DIVERGE: A Second Chance Romance, page 1
Copyright © 2023 by C.B. FREY
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9780645906103
No part in this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, places, and incidents, as well as resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental.
Cover Design: Coffin Print Designs
Editing and Proofreading: My Brother’s Editor
Rating: R18+
www.cbfreyauthor.com
AUTHOR NOTE
Diverge is a stand-alone, contemporary romance. It does contain situations that could be triggering for some readers.
This book contains explicit language and explicit sexual content.
It is intended to be for readers 18+.
For a full list of triggers, please visit the author’s website.
Alternatively, you can visit the author’s Instagram.
Table of Contents
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
DIVERGE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two | Billie
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
EPILOGUE
THANK YOU
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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For those who believe you can have two great loves in a single lifetime.
This one’s for you.
PLAYLIST:
Just Pretend
Bad Omens
Die4u
Bring me the Horizon
Chokehold
Sleep Token
Snuff
Slipknot
Sugar
Sleep Token
I Should Go
Levi Kreis
It Is What It Is
Lifehouse
You are the reason
Calum Scott
The Loneliest
Måneskin
Atlantic
Sleep Token
It Is What It Is
Lifehouse
Another Love
Tom Odell
Breathe Again
Sara Barielles
Mount Everest
Labrinth
Woke up in Love
Kygo, Gryffin, Calum Scott
Chapter One
Billie
The shrill of the phones ringing in the call centre across from me has my mind recoiling back into my current reality. I sigh as I sit and watch my mouse move across my computer screen. Scanning to the bottom right corner, I notice it’s only two in the afternoon.
How much slower can time actually go?
“Hey Billie, do you have the notes from our meeting last Friday?”
I stare blankly at Laura’s face and wonder how I ended up here. Taking orders from people who chug caffeine all day to meet deadlines that are way too unrealistic to meet, so they end up breaking their backs by bending over backwards for the company that ‘cares about their mental health.’
“Earth to Billie!” Laura waves a bunch of papers in my face, and my hand twitches as I stop myself from smacking her across the mouth.
“Uh, yes, I do. I’ll email them to you.” Opening the file quickly, I send her the email. Getting up out of my seat, I am making a beeline for the kitchen when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.
BESTIE
I let out an audible groan as soon as I read the text from my best friend Grace. She is the wisest, most beautiful human in the world, but my god, she can be a pain in the ass. I start typing as I enter the kitchen.
ME
BESTIE
Lazy Sundays are our bonding time. All we do is eat snacks, lay in bed, and watch trash TV. It’s my kind of night. As for the whole “getting together with friends and drinking until your face goes numb,” that’s more Grace’s type of fun. I roll my eyes and lock my phone as I slide it back into my pants pocket.
I did promise Grace I would at least try to be more social. Making myself a cup of coffee, I take a sip and return to my seat.
“Billie, those notes you sent me, can you make sure that next time they are more in-depth? I don’t understand them.” Laura peeps her eyes over the partition from across my desk where hers is.
Well, if you would fucking go to the meeting yourself, you wouldn’t need my notes.
“Sure, Laura,” I manage to say, squashing my internal voice down deeper inside my chest.
Grace is lucky. She was born into a wealthy family. Me, on the other hand, all my brother and I got was an apartment left to us by our dad. Grace can quite literally have whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. After growing up together, I now notice how different we are. She loves everything and anything to do with partying and being a social butterfly. I, on the other hand, love staying at home in my own company, listening to music and reading books. Sometimes I think we are complete opposites and have no idea how we stayed friends, and other times I love her for being different to me. I look over to the acreage surrounding Grace’s home and wonder if she has ever even stepped foot between the hundreds of trees on her property when I feel a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I look up from where I am sitting to find familiar ocean-blue eyes smiling down at me.
“Hey, Billie,” he says with a smirk on the corner of his lips.
His familiar husky voice vibrates through my ears and into my now-frozen brain.
I narrow my eyes and immediately jump to my feet facing him when I realise who he is. My heart is in my throat, my mouth is substantially dry, and the last place I want to be right now is here.
“F-Finn?” I fumble my words because that’s all that I can get out right now.
I’m speechless. Finn is Grace’s brother. The one who looked very different from what he looks like now, standing in front of me, and for a second, it looks like he hasn’t changed from that teenage boy I used to know. Looking him up and down, I notice he’s gotten taller, more tanned, and a lot more muscular. His button-up shirt hangs open, revealing his perfectly carved chest and abs. Realising I am now staring, I clear my throat and look away as he chuckles at the flustered sight of me.
“Did you miss me?” His tone is teasing, and I clench my jaw as my mind works to come up with words, to say anything.
Is this really happening right now?
“That depends, do people usually miss assholes?” I cross my arms across my chest as I swallow, putting on a brave face, a mean face.
He chuckles and puts one arm around me, my skin tingling everywhere his arm touches, and we begin walking. “Why don’t we have a drink and do some catching up?” I look back to everyone huddled around the fire talking, laughing, and drinking, and my eyes skate to where Grace is sitting.
She’s laughing and carrying on about something that happened when we were in high school together. I know the story, and she knows I hate the story, but I let her tell it anyway as my legs carry me with Finn away from the fire, to the drinks station. Currently everyone is around the fire, so we are alone.
“So, did you have to convince the government to let you back into the country?” I ask with a sarcastic smile. The corner of his mouth lifts slightly as he pours whiskey into his cup.
“I see you haven’t changed one bit, Billie.” His ocean-blue eyes lift, and I swear it feels like he’s looking directly into my soul.
How would you know?
I avert my eyes from his and nervously begin making myself a drink. How can he still affect me like this when I haven’t seen or spoken to him in ten fucking years!?
“Well, you certainly have. You were a lot shorter before you left.” I say as he stares down at his drink and clenches his jaw. A moment passes before either of us speak again.
“How have you been?” he asks, and I look up at him like he’s just asked me how I am after my dog had died or something.
“Are you joking? I’m not doing this with you.” I finish making my drink and turn to walk over to the group huddled by the fire, when he reaches out to grab me, his strong hand clasping my arm with an iron grip.
“Will you just talk to me?” His tone is impatient and unyielding.
The nerve of this man.
“Talk to you!?” I scoff. “What gives you the right to turn up after a decade and demand a conversation with me?” I rip my arm out of his hold, staring up at him as my hands begin to shake.
Running a hand through his hair, he looks at the floor. “I know I messed things up, but this is why I came back.” He pleads, “Please just give me the chance to explain things to you.”
Red-hot rage simmers underneath the surface of my skin at the sight of him standing in front of me, practically begging.
Begging.
After he left, without a single word.
“How dare you stand there and ask me how I am like ten years haven't passed without any contact from you?!” My breathing has become erratic, and I feel the others’ eyes on us now. Everything I left unsaid is being unleashed in a raging tornado out of my mouth. “How can you pretend like nothing has changed?!” I yell at him as he looks back to the group, and I know they’re staring, but I don’t care. “Did it all mean absolutely nothing to you... was it all a lie, some sick joke?” I push him with both hands, but he barely even budges. “Did you feel like a stud telling all your friends about what we did?!” I can hardly recognise my own voice as I spew the words at him.
“Billie...” He reaches out to grab me again, but I swat his hand away before he can touch me. “Please, just calm down.”
“Calm down?” I place my drink down on the table. “Would you be calm if the person who ghosted you just turns up after a decade? The person who you grew up with?” I feel my breath hitch and force the pain back down into my chest.
He doesn’t respond, just stands there, looking at me.
My skin is on fire, my ears buzzing with fury. “You’re pathetic.” I point to him, my finger digging into his chest.
“You’re a fucking coward!” I spit the last words at him like I’m aiming a dagger at his chest. I want him to hurt, just like he hurt me all those years ago. I’ve kept so much hidden, so many things locked up deep inside me for too long.
I hear him audibly sigh as I turn and walk away. Glancing back over, I see him downing his entire drink and pouring a new one.
Good luck. You really think you can just come back into my life and ask me how I am without so much as a phone call in the past ten years?
We grew up together, for fuck’s sake. I had known him since I had known Grace. We slept together once, followed by a week of silence, then he left without even a goodbye. Just poof, gone. Did I think after sleeping together, we would spend the rest of our lives together and just be happy? No, don’t be silly. Those things only ever happen in fairy tales. However, I did expect to at least talk about what happened, but before we even had a chance to, he left with his father to go halfway across the world.
“I need to talk to you for a second,” I say with gritted teeth. Grabbing Grace’s hand, I guide her inside through the large floor-to-ceiling glass doors, closing them once we are inside.
“Look, I’m sorry!” she blurts out. “I knew he was going to stop by. I didn’t know when, and I was kind of hoping you two could just move past it. It has been a decade after all.” She gives me a half smile in an attempt to soften her words.
“Grace, I love you, but I don’t want to see him.” I grab my bag and my jacket off the lounge as I make my way through the large white lounge room towards the front door.
“Billie, please, I’m sorry. Please stay for a bit longer?” she pleads after me.
“I’ll text you when I get home.” I know she will text me incessantly until I let her know I’m safe anyway. Opening the front door, I hear Riley’s voice from my left.
“B, where are you going?” I look up at my older brother Riley and his friend Nathan beside him.
“Uh, I think I’m just going to head home. I have a headache, and I need to get some more things finished for work,” I speak as I hastily make my way off the porch, done with the constant questions. I just want to get out of here.
“Wait, you came with me. How are you getting home?” Riley reaches for his keys inside his pocket. “I’ll drive you.”
“No, honestly, it’s fine. My house is just a fifteen-minute walk anyway. I’ll text you when I get home. You stay and have fun.” I continue on my path when I hear Nate speak.
God, can I just get out of here!?
“I can drop you off if you like. I have to head that way anyway and pick up my brother from practice,” he says. It’s cute how much he cares and does for his brother. I’ve always admired that about Nate.
“Are you sure? I really don’t want to overstep or anything.” I sigh and look from Riley to Nate. He chuckles and shakes his head.
“B, it’s no trouble.” He looks to Riley, who nods.
“Make sure you text me. If you don’t, I will be knocking on your door in the middle of the night to make sure you’re okay.” Riley points a finger at me and instantly makes me feel like a little kid. I roll my eyes at him and make my way to Nate’s Jeep.
I’ve known Nate for a few months now since he has been hanging out with my brother. They do mixed martial arts together, and I think that’s all I really know about him. Other than the fact that he absolutely adores his younger brother, Noah. Pulling out of Grace’s parents’ estate, we make our way through the dirt roads covered in trees. You wouldn’t think you could find such a huge estate so close to the city, but I guess that’s what being rich can get you. I look down at my hands in my lap and pick at the skin on the sides of my nails. I try to steady my breathing as anger surges like a tidal wave inside me.
How dare he just come back and pretend like nothing happened?
Arrogant prick.
“What was that back there?” Nate’s deep voice breaks the silence, interrupting my thoughts.
“What do you mean?” I pretend not to know because it’s easier than spilling my deepest secrets.
“I’m not blind. You were fine before Finn showed up, and as soon as you exchanged words with him, you wanted to bail on the party.” He glances over at me, and there’s a hint of light that flashes in his dark green eyes as we start passing streetlights. Nate is ridiculously attractive. Dark curly hair that falls to his eyes from the top with a shorter cut at the bottom of his head. He’s wearing a leather jacket with a white tee underneath. Also completely covered in tattoos from his neck to his hands.
The perfect bad-boy image.
“I’d rather not talk about it.” I look at my phone and see a text pop up from Grace.
BESTIE
Locking my phone, I look outside and watch the trees and streetlights pass as we continue driving.
“Do you actually need to go home, or was that just an excuse to get out of there?” He pushes on as he turns his head to give me a smirk. A smile breaks through my icy exterior. I can’t help it, he’s charming. “So, does that mean you wouldn’t mind coming with me to pick up my brother? I think there’s still the second half of the game to go.” His warm smile makes me feel completely safe.
“I guess I have a spare forty minutes.” I smile back. “For Noah.”
He chuckles as he makes a turn. “Noted.”
Chapter Two
Nathan
The smell of her flowery perfume has engulfed my Jeep, and it’s the only thing I can smell. I’m glad she agreed to come with me to pick up Noah. If I were being completely honest, I didn’t want her to go home yet. Not without having a night where she can enjoy herself. I pull into the parking lot of the outdoor basketball court and turn the car off.
“I usually just watch from the car. Noah hates it when I’m on the sidelines. He thinks I jinx his game,” I explain as I take a sip from my water bottle. I feel her eyes on me, and as I turn to look, she looks away.
“Sounds like Noah is a bit superstitious.” She smiles as she looks out towards the court.
Goddamn that beautiful fucking smile.
I knew the moment I met Billie that she was trouble, which is why I never tried to pursue things with her. I had my own shit to sort out and still do, not to mention she’s Riley’s sister.
The players are running while the coaches are on the sidelines, yelling some words of encouragement. Feeling my phone buzz in my pocket, I pull it out to read the text.
RILEY
I stare at Riley’s text, not sure how I want to respond. When does the whole clubbing scene start getting old? Because it did for me a long time ago.
ME
“Was that my brother asking where I am? ’Cause it wouldn’t be the first time.” She rolls her eyes and shifts in her seat. She’s not wrong. Riley is a bit overbearing, but like any older brother, in his mind, he’s just protecting her.
