But his intensity didn't let up.Part of me felt overwhelmed, a little scared by it.But part of me swooned, loved the idea that he was so consumed by me, us...our future.
I was pulled back to my painful present, trying to push all the memories of us from my mind.
“You said...”My voice cracked.“You promised you weren’t with her when you were with me.”
Andrew’s mouth curled.“It’s not even mine.I didn’t lie.Stop running from me.You.Are.MINE.”
The room had gone quiet, the music seeming to fade.Every eye was on us now.I could hear my dad’s voice raised in anger somewhere behind me.Dean was shouting for Adam to have Andrew removed.
It felt like the walls were closing in.I didn't want this.The pain in my chest was sharp, and it felt like every wound...every part of me that I had been trying to heal was being ripped open anew.
I turned to leave, desperate for the air outside, but Adam stepped into my path.
“Cass, wait...”
“I’m sorry,” I sobbed.“I ruined your night.”
“You didn’t do anything,” he said fiercely.“I’ll take care of it...”
“You,” Victoria’s voice cut through the noise.
She was suddenly there, pointing at me, her other hand rubbing her belly for everyone to see.“You little homewrecking whore.This tramp seduced my husband, got him to walk out on me, on our son, and on this baby.What didn't you get enough when you were fucking my husband for a year?Now you are forcing him to divorce me?”
The words landed like a punch.Whispers rippled outward.I felt all eyes on me, on Victoria in all her perfection and her baby bump.Hisbaby?
And then she slapped me.
For a second, the whole room froze.I didn't even register the pain at first.Then voices rose, some shouting my name, others hissing insults.I could feel the stares like needles in my skin.
I couldn’t breathe.I couldn’t stay.Iruinedeverything.
I pushed past Adam, ignoring the calls to stop, ignoring my family’s voices.The only thing I could hear washomewrecker, whore,ringing in my ears as I bolted out the door.
Chapter 21
The cold didn’t matter.
Not when my chest felt like it had been ripped wide open.
My heels skidded against the frost-covered pavement, breath tearing ragged through the sharp night air.Music and laughter from the pub bled into the distance behind me until there was nothing left but the frantic beat of my heart pounding in my ears.My tears felt hot against the freezing wind, but I didn’t bother wiping them away.My whole body buzzed with shame, anger, heartbreak, a twisting mess I couldn’t untangle fast enough to breathe.
And then...
“Cass.”
His voice.Low.Behind me.
I spun too fast, nearly slipping on the slick cement, bracing myself like I’d have to fight, to scream, to break again, but Brody stopped a few feet away, hands raised like he knew better than to touch me yet.His jaw was tight, and his hazel eyes looked so much darker than usual under the streetlight, locked on mine, unreadable and unrelenting.
“Don’t,” I rasped, my voice raw and frayed.“Just… don’t.”
He stepped closer anyway, slow and steady, like I was something wild and wounded that might bolt at the first sudden move.“I’m not here to tell you what to do,” he said softly, voice rougher than usual.“I just… I saw you run out.I wasn’t gonna let you face this alone.”
I shook my head, tears spilling faster.“Don’t do that.Don’t be kind right now.”My voice cracked, splintering like glass.“I can’t… I can’t handle it.”
Brody’s throat worked like he swallowed something sharp.“Cass…”
I laughed, short and hollow, wiping at my face with shaking hands that wouldn’t steady.“You shouldn’t even be here.Not tonight.Not after this.Not after I ruined Adam’s opening night.God, Brody, I ruin everything.”My voice climbed, splintering with every word until it snapped entirely.“And you saw her… Yousawher.You sawhim.You saw everything.”
