Mitch closed his eyes and dropped his head. “Damn it, Courtney. I didn’t want you to find out like that. It’s just…”

I felt the anger building up inside of me, but when Reed put his hands on my shoulders, I instantly calmed down just from his touch.

“How long, Mitch? How long have you been cheating on me?” I asked as I tried to hold back the tears.

“Does it matter, Court? I mean, it doesn’t really matter. You’ve been in love with Reed ever since we’ve been together. Don’t deny it. You have a very bad habit of talking in your sleep, sweetheart,” Mitch said. He glanced at Reed and then back at me.

“What?” I whispered.

Shit…what have I been saying about Reed in my sleep? I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

“So, you’re blaming this on me? I’ve never been unfaithful to you, and you…” I took another breath. “Just tell me, how long have you been screwing your ex?”

“I think you should just leave now,” Karen said as she smirked at me.

I wasn’t sure what came over me, but I walked over to her, reached back, and punched the shit out of her.

“Courtney! Holy shit!” Mitch yelled as he grabbed Karen and looked at her mouth. “Baby, are you all right?”

Mitch looked at me and screamed, “Six months, Courtney! I’ve been with Karen for six months now. I thought for sure you’d find your way to the asshole behind you, but you just wouldn’t leave. Even when we stopped having sex so many months ago, you still held on to a fucking dream that was never going to happen. I don’t love you, and you don’t love me. I never loved you, Courtney.”

I took a step back and shook my head. “But all those things you said. You told me…”

Mitch helped Karen up and looked back at me. “I told you what you wanted to hear, Courtney. The only reason I went after you is because I knew Reed wanted you.”

“Motherfucker,” Reed said as he lunged at Mitch again.

Reed got two or maybe three good punches in before I pulled him back and away from Mitch.

“Leave. Now!” Reed shouted.

“Fuck off, Reed. You can’t tell me what to do,” Mitch said as he helped Karen into his house.

Reed grabbed Mitch and pushed him up against the house before getting right into his face. This time, I took a few steps back. I didn’t even care if Reed killed Mitch at this point.

“I can, asshole. I’m fifty percent in partnership with Layton now, so I’m your boss, motherfucker, and I just fired your ass. Layton also told me to deliver a message to you as soon as possible.”

Mitch smirked and was about to say something, but Reed hit him in the stomach. Mitch doubled over.

“That’s from Layton. You have an hour to get the hell out of here and off this ranch.”

Reed turned around, grabbed my hand, and practically pulled me back to the ranch truck. He opened the door for me, and when I jumped in, he leaned in and smiled.

“That was some punch, Rocky.” He winked and shut the door.

My face got hot, and I couldn’t help but smile. I’d never in my life hit anyone.

Reed jumped in the truck, started it and began driving. “Let’s go into town and get some breakfast.”

I glanced over at him and let out a gasp. “Oh my God! You’re bleeding. You have blood all over you!”

Reed looked down at his shirt and smiled. Then, he glanced at me before turning back to the road. “That’s his blood, not mine.”

I shook my head. “No! You’re bleeding above your eye, Reed.”

He looked in the rearview mirror. “It’s just a small cut. I’ll wash it up, and then we’ll head into town.”

We drove back to Layton and Whitley’s house in silence.

I kept replaying the whole thing in my head. Mitch was only with me to keep Reed away from me? Mitch never loved me. He never really wanted to be with me. Six months…

When we pulled up, I just sat there, frozen. Reed opened the passenger door and held out his hand, but I couldn’t move.

“He never even wanted to be with me. He never…” I slowly turned, and the moment my eyes met Reed’s, I began crying.

He reached in and picked me up. He carried me into the house as I buried my face into his shoulder, and I just cried. I felt like such a fool. In Layton and Whitley’s room, Reed gently put me down onto the bed. He reached down and began taking off my sneakers. The feel of his hands just touching my body was driving me insane.

I’d given up a year of searching for something that didn’t exist with someone who I’d thought could possibly be my Prince Charming. I should have listened to my initial instincts. From the first time he’d kissed me, I’d known that he wasn’t the one. My heart had screamed it, but my head had denied it.

Reed pulled the covers over me, and I never took my eyes off of him as he looked into my eyes and smiled. He pushed a piece of my hair away from my eyes as he bent over and then kissed me on the forehead.

“I’ll make us something to eat in a bit, but I have to take care of something first, okay?”

I nodded my head and closed my eyes. I couldn’t look at him another second longer, or I would beg him to kiss me, and that was the last thing I wanted.

Why does my Prince Charming keep turning out to be nothing but a monster?

I felt myself drifting off into sleep. I prayed that the nightmares wouldn’t return, and I fought like hell not to fall asleep.

The last thing I heard was a voice whispering next to my ear, “Sleep for a bit, angel. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”

Reed…

“I promise, Whitley, she’s fine. Yes, I kicked his ass and fired him like Layton said. Yes, I promise I won’t argue with her or instigate anything. Whitley! Will you just go on your honeymoon and stop stressing? Courtney will be fine. I swear to you, I won’t do anything to hurt her any more, and I will spoil the hell out of her. I’m even making her lunch.”

I rolled my eyes as I listened to Whitley give me another one of her cute little threats.

“I swear to you, Reed Moore, if you do anything to cause her stress, I will kick your ass.”

“Whitley, can I talk to Layton now?”

“Fine. Love you, Reed!” she said in a chipper voice.

I heard her say something to Layton as she handed the phone to him.

“Is he gone?” Layton asked.

“Yeah, he stopped at the house and gave me all his keys and a few other items. Fucker even had the nerve to ask to talk to Courtney, and I told him to go jump off a bridge.”