears. “It’s fine. It’s all my fault. I wanted to come back… to call you. But I never had the guts.”

I gripped her hands. “And now… you found me again.”

She laughed. “No, you came to me, you weirdo. You found me.”

Silence settled.

A warm one.

Safe.

Then… I had to ask.

“Kay?” I said carefully. “What about Caden’s father? Is he someone I know? Or used to know?”

She hesitated.

Then nodded.

“Who?” I whispered.

“Caleb,” she said.

My heart dropped.

“Caleb Donovan?” My jaw unhinged. “That Caleb?! The one who sent you love letters written in Shakespearean English?!”

“The one and only,” she said bitterly.

“Okay, so where is he? Did he travel or—”

She let out a cold laugh. “Hols, he denied me. His mother flew him abroad and told me never to contact them again.”

My insides twisted like I’d swallowed barbed wire. “Caleb would do that to you? After everything he said and did to get you to date him?!”

Kayla gave me a look. “It’s a man’s world, Hols.”

Rage ignited in my gut. “He better hope I never lay eyes on him again. Because when I do? His dick is going bye-bye.”

She burst out laughing—a broken, gut-wrenching sound that made my chest ache.

I pulled her into another hug.

“I’m going to find that bastard, Kay. And I’ll feed him his dick.”

She snorted into my hoodie. “So dramatic.”

“So I have a son now too?” I asked, eyes lighting up.

“Yes.” She chuckled. “Yes, you do.”

I jumped up. “I’m going to spoil him rotten. Take him out for ice cream. Buy him a mini dinosaur empire. Kayla, you rest. You’ve done enough for three years. It’s time for Second Mommy to take over.”

We giggled again, both sipping cocoa like it was sacred wine.

And then, silence.

A peaceful one.

Just two best friends. Two survivors.

Kayla turned to me with an arched brow. “So… what were you doing outside a hotel with that guy? And why the hell are you in Chile?”

I took a deep breath.

And grinned.

“So. You know David? The only man I’ve ever and will ever love?”

She groaned loudly. “Nooo. Hols, can’t we just drop that delusion?”

“Oh no, mamacita, we can’t,” I said, voice sparkling with danger. “Because I found him. He’s here. In Chile. And that guy earlier? That’s his younger brother.”

Her eyes bulged. “Okay?! So what’s your plan now? You left school, ran away from home—obviously without telling Ava—and now you’ve met David. What’s next?”

I looked at her. Grinned like a wolf in lipstick.

“What else?” I purred. “I’m going to seduce him.”

She blinked. “That’s it?”

I leaned back, eyes glowing with mischief.

“Oh no,” I whispered. “That’s just the start.”

Because when I’m done with David Hunt?

He won’t know what hit him.

And he won’t be able to walk straight for weeks.

Kayla blinked. “That’s just the start of what, exactly?”

I took a long sip of cocoa, smirked over the rim like I was plotting arson.

“Well,” I said, setting the mug down gently. “First, I’m going to fix him.”

Kayla raised a brow. “Fix him? Babe, this isn’t a pet adoption agency.”

“I know,” I drawled. “But David Hunt is broken in all the best ways. Like—‘emotionally unavailable, jawline that could cut glass, probably cries during thunderstorms but only in secret’ broken.”

“God.” She snorted. “You’re obsessed.”

“No. I’m dedicated.” I gave her a mock-serious look. “He’s really broken, Kay. Sleeping with models. Sleeping with tons of women that he doesn’t even know their names. I’m telling you… he’s a whore now.”

She choked on her marshmallow. “What?!”

“A certified international whore,” I nodded solemnly. “Spreading his devilish smile and emotional trauma like confetti. But don’t worry. I have a plan.”

Kayla leaned in, eyes gleaming. “Okay, I’m scared. But tell me.”

I cracked my knuckles like a villain in an indie teen drama.

“Operation: Derail David’s Whore Era.”

Kayla snorted. “Catchy.”

“Step One: Install spy apps on every woman’s phone who comes within a ten-foot radius of his jawline.”

“Illegal.”

“Step Two: Become best friends with his exes. Gaslight them into celibacy.”

“HOLLY!”

“Step Three,” I whispered dramatically, “sabotage all his dates. I’ll call every restaurant in town nd bribe them to mess up his orders. Gluten in everything. Mayonnaise on the side.”

She cackled. “You’re going to kill him with a mild allergy.”

“Exactly. If he doesn’t die from the food, he’ll choke on the awkwardness. Picture it—he orders wine, and they bring him apple juice in a baby bottle.”

“God, you’re deranged.”

“Oh, I’m not done.”

I leaned closer.

“Step Four: start sending anonymous gifts to every girl he’s seeing. Voodoo dolls. Dead roses. Condoms filled with glitter.”

Kayla was wheezing.

“Imagine him walking into a hotel room, and BAM—‘FROM HIS SOULMATE, H.’ in blood-red ink on the mirror. Just enough psycho to scare off the dick suckers, not enough to get me arrested.”

“You’re so mentally unstable, it’s almost inspirational.”

I grinned proudly. “Thank you.”

Kayla wiped her eyes. “So what’s Step Five? You show up in a wedding dress and propose in front of a live studio audience?”

I paused.

“…Actually?”

She threw a pillow at me.

I caught it and hugged it to my chest.

“But seriously,” I added, softer now, “I’m not going to sabotage him too much. I just… I want to get close. See who he is now. And remind him who I was. Who I still am.”

Kayla looked at me. “And who’s that?”

I smiled.

“The girl who never forgot him. And the woman who’s not afraid to set things on fire if he doesn’t choose me.”

A beat of silence.

Then Kayla lifted her mug.

“To setting things on fire.”

I clinked mine against hers. “And destroying his whore phase.”

We took long sips.

Then she asked, “So, when are you actually going to talk to him again?”

I looked out the window, grinning like a villainess waiting for her cue.

“Soon,” I whispered. “Very soon.”

Because what David Hunt didn’t know?

Was that his chaos had nothing on mine.