Good Intentions (Welcome to Paradise) (Volume 2) Read Online Free Page A

He’ll be a user, an abuser, and a taker. I’ll be able to walk away with those last images and forget the past and everything I thought we could be.
    His grip tightens, and I see his expression change as reality sets in. I’m slipping away, even if I’m physically right in front of him. “That’s not what I meant, Mal—”
    “I don’t care what you meant! Let’s just do this and then you can send me off with a kiss and fake goodbye and it will be like the last six weeks never happened.”
    “No, it won’t, and I can’t treat you like that. I care about you. Why are you doing this?” Tears fill his eyes as his hand touches my cheek.
    I turn away, not able to watch him fall apart. I’m barely holding on myself. I can’t be strong for both of us. “I saw the text. It was from you,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
    “What text? It’s not real. We’re real, baby. Kelly’s nothing to me. She never meant anything to me and you know that. We—”
    “It can be quick, fast, and meaningless,” I say and look down the path toward the guest house. “We can just go in there and do it how we should have done it the first time.”
    I’m right. I know I am. I saw the text. His silence slices deep as he stares at me. He’s probably having a mental field day trying to psychoanalyze this moment and I’ll let him. Maybe that will make this easier if he feels in control once again.
    This is it. I will finally find out why all of the girls leave crying after being with him. I know it’s not from him ‘making love’ to them. Deep down, I already know why. Like all the ones who came before me, they give, he takes, and nothing more. So this shouldn’t be a difficult decision for him. I’m offering what he wanted all along—no strings attached. I try not to think of the one that clings, connecting my heart to his, as I look at his wary face.
    His hands hold my arms, his fingers flexing around them. Leaning down until he’s eye-level with me, he says, “I didn’t betray you. I wouldn’t! So if you need to leave with Noah to feel better about a misunderstanding, then do it. We’re done here.” His body leaves mine and the balmy wind scrapes across my skin.
    “So you’re done?” This comes out more like I’ve been waiting for it to be over a while now, but I never was. I hoped for more. Our actions and pain have taken over who we were together.
    Two tears slide down his cheeks as he looks back, his pain evident as he releases a deep breath. “If you’re choosing to believe her over me, then yes, Mallory, we’re done.”
    By texting her, his heart and mind betrayed me. His body would’ve followed soon after. We’re done. It doesn’t matter that he said it. We are done. This is better for me in the long run. She only made the inevitable happen sooner. She didn’t have to show me the text. His past speaks for itself. I could see it, the connection they shared, in the way she touched him. She’s in love with him and I can’t ignore the fact that he’s arguing a lost cause. That girl has proof of his betrayal. “I saw it was from your number, Evan. How can you stand here and lie to my face?”
    Noah comes from around a parked Porsche, and says, “I’ve been asked to leave. I don’t know what’s happening here, but I think you should come with me, Mallory. I’ll take you home.”
    “I’ll get my purse.” I turn without hesitation.
    “You can’t leave!” Evan follows me back to the corner of the house and I note his words are contradictory to what he told me minutes earlier. The music and laughter from the party is a quick distraction from my reality as I grab my purse from the table inside, and turn to make a quick exit back out.
    Evan rushes to stop me. “Please. Please don’t go like this. I’m not sure what happened tonight, but I can take you home and we’ll talk.”
    “You said I could leave with him, so I’m doing it.” I step around and rush toward Noah who’s standing by