After Boyd Delgado's first love came back to the country, I became the most infamous madwoman in Kingsport.
When Boyd went to the airport to pick her up, I smashed every last one of the dozens of luxury sports cars in his garage.
When Boyd started spending nights away from home for her sake, I torpedoed a billion-dollar deal his company had been brokering.
And when that woman showed up at my door, I decided she'd dirtied my house just by standing in it. So I burned the whole thing to the ground.
But no matter how far I went, Boyd would always kneel before me, crouching down to meet my eyes.
"As long as it makes you happy, anything goes."
Three days later, I received a collection of videos too graphic to describe. Every single one featured Boyd.
I dragged the female lead of those videos, Boyd's precious first love, right to his face.
"Kill her."
Boyd crouched in front of me, his voice still impossibly gentle.
"She's carrying my child. Wait until the baby is born."
"Okay?"
……
I didn't answer him. My gaze drifted past his shoulder to the girl standing behind him.
Gail Walter stood there, timid and trembling, her eyes wide like a startled rabbit.
"Miss Winfield, those videos really weren't sent by me. Please don't misunderstand."
I lowered my gaze, idly toying with the handgun in my grip.
"Boyd. All those promises you made me. Was a single one of them ever true?"
"If you won't pull the trigger, I don't mind doing it myself."
The instant the words left my mouth, I flicked my wrist. The black muzzle swung to point directly at Gail's forehead.
Gail froze. Fat teardrops spilled down her cheeks, and her body began to shake.
Boyd's brow creased. In one swift motion, he closed his hand around my gun.
"Faith Winfield. I said she's pregnant."
"No one will ever replace you. Once she delivers the baby, I'll kill her myself."
His voice softened again.
"Faith, trust me this once. Please?"
That voice, low and coaxing, threaded with something dangerously tender.
Four years together. Boyd knew exactly how to make me cave.
Every time I was upset, all it took was that lilting "please" at the end, and I'd melt into nothing.
I lifted my eyes and glanced at the two of them. Gail stood behind Boyd, her eyes swollen and red.
The way he positioned himself in front of her, shielding her without even realizing it, made my heart sink. And sink again.
I let the tension drain from my wrist and holstered the gun.
"Fine. I won't shoot. But I have one condition."
"Boyd, let me go."
At my first sentence, the relief on his face was visible. His shoulders loosened.
But the moment my second sentence landed, that crease returned between his brows.
"Faith. I've told you before. You belong to me."
"In the past. Now. And whatever comes after."
Gail's pale fingers curled into the hem of Boyd's jacket.
"Miss Winfield, I truly never meant to come between you and Mr. Delgado." Her voice cracked, pitiful and small. "I promise, the moment the baby is born, I'll leave. I won't interfere with what you have."
Boyd let out a quiet sigh.
"Enough, Faith. This one's on me. I wasn't careful. It won't happen again."
"Get some rest. I'm going to take Gail home."
He didn't wait for my answer. Boyd was already walking out with Gail at his side.
The dozen or so men who shadowed him filed out in his wake, and the vast living room fell silent in an instant.
I pulled my shawl tighter around my shoulders and walked to the bed. I stood there, motionless, watching through the window as the group crossed the courtyard and disappeared through the gate.
Boyd, you should know me by now.
You should know that once I say I'm leaving, there's nothing in this world that can make me stay.
