9

Lo had been extremely worried about her relationship with Ty and how she knew she was selfish for continuing to be with him despite the danger it posed to him. She knew she was supposed to end things with him and cut off all ties before things became even deeper for both of them. She was supposed to cut it off while they could still leave each other with broken hearts that could be put together. Her fear was that if she left Ty now, she would never be the same. There was no way she could taste this sort of happiness and suddenly just throw it away; such action would leave her in shambles.
There was a reason why Lo never stayed with any of the men she slept with, no matter how good the sex was. It was to protect them more than to protect herself. She would hate for anybody to get hurt because she had been stupid. But she must be dumb as fuck right now because she had let these blissful months with Ty drag on continuously.
As her plane touched down, she decided that it was high time she pulled Ty out of the picture that was the horrible reality of her life and let him live a normal life, meet a normal woman who wouldn’t put him in inevitable danger and have children who wouldn’t have to learn to run for their lives. She would do it immediately; before she went home and lost her courage.
On her drive to Ty’s house, her phone dinged and she already had a feeling she knew who was texting her… and he didn’t like to be kept waiting. She pulled over and took her phone from the glove compartment.
L: The boss and I have decided we gave u too much time. You have 2 months.
Her breath caught in her throat. There was no way she was going to be able to get what they wanted in two months, not when she had bills to pay and a job that carried her all over the country. She quickly tapped out a reply.
Lo: That’s not fair. We agreed on a year more.
L: Well, we changed our minds.
Lo knew better than to question any further so she send a quick ‘ok’, sat in her car at the roadside and thought of what to do. She had almost reached her goal but she was also quite far from it. Tears prickled in her eyes but she took a deep breath through her nostrils and held them back. She would not allow them to reduce her to a simpering, weeping female.
Gathering herself together, she continued on her way to Ty’s house. The short conversation over text had just given her more reason to put her bad bitch panties on and cut things off with Ty.
She got to his house and finding the door open, she let herself in. The entire house was now a familiar environment to her and it pained her that after today, she would no longer be welcome here.
She stopped in her tracks when she heard a high pitched squeal from Ty’s room. She was only a few feet away and then she heard it again. She could feel her colour rising and her heart beating. Lo had never even considered Ty cheating on her during the times she was away. It had seemed THAT impossible. She knew he was once a slut but they had both seemed so consumed with and by each other that the idea of him being with another woman seemed ludicrous.
As Lo stood there, those damn tears started to sting again and it took considerably more effort to push them back this time.
The door opened and Ty heard a brisk feminine voice.
“You really should try the dumplings I made, Ty,” the woman was saying, “they’re to die for. If I do say so myself.”
She was even cooking for him?
Ty and his companion came out of the room and saw her. They stopped and looked very shocked but all Lo could see was how beautiful the woman beside Ty was. She was wearing a short robe and there was water splashed on the front of it. She had a remarkable face and the most beautiful green eyes Lo had ever seen. Her legs which could be seen due to the length (or lack thereof) of her robe were long and smooth with no scar to be seen; a direct opposite from Lo’s fat thighs and small feet. Plus, the woman was tall. She was almost the same height as Ty, just a few inches shorter.
Everything about the woman screamed that she was better suited to Ty than Lo was and with those fucking tears in her eyes again, Lo turned and ran.
She fully intended to leave the house, drive away and never see Ty again but her plan was impeded when Ty put his hand around her arm and dragged her to him before she managed to reach her car.
“Leave me alone!” she screeched as she tried desperately to loosen herself from his hold. He had given her an avenue not to even have to explain why she was leaving him and would’ve been relieved if she wasn’t burning inside.
“Lo, stop struggling,” Ty said calmly, “I'm not going to let you go.”
Realizing that he probably wouldn’t, Lo forced herself to stop struggling and stay still, a distinct contrast from the war that was raging within her.
“I didn’t know you were coming today,” Ty started.
Lo snorted, “Clearly.”
Ty ignored her remark, “You think I was cheating on you.”
“I THINK?” Lo exclaimed.
Ty could tell how jealous she was and he took some sick satisfaction in knowing that it hurt her to think he was with another woman just like he wanted to break something at the thought of her with another man. However, he found it absolutely horrible that she thought he was sleeping with his sister.
“Yes, baby,” she bristled at the pet name, “Gem is my sister, not my lover. You’re the only one for me.”
Lo could feel herself calming down but his wet skin on her back reminded her of something, “She was wet. You just came out of the shower.”
“She cooked and came to drag me out of the shower. I rewarded her by giving her a very decent splashing.”
Everything seemed believable to Lo and she calmed down, the raging torrents within her settling. Now that she thought about it, they actually looked alike. They had the same colour of hair and the same eye shape, even if not the same colour. They also shared that same mischievous spark in their eyes that Lo loved even though it infuriated her to no ends.
Now that Lo was calm, Ty turned her around and hugged her tight to himself.
“Baby, I would never betray you. Don’t you know that?”
Yes, Lo thought, but I'm about to betray you.
She enjoyed the warmth of his embrace for a few more blissful moments before stepping away.
“I need a break, Ty,” she said without looking at him.
He blinked once. Twice. Then his face settled into a deep frown she hadn’t ever seen on his face.
“I told you she’s my sister, come meet her,” he said.
“No. It’s not that,” she replied, “I'm terrible for you, Ty.”
“No you’re not,” he defended, trying to gather her in his arms, “you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life.”
“You have to let me go. I'm good for nothing,” with a sob, she realized that streams of salty water were flowing down her cheeks.
Ty felt actual physical pain at the sight of Lo’s tears. She had always seemed unbreakable but here she was, sobbing quietly while breaking up with him. She might have termed it as a ‘break’ but there was a finality in the way she said it and her disposition that made him sense that it would be for good. Her tears tore at him, almost leaving him in shreds. He'd do anything to make them stop.
“I’m never gonna leave you, baby,” he cooed.
“You don’t understand,” she whined, “I have secrets. Things I can’t tell you. Things that’ll ultimately put you in danger.”
Then suddenly, it dawned on him.
“It’s the reason why you’re always hiding your phone, isn’t it?” he asked gravely.
Sniveling, she nodded. There was no point in hiding that fact from him.
“Lo, please tell me what’s going on,” he pleaded, “let me protect you.”
She shook her head immediately. Even he couldn’t protect her from this, no matter how strong and lethal he was. If he tried to protect her, they would go after his family and she was terrified at the idea of having more people in the equation. If it was just her, she didn’t mind. But there was absolutely no way she was going to let another person get hurt in the process, especially not the man she loved.
With that thought, she steeled her resolve and pulled away from him.
“Don’t look for me, Ty,” she said.
And with that, she entered her car and drove off, dragging Ty’s heart along with her.