I barely make it down the hall before I break.
The sobs are quiet—tight in my throat—but I don’t let them out. Not yet. Not until I push into my room and find Sean sitting on the edge of the bed, barefoot, scrolling on his phone like the world isn’t unraveling three doors down.
He looks up immediately.
“Aro?”
I don’t speak. Just walk to him, slow and deliberate, until my knees hit the bed and I collapse into his chest.
His arms wrap around me without questions. Without conditions.
He holds me while I fall apart. One hand cradles the back of my head. The other rubs slow, steady circles along my lower back like he’s trying to calm a storm he doesn’t even understand yet.
After a long minute, he murmurs, “What happened?”
I force myself to pull back, eyes wet but jaw tight. “He’s getting married.”
Sean goes still. The air shifts.
“Who?”
“Johnny.”
His face hardens. “Johnny—”
“Yes,” I snap. “Our Johnny. Our emotionally stunted,chaos-loving, passive-aggressive psychopath. May he rot in hell.”
Sean stares like I just slapped him. “Jesus Christ. I didn’t know. No one told me.”
“He said it’s for leverage. Politics. Her dad’s funding Joe. This is all part of some giant takedown scheme.”
Sean’s jaw tenses. “So, he’s playing fake husband for the cause.”
“He says it’s not real. That it means nothing.”
Sean’s mouth twitches with anger. “Sure. That’s what men say when they’re booking florists.”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. Just something hollow and bruised.
“He told me I’m the one he wants.”
Sean doesn’t respond. He just cups my cheek again, thumb grazing the damp skin beneath my eye.
“Do you believe him?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I want to. And that’s the part that scares the shit out of me.”
He pulls me in again. Firmer this time. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I think he does care. Deeply. Messily. The only way he’s able.”
I revel in the feel of his arms, his patience, his quiet.
Until my phone buzzes with a single text.
Johnny:Family meeting. Living room. Now.
I show it to Sean. He sighs like the weight of this circus is already getting old.
“Of course.”
