Love Damaged

Chapter 2-1

2

~Ayden~

This couldn’t be real. Mia’s return. Watching her walk away from me yet again. Every step she took toward the left bar had my gut feeling like a professional boxer’s punching bag. It rocked me to the core.

“I can’t believe she just walked away,” Andi said as she stared at her friend. She drew her brows lower as she huffed. “She’s lost her mind. I’m going to talk to her. I’ll be back.”

My face was on fire. I couldn’t believe I put myself out there just to have Mia reject me. It was my greatest fear.

Who was I fooling? I should have expected this. I’d hurt her.

Trudging back to my stool, I lowered myself onto it and grabbed my glass. The liquor disappeared once I placed it to my lips and chugged the rest of the bourbon.

I waved at Max then pointed to my glass. He signaled for me to give him a minute as he finished speaking with one of his customers. By the time he was ready to make my drink, Darius had motioned for him to bring him another beer. Bentley held up two fingers to let Max know he wanted one too then he sat on his usual stool.

Max didn’t stick around to chat, but he did express his relief at seeing Mia. There were too many guests inside the bar tonight to leave him time to talk. It surprised me that he’d been as attentive to me as he had.

Darius, Bentley, and I sat at the bar, our elbows leaning against the top as we remained quiet. I wasn’t sure what to say. I doubted they did either. Guys didn’t like seeing their friends being humiliated, which is precisely what Mia did when she walked away from me without even so much as hi, bye, or a f**k you. I could have handled her lashing out at me. What I couldn’t take was her silence. It was worse.

“So, you and Mia . . .” Darius didn’t finish his sentence.

“Yeah,” I answered.

He tapped his index finger against his bottle. “Mia admitted to me that she didn’t tell you the whole story about what happened with her and Wesley.”

“I know he broke up her first relationship. I also know he’s obsessed with her.”

Darius grunted. “Did she tell you anything about her former relationship?”

“We didn’t really discuss our exes in depth. Otherwise, I would have known she and Izzy were sisters. I used to date Izzy, and when Mia found out, it hurt her.”

“That’s understandable. Izzy has made it her life mission to f**k over Mia every chance she gets.”

“So you knew the guy she used to date?”

Darius took a sip of his beer then nodded. “She got involved with him when she was around twenty-one. He was older than her, like Wesley, but there was a huge difference between them. Wesley just used her for his benefit. The other guy loved her.”

“I’ve heard other people say the same thing. No one wants to give out all the details though.” I wasn’t sure Darius would be able to fill in the missing pieces from the stories I’d been told. Part of me hoped he could, but I was sure the only person who could do that was Mia.

“I think the details will blow your mind, but if you want to hear them, I’ll tell you.”

Bentley’s face came into view as I glanced at him. When he nodded, so did I. “Yeah, I think it’s time I heard everything.”

Darius nodded then cleared his throat. “Mia left Music Haven to be the manager for this guy’s band. It was the first one she’d managed by herself without any interference from her grandfather or her dad. Long story short, Mia and the guy fell in love. She brought him here to meet her family then left to go on tour with him again. She did so against her family’s wishes.”

So Mia had been a rebel in her past. I didn’t expect to hear about this side of her. From the moment we arrived in Music Haven, I’d witnessed nothing but a hardworking woman who was devoted to her career and the lives she touched because of it.

“When Mia got word that Brandon’s health was failing, she didn’t hesitate to return, but the guy still had another show, so Wesley volunteered to bring her back. That’s when things went downhill.”

“How come?” I took a drink of my bourbon as I watched him do the same with his beer. When he finished, he returned the bottle to the counter and slumped his shoulders.

“It’s when Izzy showed up. It wasn’t long before Mia and her boyfriend were arguing about stupid s**t. When he left to go on his next leg of the tour, she stayed behind because of her grandfather. When she rejoined her boyfriend, things got better for a little while.”

“Yeah, but they broke up. What changed?”

“A rumor got back to her boyfriend that she started talking to someone else before she rejoined him on tour. She caught him checking her phone, and they had a huge fight. She felt like he didn’t trust her. After the fight, the guy took off for a drink with his bandmates. Mia met up with Andi who flew in to see her.”

Andi wasn’t around to confirm what he’d said, but I had no reason not to believe him. Still, I didn’t know how Darius knew so much about Mia’s previous relationship. Had they become friends while he stayed here?

“Is that what broke them up?” I finally asked.

It didn’t surprise me when Darius shook his head. “No. When Mia returned to their hotel room, she found him drunk as hell and in bed with another woman.”

His admission made my blood turn cold. A million questions ran through my mind. I wasn’t sure which one to ask first. Darius didn’t give me a chance before he spoke again.

“Mia was devastated at what she found and ran out of the room. Wesley is the one who found her. He gave her the emotional support she needed, and when she returned to Music Haven, she brought Wesley with her.”

“So was the guy set up to look like he’d cheated?” I couldn’t help but ask the question after finding Izzy in my bed the morning after Mia and I had our huge fight.

“No. The guy did cheat on her. He came to Music Haven and tried to win her back, but it was too late. Several months later, Mia and Wesley started seeing each other. I think you know the rest.”

I did for the most part. I wasn’t sure how Mia found out about Wesley’s lies, but she had. Unfortunately, she didn’t learn the truth before he secured his job and a board seat from her grandfather.

“Wesley truly is a piece of s**t,” I grumbled.

“Yeah, but he’s not stupid. He was able to get what he wanted before Mia figured out what a low life he is.”

The thought made me sick. I hated knowing how badly Wesley had taken advantage of Mia or how he’d played a part in her first break up. The guy deserved to rot in jail, but now that Mia had returned, he was no longer a suspect.

“I’m still confused about something. Andi and Mia have both said that Wesley and her sister Izzy interfered with her last relationship. How does Izzy fit into all of this?”

Darius lowered his gaze to the bar and laughed half-heartedly. “That’s the kicker. The woman Mia found in her boyfriend’s bed was Izzy.”

I processed what he said for a moment, trying to wrap my head around all the horrible things Izzy had done in her life. Then it hit me. “Wait a second. You said all of this happened about four years ago?”

“That’s right,” Darius took another drink of beer then glanced at me. “Why?”

“Before I answer that, can you tell me the name of Mia’s first boyfriend?”

Darius took turns looking at Bentley and me before he finished off the rest of his beer. As he set the empty bottle on the table, he met my eyes again. “It was me.”

All the blood in my body pooled at my feet. I felt lightheaded, and at the same time, full of rage. I wasn’t angry with Darius. I was angry with my ex. She’d made a bigger fool of me than I’d realized.

“I can’t believe this.”

“It’s the truth, sadly,” Darius admitted.

“I’m not talking about what you just told me. I’m talking about what happened four years ago with me.”

Darius frowned at me. “Ayden—”

“Four years ago, Izzy was in a relationship with me. We lived together in Nashville. One weekend she went to a concert while I was at a gig. I found out later it was the night she cheated on me. You’re the guy. You’re the one Izzy slept with that night.

My admission didn’t seem to surprise him, but his answer shocked the hell out of me. “I know Ayden. That’s why I invited you to come on tour with me.”