Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
PIPPI'S DECISION TO come to Millicent Longbourn's defense had once again turned her into a hot topic among the employees of Simonides, Inc. and the news eventually found its way to the dining room at Acheron's penthouse, where the billionaire was having lunch with Wickham and Amelia.
"Do you see now," Amelia murmured sadly. "People who love us only end up getting hurt—-"
"Ms. Jones came to someone else's rescue," Wickham couldn't help pointing out irritably. "How does that constitute her being hurt?"
"Because there's always a fallout when things like this happen," Amelia answered complacently. Turning to Acheron, she said softly, "It's the truth. You know it is. Don't you?"
The billionaire didn't answer, but Amelia was unperturbed. The way Acheron's face had hardened was enough to tell Amelia her words had hit its mark.
Back in his hotel, Acheron lay on his back, staring unseeingly in the dark.
People who love us only end up getting hurt.
And even though a part of him didn't want to fucking acknowledge it, he knew that Amelia's words had been the truth. It wasn't in Pippi's nature to interfere in such a way - his little blusher was usually a lot subtler than that - but whatever her reason was, he was damn certain it had something to do with him.
And because of him, she was going to get hurt.
Because he had liked playing fast and loose, Pippi was going to get hurt.
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.
It was only a matter of time - unless he took matters into his own hands and cut her out of his life for good.
The thought of putting a permanent end between them made him feel sick. He didn't want to lose her. He wasn't ready to be free of her. And yet - weren't his actions in the past few weeks already tantamount to breaking up with her?
He had stopped sleeping at her place, stopped calling or talking to her. He had, in not so many words, made it clear that they were over -
And that was how it should be, Acheron told himself savagely.
It was better this way. Having him hurt her would be nothing compared to how the others could and would attack her - and he had a feeling it would be even worse than what Millicent had suffered.
If he really wanted what was best for her, he should simply make a quick, clean break of it.
He should simply tell her it was over.
It was the only thing to do.
And yet—-
Soon, he thought.
He would do the right thing soon.
Not now, not just yet, but soon.
Because even if he no longer let himself see her, no longer let himself hear her, the thought - the sheer possibility that Pippi might still think of herself as his...
It was the only thing that kept him going these days, and he needed it like he needed air to breathe.
So soon...but not just yet.
Soon.
He just wanted, needed a little bit more time, even if it only meant having the right to remember how things used to be.
Soon.
But life refused to cooperate, and the end came sooner than Acheron expected, and it was so much worse than he could have ever foreseen.
Twenty-Five
THE ANATOMY OF VIRAL posts on social media always started with a fork in the road - those that were meant to inspire positive feelings...and those that weren't. The happy ones: anything from cat videos to stories of Good Samaritans and the proverbial prodigal son - these almost always had an organic reach while the not-so-happy ones generated likes through paid boosts and advertising behind the scenes. The ones that inspire rarely had a quantifiable objective in mind while the other type almost always had a target.
The one thing both types of viral posts had in common was how it caused people to inevitably expose their true colors. Good or bad, posts were shared by people because it made them feel.
Some posts inspired people to become better, and they wanted others to become better, too.
Some posts made people feel envy, and misery always loved company.
And then there was that last kind of post.
Posts that were meant to hurt, to humiliate, and ruin other people's lives.
People shared these posts, too.
Even if they didn't have to, even if they had to lie to themselves and conceal their trails through private messages -
Sometimes, people couldn't just help themselves.
IT STARTED AS A FAIRLY ordinary Sunday morning for the Joneses. While the continued absence of Acheron in their household was hard to miss and had long cast an unshakable pall over the whole family, everyone still did their best to find a reason to smile. Their family was no stranger to hardships, and no matter how things would eventually turn out between Acheron and Pippi they all knew they would be able to survive it.
What mattered was that they were together, and together they were unbeatable.