Her eyes flash. “So what, I'm your prop now? Your way of—”
“You think that's what this is?” I turn to face her fully, and the air between us charges. “You think I give a fuck about optics?”
“Then what was that?” She gestures toward the window, where camera flashes still strobe in the distance.
I glare at her. “That was me done pretending.”
Atlas makes a choking sound. Punk elbows him hard enough to make him grunt. Jord and Luce sit quietly, watching us go back and forth as if they missed a chapter.
Ivy's breath catches. I watch her throat work as she swallows, and my fingers itch to trace the column of it.
“Done pretending what, exactly?” her eyes narrow. “Because if you haven't forgotten, I'm married!”
I wave her comment off with a scoff, unable to take her and Parker's bullshit marriage seriously.
She laughs, but it's not the kind I want. “Ah, I see, so we fuck and now you think you can piss all over me?”
Jord chokes on his drink.
“I knew it!” Luce squeals.
Atlas is probably drilling holes into my head.
“For the record, Venom?” I seethe, a thread away from fucking her stupid in front of everyone just to make my point. “You were mine before I had my dick in you.”
She pulls away from me, annoyed, as Daniel starts the engine. His eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror and for a moment, it's just him and I.
Shaking my head, I chuckle. “What I don't fucking get is why the fuck you care so much.”
Silence.
“You couldn't even begin to imagine why, Ash.” There's no fight in her tone, just exhaustion. “You don't—” She breaks off, jaw clenching. “Parker is going to lose his mind.”
“Good.”
Her pupils dilate, and for a moment, I think she might hit me. Or kiss me. The line between the two has never been thinner.
“You can't do this.” Her voice shakes now, fury and fear mixing. “You can't just decide—”
“Watch me.”
“You arrogant piece of—”
“Say it.” I lean closer, my voice dropping to something that makes everyone look away. “Tell me you don't want this. Tell me last night meant nothing. Tell me you'd rather go back to pretending he doesn't make your skin crawl.”
Her breath comes faster. “That's not fair.”
“Nothing aboutthisis fair!”
The car takes a turn too fast, and Ivy's hand shoots out, gripping my thigh to steady herself. She doesn't remove it.
We pull through 888 Veilarath Lane, and for a moment, I'm flashed back to the first time we came here when she first signed the deed. Feels like a lifetime ago now. Too much has happened.
Daniel pulls the car out the front and Ivy wastes no time flying out, jogging up the steps toward the front door.
Jord slips out with Punk, but Luce hovers, her hand on the door. “Just so you know, Asher, there's a lot about her that you can't even comprehend to know.”
Pause.
