the next morning, i showered, got dressed, and headed over to ellery's apartment. i didn't sleep all night because she wasn't next to me, and i missed her. i knocked on her door, but there was no answer. i continued to knock, and still no answer. either she wasn't home or she was ignoring me. i went back to the penthouse, thinking maybe she would show up there to apologize. as i stepped out of the elevator, i noticed her keys sitting on the table in the hall. she left her keys here which meant she didn't go back to her apartment. worry began to settle inside me. i grabbed my phone, sent her a text and ran up the stairs to my bedroom. now i was really pissed that she knew she didn't have her keys, and yet she didn't come back here.

"where the hell are you?! i went to your apartment, and you weren't there."

"it's none of your business where i am; remember i'm just doing what i do best," she responded quickly.

"you are behaving like a child, and i don't like it; now get your ass back to my penthouse."

"i think we need time apart to think about what each of us said last night."

i read her text, and it hurt me to know that she wanted time away from me. she was acting like a selfish brat. maybe she's right. she needs to know that how she behaved last night was unacceptable.

so i sent her the following reply: "i agree, and when you stop behaving like a selfish child, call me so we can talk like adults."

she didn't respond after that. i closed my eyes to try and stop the tears from falling. i slammed my fists down on the dresser and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

"good morning, connor. will you and ellery be having breakfast together this morning?" claire asked.

"ellery isn't here, so the answer is no," i snapped.

"whoa, connor, calm down," denny said as he walked towards me.

i ran my hand through my hair. "claire, i'm so sorry. please forgive me," i begged.

"it's ok, connor. don't worry about it," she smiled.

"what the hell happened between the two of you now?" denny asked as he handed me a cup of coffee.

"i told her last night that i can't have kids, and she didn't take it very well. we both said some pretty bad things to each other. fuck, denny, i love her so damn much. why is this so hard?"

"nobody said love is easy," he smiled.

i shook my head and walked out of the kitchen. i hated not knowing where she was. she said she thought it was best to spend some time apart. if that's what she wants, then i'll respect her wishes.

when she's ready to come back, she'll let me know.

chapter 22

the next few days were difficult. i missed her so damn much, and all i wanted to do was see her.

ashlyn kept calling me and making it a point to see me at the office. the days went by slow, and the nights slower. i buried myself in work most nights and went to dinner with paul and denny. ellery's second treatment was scheduled for next week, and if she didn't come to her senses by then, i would have to go find her. i won't let her go through that alone.

i was in the kitchen the next morning, having coffee with denny and claire, when a text from ashlyn came through, saying she was on her way up. i'd invited her over to talk. today is the day that i'm getting rid of her and out of my life once and for all. i walked over to the elevator just as they opened, and she stepped out with a big smile on her face.

"i was so excited to get your call," she said as she ran her finger down my chest.

i removed her finger from my chest and led her to my office. this wasn't going to be easy, but it needed to be done, especially if i was going to have a future with ellery. i asked her to sit down, but she refused.

"what's going on, connor? i'm sensing some tension here?" she said.

i took in a sharp breath before i spoke. "there's something that we need to discuss, and it's going to upset you." she looked at me with daggers in her eyes.

"if this is about that blonde whore i've been hearing about, then i don't want to discuss it. i want things between us to go back to where they used to be," she said as she moved closer to me.

"first of all, ashlyn, ellery is not a whore, and you are never to refer to her as that again. do you understand me?" i said in an angered voice. "second of all, ellery is my girlfriend, and i love her very much. and finally, things with us are over; they were over the night i met ellery."

she stood in front of me as she cocked her eyebrow. "is that so? well i think i can make you change your mind." suddenly, ashlyn lunged at me, and before i knew it, her lips were on mine. i pushed her away as i looked up and saw ellery standing in the doorway. my heart sank as i saw the pain and betrayal in her eyes.

"ellery, this isn't what it looks like," i said in a panic. she put her hand up as if she was telling me she didn't want to hear it, turned around, and started to walk away. ashlyn smiled as she watched her leave.

"see, connor, i told you she doesn't love you like i can," she said.

ellery stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. she had the same look in her eyes that she did that night at the bar. "oh shit," i said as i watched her slowly walk towards ashlyn. ashlyn stood there with her arms crossed, and with a smirk on her face. this wasn't going to be good, and it was making me nervous. ellery approached ashlyn and extended her hand to her.

"i don't think we've officially met. i'm ellery, connor's girlfriend."

"funny, connor said he didn't have a girlfriend anymore when he had his hands all over me," she said as she refused to shake ellery's hand.

ellery looked at me as i stood there speechless. i couldn't believe ashlyn just said that, but i have to make ellery believe she's lying. the only thing i could do was shake my head so she knew it wasn't true. she glared at me as she began to speak to ashlyn.

"he said that?"

"yeah, he did, just after he kissed me and told me that it was me he loved all along, and you were just a charity case that he felt sorry for."

shit, i can't believe she just said that. i have to stop this now or i'll lose ellery forever. no matter what, i'm making sure ashlyn is out of my life for good. i saw the look on ellery's face, and the anger brewing in her eyes. it's a look that i've never seen before, and to be honest, it scared the hell out of me. i took a step back as i saw ellery raise her fist and slam it across ashlyn's jaw. she fell back on her ass as ellery bent down until their faces were inches from each other.

"my advice to you is to crawl back into the whore hole you crawled out from and to never look at me or him again. if i even catch you looking in either of our directions, i will pound my fist into you so hard that even a plastic surgeon wouldn't be able to fix you," she said as she turned on her heels and started walking away.

ashlyn held her jaw and screamed, "you're a crazy bitch; do you know that?!"

inside i was laughing because ashlyn deserved it, and i couldn't believe ellery did it. she was leaving, and i wasn't about to let her go. i ran after her and grabbed her arm before she could reach the elevator. "don't you dare take another step," i commanded. she whipped her head around and looked at me with evil in her eyes.

"let go of me, right now, connor, before you suffer the same fate as your whore over there."

i let go of her arm. "you're angry right now, so i'll forgive that last statement, but what i will not forgive is you taking another step and walking out that door." she told me she couldn't stay, especially after what just happened. i wasn't letting her go. the time had come to tell her about ashlyn. as i pulled out my phone to call denny and have him get ashlyn out of the penthouse, ellery pushed the button and the elevator doors opened. i grabbed her from behind and carried her up the stairs as she kicked and screamed at me to put her down. we reached my bedroom, and i threw her on the bed. i was so angry at her for trying to leave. i needed her to listen to me, and i wasn't letting her leave until she did.

"now, sit down on that bed, and listen to me, ellery. i'm not playing games with you anymore, and i know what you just saw hurt you more than anything else. you're going to sit there, and you're going listen to me!" i screamed at her.

"go on then, explain to me who ashlyn is, and why you've been keeping your relationship with her such a secret," she said with anger in her voice.

i paced back and forth across the room while running my hands through my hair. "ashlyn is amanda's twin sister."

"who the hell is amanda?" she asked.

i took in a sharp breath. "amanda's the girl who committed suicide after i broke up with her."

"keep talking, connor; i'm listening."

"ashlyn sought me out and came to my office about a year ago. she told me she had been kicked out of her house, and she didn't have any money or any place to go. she said that i owed her because it was my fault her sister killed herself." i stood there and watched ellery close her eyes for a moment.

this was so hard for her to hear, and it was making me sick to tell her.

"i took her to dinner. we talked, drank a lot, and we had sex. you have no idea how much i regret that day," i said as i stood there, shaking my head in shame.

"why didn't you stop it after that night, connor?" she asked as she got up from the bed and walked over to me.

"she kept bringing up amanda, and making me feel guilty for what had happened. i gave her a job at my company, and we had an arrangement that we would meet three times a week after work for sex, with no strings attached."

"wait, let me guess; she started falling for you, and she wanted more," she said.

i nodded my head. "yes, she wanted me to stop seeing other woman and to have an exclusive relationship with her. i told her time and time again that i wasn't interested, and that our arrangement was staying the way it was." i turned my back to her and took in a deep breath.

"she threatened to do what her sister did if i didn't succumb to her wants and needs. it was that night at the club; the night you brought me home, that i told her there was never going to be anything more than sex between us."

"damn it, connor. why the hell didn't you just stop seeing her?!" she yelled.

"the next morning, she called and apologized. she said she would be happy to keep our arrangement the way it was as long as i doubled her pay," i said as i turned around and faced her.

she shook her head and looked down. she walked back over to the bed and sat on it. "are you ok?"

i asked as i started to walk towards her. all i wanted to do was hold her. she was hurting, and i wanted to ease her pain.

"don't take another step, and i mean it," she said and put her hand up as she got up from the bed and headed towards the door. "i can't listen to any more of this, connor, i'm sorry."