Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) (26 page)

Sunday
morning, Julie woke up and got ready for the day. She made sure to
cover up any remnants left on her face. Her dress was a pretty yellow
color, and she wore a sweater over it that covered her wrists. She
wanted to try to feel as good about herself as she could when she
faced her brother. It was going to be one of the scariest moments of
her life. She had no idea how he was going to react. He would be
upset that he didn't know about the past. She was sure he was going
to tell her what she had done wrong. Gavin had met Jason once and had
not liked him. Hopefully, he wouldn't realize it was the same guy. He
would be upset with her that she let it happen again. She would sit
through his lecture, because it was the right thing to do. She wanted
to clear Josh, John, and Ethan. That way Gavin could never blame them
from keeping information from him. Once she knew Gavin knew
everything, she would be gone.

Julie
packed everything she had at Ethan's house and put it in her car. She
knew he had to run by his office before going to Josh and Lisa's. He
had said something to Gavin on the phone while she was walking into
the kitchen. It was the perfect opportunity to do what she needed to
do.

Ethan
peeked around the corner, into her room.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked.

She
nodded to him.

“
I
have to run to the office for a minute to get something for Gavin. Do
you want to go with me now, or do you want me to come back and get
you?” he asked.

Damn,
he looked so good. Seeing the cast on his arm reminded her that she
needed to stay away from him. She didn't want to ever hurt him again.

“
I'm
going to drive myself. Thanks for offering though,” she said.

“
I
don't want you driving yourself. I want to be there when you tell
him. When you're ready to leave, I want to bring you back here. You
shouldn't be driving.”

“
I'm
not coming back here. I'm going to stay with Gavin and Becky until I
find a new place,” she said as she walked to him. “I
wanted to say thank you for saving my life. I will never forget
everything you have done for me.”

She
wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tighter than she ever had.
It took all she had to hold back the tears that wanted out so badly.
She released her hold on him and turned without making eye contact,
as she walked out the door.

“
I'll
see you over there,” she said as she walked out the door.

Julie
was nervous as she drove to her house. She was so afraid to walk back
through her front door. It took all she had not to collapse on the
floor as she looked around at the mess in her living room. Jason had
trashed everything. How had she missed it? She took a deep breath as
she walked into her bedroom, making sure not to look at the floor.
Quickly, she grabbed some bags and threw in as much stuff as she
could. She tried to get everything she would need right away. The
bags filled the back seat of her car. As she closed the door to her
house and locked it, she thought about Ethan and everything he had
gone through because of her.

She
felt relief as she drove away. Gavin could sell the house for her. It
wouldn't need much work at all. Julie had more than enough money
saved up. She would stay in a hotel by her office until she could get
things taken care of there. The doctor she had working with her could
take over if he brought in another doctor to help him. She could get
a job in a hospital wherever she decided to move.

Julie
parked her car on the street in front of Josh and Lisa's. There was
no way anyone was parking behind her. She wanted to be able to leave
as soon as she could.

She
let out a huge breath as she got out of the car and walked to the
door. Put on a happy face, she thought. Gavin, Heath, and John's cars
were already there. Julie was so glad Ethan wasn't there yet. She
wasn't sure she would be able to look him in the eyes and walk away.
He would be able to see through her. She knew the rest of them
wouldn't realize what she was doing. He was the only one she needed
to be concerned with. It was like he could see right into her
thoughts. She knew he wanted things to go back to normal, so maybe he
would let it go. Julie planned to avoid him.

They
weren't supposed to be there until five o'clock. It was only four.
Why did they have to be there so early? Maybe she could get in and
back out before Ethan got there. Quickly, she knocked on the door.
John opened the door and gave her a hug.

“
You
okay?” he whispered.

“
Just
fine,” she answered.

She
put on a huge smile as she walked past him. Lisa looked at her with
concern as she said hello and hugged her. Julie hugged Becky as well.
Josh, Heath, and Gavin were in the living room. She walked in and
said hello. Josh grabbed her and hugged her tight. She looked at him
with surprise as he looked into her eyes. Gavin stood up and wrapped
his arms around her.

“
I
missed you,” he said. “Did you hear that piece of shit
Ethan ditched me for the meeting out of town? Be ready to hear me
tear him a new ass today. I think you'll enjoy hearing what I have to
say to him.”

Julie
knew for sure that she didn't want Gavin to find out she had been
with Ethan sexually. He was going to find out that Ethan saved her
from Jason, but she had to make sure she kept the rest to herself.
When she left, she wanted their relationship to be strong. Knowing
that he saved her would do just that.

She
laughed as she hugged him back. When she brought her arm back down,
the edge of her sleeve rolled up. She moved to unroll it quickly when
she heard him gasp. He grabbed her hand and pushed the sleeve up.

“
What
the fuck is this?” he yelled.

Julie
saw everyone jump and look their way. Heath flew across the room.

“
Who
did that to you?” Heath growled through gritted teeth. “Tell
me right now.”

She
took a deep breath.

“
Gavin,
I need to talk to you in the kitchen please,” she said as
calmly as she could.

Julie
turned and walked out of the room.

***

She
was gone just like that. Ethan was beside himself. Julie told him she
wasn't coming back to his house. She was going to stay with Gavin.
Then she walked out. What was going on? He knew she was upset that he
went through her phone and got the information about Jason. Was she
really that mad? She had thanked him for everything he had done for
her. Letting her push him away the entire week was bad enough. Why
didn't she want to stay there? He gave her space and time to think.
How was he going to sleep at night, not knowing she was okay?

He
got in his car and took off for his office. There were some papers he
needed to give Gavin for the deal they had been working on. He was
giving the entire thing to Gavin's company. The meetings had gone
well and the company had accepted the offer they made. He ran into
his office and grabbed what he needed. As he stood in front of his
desk, he thought about Julie.

“
She's
going to run,” he said into the empty air. “What the
hell? Why am I just realizing it?”

He
had to hurry and get to Josh's. She's going to run, he thought again.
Everything she had at his house had been gone that morning. She
wanted to drive herself and had left way earlier than she needed to.
If he went to her house, he was sure there would be stuff missing.
The way she had thanked him when she was leaving was odd. She had
hugged him as if she would never hug him again. He felt it then but
couldn't figure it out. Julie told him that she was going to move in
with Gavin and Becky for a bit. She was lying. He knew it. Dinner was
supposed to be at five and it was four. If he knew her as well as he
thought he did, she was already at Josh and Lisa's and was going to
be gone before he got there. If he had to place bets, he would say
her car was on the street so he couldn't block her in.

Ethan
took off out of his office and down to his car. He wasn't going to
let her do it. She was mad at him, but it was something she was going
to have to get over. He had given her enough time and space. There
was no way she was running from him or any of them. She needed them
to be there for her. It was time she accepted that.

He
was right, her car was in the street and the back seat was full. How
the hell did everyone miss that. Ethan ran up and swung the front
door open. Heath, John, Josh, Becky, and Lisa were in the dining
room. All eyes went to him as he barreled through the door. He heard
at least three of them gasp.

“
What
the hell happened to you?” Heath shouted.

“
Where
is she?” Ethan yelled.

“
In
the kitchen with Gavin,” John answered.

“
She's
going to run,” Ethan snapped at John.

“
How
do you know?” John asked.

“
I
just know. How long have they been in there?”

“
They
just went in a minute ago,” John answered.

“
What
the hell are you two talking about? Are you going to answer me?”
Heath snapped. “Your eye is black and blue and you have a cast
on your arm. How did the rest of us miss this?”

Heath
looked around at the rest of them, and they all shrugged without a
clue. Josh knew a little, but he didn't say a word.

“
Shit,”
Lisa let out as she covered her mouth. “Ethan”

“
Give
me a minute,” Ethan snapped. “Just give me a minute.”

He
walked over to the kitchen and cracked the door so he could hear.

“
I
need you to calm down, Gavin. There's something I need to talk to you
about. It's not going to be easy for me. Please, sit down. You have
to promise me you'll let me say everything I have to say first,”
Julie said and Gavin nodded. “Ethan,”

“
Ethan
what? Did that fucker put his hands on you? Did he do this?”
Gavin yelled, cutting her off.

Ethan
couldn't take it. He couldn't let her face her brother alone. There
was no way. It was breaking him more each second he stood there. He
could feel everyone standing over his shoulder.

“
No,”
she yelled. “It wasn't him.

Ethan
could hear her voice shake. She was barely holding herself together.
Julie needed him on her side, not against her.

“
He
would never hurt me. Ethan would never do anything like that.”

“
How
do you know?” Gavin yelled louder. “How can you be sure
he would never hurt you?”

“
Because
I love her,” Ethan yelled, as he pushed through the door into
the kitchen.

“
What?”
Gavin and Julie said, as they both looked over at him.

“
I
would never hurt her, because I love her,” Ethan said.

Everyone
behind him let out a collective gasp. He turned to see all of their
faces in shock, except for Lisa. She had a smile on her face as tears
slid down her cheek.

“
That's
our boy,” Lisa said with a sniffle.

“
You
knew about them?” Josh asked.

“
In
a minute,” she told her husband.

“
What
the hell are you talking about?” Gavin snapped, as he went
toward Ethan.

“
Shut
up Gavin,” Julie snapped back at him.

She
looked back to Ethan and Gavin stopped.

“
What
happened to your face and arm?” Gavin asked Ethan.

“
I
don't understand. Why?” Julie asked Ethan ignoring Gavin's
question.