After hearing the news, I didn't know what to say further or even what to do. So many thoughts were running through my head and my emotions were all over the place. I felt lied to and manipulated. Arden seemed like a whole different person to me now. She has hid so much important sh-t from me and lied so many times and our relationship was only just beginning. How could we have a future if she couldn't be straightforward with me? I can understand wanting to get away from your past but leaving me in the dark about something so prevalent in her past was f-cked up. She didn't even want me to learn about how she had treated Avery. She wanted to leave me blind, but thankfully Sofia led me to the light.

With anger, hurt and confusion all mixed in one, I excused myself from Sofia's presence and went into the room that Arden and I were sharing. I sat on the bed and just stared at the pale blue wall as if it was going to transform into something greater than what it was. There were no tears falling down, just a blank, melancholy stare. Arden had me feeling pathetic the whole day as if I did something wrong to her. She had shunned me, barely said a thing to me and made me feel like sh-t all because she was so scared that her dirty secret was going to be revealed. Well, now it was, and I felt even more sh-tier.

I'm not sure how long I stayed that way, but it must've been for a while because Arden came into the room all sweaty with a huge smile on her face. "Kitten! Why are you all locked up in the room?! Jacob and I are playing a pretty lopsided game of tag out there and we could really use an extra person!"

I looked up at Arden slowly with a flat stare. Her smile quickly diminished when she noticed that I wasn't okay. She ran her fingers through her hair a bit timidly before looking down at the floor. "Listen, Mira, I can explain," she urged.

"You always say that and all you do is explain lies. How can I trust you, Arden? You made me feel unwanted the whole day and then Sofia tells me all about you and your ex-girlfriend and what you did to her. It's just too much," I responded softly. I had wasted too much energy into thinking, crying and hating myself that I couldn't even yell at her. "All I ask for you is to be honest with me but you can't do that. You're always leaving something out or altering a story in your favor. I can't believe anything that comes out of your mouth. You say you love me, but I really can't believe that. I can't help but feel like you're using me."

"Using you for what, Mira," Arden questioned with concern. Thanks to my quiet demeanor, she spoke softly as well. She got down on her knees before me on the floor as I sat on the bed. Her hands met my thighs but I pushed them away immediately. "Come on, kitten. You're not making sense. I have everything that I could ever want. I don't have to use you for anything. Not for sex. Not for money. Not for fame. If it's anything I should be worried about you using me."

My eyebrows furrowed as I stared at Arden. Did she really just turn this around on me? "You know what, Arden, I don't have time for games. I don't have time for you switch sh-t around like-"

"I'm not switching anything around, Mira! I'm not saying that I am worried about you using me, but I should be. I should be worried that you're just like those other girls, but guess what? I f-cking trust you. Why don't you trust me!? Why are you so busy listening to what other people have to say about me? My past doesn't define me. I'm a changed woman and sure I may have been f-cked up back then but I would never hurt you. I'd never lay a f-cking finger on you in a harmful way. I love you, Mira." She reached to take my hand and I allowed her to hold it. Her thumb caressed against the back of it gently. "You're my girl and I'd give you anything you could dream of. I'll treat you like a queen. All you have to do is let me. Listen to your heart, Mira."

I swallowed hard and looked away from her. Every time I listened to my heart, it always got me in trouble. It always led me in the wrong direction. "I just think it'd be best if I caught the next flight back to LA."

"No, Mira. You don't mean that, kitten."

"I do." I told her as I wiped away a falling tear. "What you did to Avery was so f-cked up and I know no matter how much you say I'm different and how much you love me, you're going to do the same to me."

"No. No! Mira, you've got it all wrong! I swear to God, I would never do that to you! You don't have to worry, Mira." She held both of my hands tightly as she stared into my eyes. There was nothing but desperation stirring in her blue eyes. "You're a good girl. You're a very good girl, kitten. She was a slut, not you. She cheated on me a few times and I lost it, okay? You're faithful, though. I know you are. I'd never do that to you. I promise. Please, kitten."

It didn't take a brain surgeon to come to the conclusion that I took her back like an idiot. I just couldn't stand to see her begging me and even though I didn't want to follow my heart, I did. Now, here we were sitting at the dinner table where things were far above awkward. Arden and I had patched up well so the awkwardness wasn't between us two, but between her and her sister. They kept giving each other death glares and I thought they were going to fight right at the table. Their mother just carried on like it was nothing. Atticus had came and picked up Jacob a few hours before dinner, luckily, because even the looks the two were giving each other wasn't fit for a child to see.

"If you got something to say then say it, little sis," Sofia finally shot to Arden. My girlfriend's hand wrapped around her steak knife tightly as she clenched her jaw. "I know you hit women but are you going to start killing them now? Am I your first victim, Miss I-Can't-Contain-My-Anger." Arden's face was a pure red and I covered my face from whatever was about to happen between the two. "Are you going turn into the Hulk or something?"

A bang on the table startled me and I looked towards Arden's way. She had just slammed her fist down. "Why don't you close your mouth and stop putting your nose in places where it f-cking shouldn't be in!? Don't bring up my past unless asked and most importantly stay out of my relationship! Just because you can't find someone to love your ugly ass doesn't mean I can't."

"Wow!? I'm ugly!? What are you? Three!? Come with something better than that! Plus, I'd rather be ugly and single than to be with someone who is abusive like you!"

"I'm not like that anymore!"

"Really? Because the way you're turning red and about to lunge at me with that dull ass steak knife is telling me something different!"

"You little f-cking bitch!"

"What are you going to do? Hit me!? Hey, Mira! Arden doesn't only make top hits on the radio, but she's really good at making hits on other women and I'm not talking about the abusive kind either." Arden's phone vibrated on the table and Sofia laughed. "I bet that's one of your side hoes right now."

I looked over at Arden and then down at her phone which was facing down. She dropped the knife and her whole demeanor changed. She was more nervous than angry now and I knew why. Other women. I should've known. There was no room left for surprise today. Sure it stung like hell, but I kept my lips closed. I guess we were going to have to take this one step at a time. I wasn't going to argue, cry or any of that. If she wanted to see other women behind my back then fine, as long as she didn't make it obvious. We'd work on that struggle once she got over her anger issues. I just wondered how many she had done behind my back so far.

Arden and Sofia stopped bickering after their mother finally cut her silence and told them both to shut the f-ck up. The woman seemed so nice but when she raised her voice, she was scary as hell. She wasn't even talking to me and I didn't say barely another word for the rest of the night. Once dinner was over, I was exhausted by the stress of the day. Arden was an abuser and a cheater and here I was still with her. I seemed desperate to still be with her, but unfortunately I was in love and completely blind to all the damage she could cause.

My mind raced most of the night as Arden and I laid in bed together. It taunted me about how many girls Arden was probably f-cking when I wasn't around and just how pretty they were. With each new pretty face that popped up in my head, my heart paced even faster. I was getting anxiety over it so badly that I could barely breathe. All I needed was some reassurance so I awoke Arden out of her sleep. She woke up with a slight frown on her face, but the frown went away when I hopped on top of her. I just needed for her to moan my name and tell me how sexy I was just a little bit. I needed her to f-ck me like it was her last then lie to me about how I was the best that she ever had. It was stupid. She had full control over me and I knew it. I couldn't leave even if I wanted to. I was too much of a fool.

The next morning, Arden woke me up with flavor. I felt a soft pressure on top of me and then soft kisses around my chest. The ticklish kisses moved down my stomach and then all the way back up until her lips met mine. "Wake up, my Hungarian princess," she whispered. A soft smile came upon my face but I kept my eyes closed. "I kissed you, my princess. You're supposed to wake up. It's the magic rule," she whined. I could imagine her pouting adorably and my smile grew even wider. My eyes shot open and Arden had that same pout that I had imagined on her face, but it quickly diminished. "You're alive," she celebrated before kissing me all over my face.

I giggled and pushed her away playfully. "You're really irritating," I joked.

"I'm irritating? You're the one who woke me up at four in the morning and begged me to f-ck the sh-t out of you." I bit my lower lip as I remembered the insecurities of last night. They came flooding back and my smile faded. "I'm sorry, kitten. You're really not irritating. I was kind of glad you woke me up. I thought you were still mad at me."

I smiled falsely and pecked her lips. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand as soon as I did. She grabbed it and looked down at the glowing screen. "Who is it," I dared to ask. Arden looked from the phone and up to me. "Don't lie to me."

"It's nothing, kitten," she skipped the question as if it was nothing. She leaned down and pressed her lips against mine to give me a kiss. I knew she was only kissing me to get me sidetracked. One of her hands grabbed my breasts and I slapped her arm. She looked at me wide eyed as she removed her hand. "Kitten..."

"Arden. Who is she?" She just stared at me as if she was dumb. I really couldn't take the suspense anymore. I needed to know who this bitch was, or who one of these bitches was. Yanking the phone from her hands, I pushed the home button to look at the most recent text. Cleverly, she had it so her text messages didn't show in detail but just a notification on her lock screen. "What's your password?"

"Mira, don't do this."

"You're going to keep lying to me? We argued about this yesterday. Just be honest, Arden and everything will be okay between us. That's all I ask." Arden mumbled her password and I put it in. She eyed my fingers with every tap of the screen. I went to her messages and clicked on the most recent text. I wasn't going to go through all of them, it'd only make me feel worse. The text simply read, 'thinking about you', but attached was a picture of a naked girl who really put me to shame. She was so damn beautiful and flawless. It made me question why she was dating me and not her? The girl was total catch. F-ck. I shouldn't have asked.

"She's pretty," I said simply before giving Arden her phone back. "Is she...is she who you f-ck when I'm not-when I'm not around?"

"Mira..."

"If so, it's cool. I don't care just please don't let me walk in on any of that. I understand that you're famous and girls are going to throw their panties at you. Just please, don't let me see any of it."

"I just f-ck those other girls. You're the only one that I love. It's just hard to contain myself, you know?" I just nodded my head and kept a straight face. It was taking everything not to cry or seem upset. Arden cleared her throat awkwardly and got off of me. "Um...well, I woke you up because I was thinking we could spend the day together. I can show you all around Melbourne. You can see all my favorite places. Everywhere I like to shop and eat, all of that. Just me and you, kitten." I was expecting her to say she'd stop seeing the girls, even if I knew she'd be lying but she didn't. I guess it was my fault for telling her to stop lying to me. Sometimes I just needed to hear a lie to boost my self-esteem. "Here, kitten, look." Arden threw her phone towards the wall as if it was nothing. "I won't even bring my phone with us. It's all about you."

I smiled slightly. "Okay."

-

Are you surprised Arden has been seeing other women?

Do you think Mira is making things worse for herself by staying with Arden?

Just to clarify, if you're in a relationship with someone like Arden Scott right now, dump their ass because they are a piece of sh-t. Don't date anyone like this. I hate even writing this, but it's all for a reason and to help the plot progress. I don't condone unhealthy relationships.