“Why would I?” She made it clear with the review that she was only interested in destroying me. The woman didn’t give a damn about my feelings, or my daughter's, for that matter.
Julianna doesn’t answer. She shakes her head and opens the double door to the balcony, letting fresh air into the bedroom.
Anything to remove the aroma of Cali on my sheets. It’s intoxicating.
We strip the bed, and while I’d like to burn the sheets physically, Julianna talks me into having our housekeeping service wash them and replace them with new linens. We can always donate the old bed sheets. They’re still in impeccable shape. Practically new.
My phone rings, and I dig into my pocket, unsure if it’s Wyatt needing help downstairs or someone else looking for me to answer a question or help with a guest.
I glance at the caller ID and reject the call.
“Cali?” Julianna asks, glancing over my shoulder as I block her number.
I never want to speak with her again.
Some betrayals cut deep and destroy a person from the inside out. I have enough trouble with learning to trust another person after my ex cheated on me with my best friend.
What Cali did, the pain burns just as bright, searing and forcing me to bleed out emotionally. I never expected her deception. Maybe I should have realized that women can’t be trusted after my wife played me.
I didn’t expect betrayal from Cali. I never expected the brunette to have a dark side. She’d always been sunny, carefree, and sweet. Was it all an act?
She had me fooled.
“You’re not going to answer her call?” Julianna asks.
“There’s no reason. She just wanted to make a viral video. Let’s just hope it doesn’t work.” I hand my daughter my cell phone. “Delete that clock app from my phone. I never want to see it or any of her videos again.”
“You can just block her on the app,” Julianna says.
I raise an eyebrow. “Delete it.” She’s lucky I’m not making her delete the app from her phone too. “Let this be a lesson, young lady. Influencers chase after the next big trend. They’re in it for the views and likes. They don’t care who they hurt or destroy in the process.”
“That’s not always true,” Julianna says. She taps at my phone, deleting the app, before handing me back the device. “I’m bummed that I won’t be interning for Cali this summer.”
I can’t have this conversation with Julianna. If it were up to me, I’d keep her away from all influencers and social media. It’s not healthy for her, trailing after someone who wants to be famous and watch them destroy another person’s life.
I storm out of the bedroom, leaving the sheets in a bunch on the floor. I stomp into the living room. Two throw pillows remind me of Cali, even though they were there long before she stepped foot in the penthouse. She’d nestled her head on one pillow while it was in my lap, and the other she’d held tight against her chest.
I grab the throw pillows and toss them into the bedroom on the floor with the pile of sheets and blankets.
“Call housekeeping and have them remove the linens and pillows on the floor. I never want to see that stuff again.”
* * *
I do everything I can to forget about Cali. To purge her from my memory. Her scent. Her touch. The taste of her on my lips.
For the next few days, I drown myself in liquor until Wyatt steals the bottles from the penthouse, and I’m too tired to wander down to the bar.
If Cali tries to call, I don’t know about it. Her number is blocked. I contemplate unblocking, but the urge passes as quickly as it came.
I despise her.
That woman knew how to destroy me faster than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s disgusting. Repulsive. Vile.
My eyes burn, but I don’t cry. I’m not a man who sheds tears over a woman I hardly knew.
“Are you going to lock yourself in here forever?” Wyatt asks. He folds his arms across his chest.
“Seems like the thing to do. She’s destroyed my business.”