Once Upon A Time(74)

“It’s not like I care anyway. She’s just a poor girl from the sticks of Kentucky, she isn’t worth your or my time.”

“Kate, if you don’t leave this fucking office, I swear I’ll have security carry your ass out. And if you say another word against Payton, I won’t be accountable for my actions.” He growled.

“I’m not the one sleeping with the hired help. What would your wife say about this?!”

My heart broke into pieces at my feet. Every tear and every emotion I held back over the years since college poured out. The dam broke. It was Cam all over again. Gabriel had lied to me. He was married! The hurt was there, but the adrenaline was morphing that pain into feelings of anger and hatred.

Questions ran around my mind like a freight train.

He’s still married?

Does he have children with this woman?

How's Kate involved in all this?

What. The. Fuck. Was. Going. On?

Without thinking, my body acted before my mind could really take anything in. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I burst through the office door, coming face to face with a person whom I thought I could trust, a person whom I loved, whom I was ready to be my Prince Charming. The other? Oh, she was far more than a fairy tale villain. She was my hatred personified.

“You’re fucking married?!” I screamed, the sound causing Kate to jump slightly.

The instant the words fell from my mouth, sobs broke through. But through the tears, I watched as Gabriel’s usually expressionless face showed every emotion he could possibly feel. I saw fear, I saw sadness, I saw guilt but the one which killed me the most was what I saw next. Regret.

“Payton, please let me —”

I cut him off with a glare that could match Kate’s best.

“What, explain? You want to explain how you were pursuing me? That you slept with me with a wife at home?!” I sobbed. “How fucking dare you.”

I made a beeline for Gabriel, standing in front of him. The height difference between us was ever apparent, but the level of anger I felt allowed me to feel as though I towered over him.

“You.” I pointed, sticking my finger in his chest. “You’re exactly what I thought you were. You’re a fucking frog. Prince Charming? Ha! You’re a god damn toad. And to think I fell in love with you!”

I quickly turned to Kate, her face a picture of shock and utter smugness.

“Kate.” I paused, collecting myself. At this rate I was going to do jail time if I didn’t control my anger. “Stick your job up your implanted ass!”

Kate’s gasp echoed around the room. I had no doubt that no one had ever spoken to the ice queen with as much distain as I did.

Turning on my heels, I glanced at Gabriel. His head was bowed, chewing his lips nervously.

“Don’t come after me. I deserve better,” I said on a shaky breath before running from the room.

Once finally out of the room, I ran down the staircase but midway down, I stumbled in the stupid heels Kylie had given me. Groaning, I pulled off both heels and left them behind. I left them behind, with my job, with the man I’d fallen for, with the Payton I swore from then on I’d never be, with the fairy tale that was a lie.

As I made it to the bottom of the staircase, I ripped the mask from my face, discarding it at the bottom without a second thought before pushing through the door and out into the crowded room of Alpha. Quickly scanning the room, I found Kylie and Quinn still standing at the bar with what looked like Gabriel’s brother, Luca. Pushing my way through the crowd, I was almost there when Clarissa and Katrina intercepted me.

“Well if it isn’t Cinderella.” Clarissa chuckled sadistically. “What? You think by dressing up you’d fit in here? You’re nothing but a poor little girl from the South.”

“Aww, look, Clarissa.” Katrina laughed, pointing at my face. “She’s crying.”

I thought my anger had peaked in Gabriel’s office, but that was pain I felt in there. My anger boiled the moment Clarissa and Katrina spoke. Deciding I’d had enough and I wanted to get out of the building, I turned to find a server walking by with a tray of champagne. Grabbing two glasses, I turned back and threw champagne in the faces of both Clarissa and Katrina.

“And that is how us poor little girls do it in the South!” I stated, pointing at them, pulling out my best Southern accent. “Now, bless your heart, you’re crying.”

Clarissa and Katrina stood with their arms out at their sides as champagne dripped down their faces, shocked as to what I’d done. With a smirk, I turned to find my best friends and Luca staring at me in shock.

“Get me out of here.”