“You sneaky son-of-a-bitch,” I breathe. “It finally makes sense.”
“What does?” he asks, taking a sip of his wine.
I look up at him. “I never realized it before, but there’s always a picture of you and a woman in the paper, which makes sense. It’s not coincidental, is it? There’s only one way a reporter could have gotten that photo of you, and that’s if you gave it to them.”
His eyes narrow.
“Oh, you’re good,” I laugh, sitting back. “You know, I wondered why you had no problem screwing around when you’re trying to get your ex back. It made no sense, I couldn’t figure out why you would do that when you claimed to love her. Now I get it. She sees this, doesn’t she?”
He shrugs, but his expression tells me I’m right on.
“It’s clever, Reign. I’ll give you that. The old ‘make her jealous’ tactic. Tell me, though, why don’t you just go and get her back?”
He meets my stare. “She fucked me over, I guess a mean part of me wants to make it hurt. I wasn’t just going to run back into her arms...that would have been wrong for both of us. She made a mistake, of that I don’t doubt, but she also needs to see how it feels.”
“You could just pretend to be with other women,” I point out.
He raises his brows. “I’m a man, did we not make that clear.”
“We did,” I deadpan. “Okay, so tell me your tactic on this.”
“It’s simple. She sees those pictures and it hurts her, nothing makes a woman realize what she’s missing like seeing the man she fucked over with another girl. She made a mistake, a big one, and it’s not an easy mistake to come back from. But in saying that, she regrets it. I know she does.”
“How?” I ask.
He shrugs, drinking more wine. “I just know. She was devastated when I left, she’s called me non-stop since.”
“So instead of taking her back, you’re making her pay?”
“Am I wrong for doing so?” he asks.
I take a sip of my wine and ponder that, before saying, “No.”
“She’s been away on business for about six months now, she’s coming back into town next week. I’m hoping we’ve both gotten over our shit and can talk.”
“Are you really okay with her cheating on you?”
“She fucked up, Tia,” he says simply. “We all make mistakes. I’m as much to blame.”
I groan. “Reign, don’t do that. Don’t use the ‘it was my fault’ thing. It’s not right.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not!”
He shakes his head. “I disagree. You’re telling me that if a man is an asshole, and treats his woman less than perfect, that it’s not partly his fault that she would find comfort in another man?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Cheating is cheating, it’s never okay.”
“I fucked up,” he says, shifting in his seat so he can lean closer to me. “I’m partly to blame for her actions. I treated her badly.”
I shake my head, pursing my lips. “I still disagree, but it’s your relationship. Not mine.”
“You think she’s capable of doing it again?”
I sigh. “Not necessarily, but you shouldn’t be taking all the blame either.”
“I’m not. I’m just not blaming her entirely for it.”
“You’re methods with all this are fucked up, you know that right?”
He shrugs. “I won’t lie and say we were both to the point we needed the break. We needed to get ourselves together. Shit was bad for a while because we forgot who we were. I needed mindless sex and no emotion, and she needed to feel some of the guilt for what she did. But in the end, I miss her, I love her and I want her back.”
“Is it really so easy for you to have sex with random women? Even though you claim to love her.”
“Can we not talk about this? I have a reason for doing what I’m doing. Can we leave it at that?”
I pout. “Fine.”
Our meals are served and we’re both quiet as we eat.
I’m pondering Reign’s words.
There is a method to his madness; I’ll give him that.
CHAPTER FIVE
Three days later
Juggling two muffins, two coffees and my purse, I shove my key into Reign’s door. He gave me a copy, because there are times I need to come in when he’s out to do work from his home office. I push the front door open and step into his large, very manly apartment. It’s all sleek black and white, with polished floors and expensive furniture. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms—one with the biggest tub I’ve ever been in—and one hell of an entertainment room.
I drop everything onto the kitchen counter and turn, looking around for Reign. He wants me to spend the day with him at some ridiculous golf event, so I was instructed to come first thing so he could give me a rundown. This is the first time I’ll see the infamous Selena. The reason I’m in this job.
“Reign?” I call.
I make my way down the hall and see his door is cracked open just slightly. Asshole probably isn’t even awake. He made me come over early and he’s in bed. I don’t think so. I shove the door open, and the first thing I see is the long, slender back of a female. Her hair is draped over her shoulder and she’s bouncing up and down on Reign’s cock.