Hearing him now, all the things he had to say, broke me.
“I know you don’t mean that,” I said, fighting back. “You asked me to marry you. Multiple times. You want to spend the rest of your life with me.”
I held up my left hand. Solid, concrete evidence that Gray didn’t mean what he said. He looked at the ring on my finger and let out a laugh that I hadn’t heard in so long. Cold, heartless, and empty.
“The rest of my life?” he repeated. “The five minutes I have left here? I should have trusted myself and stayed away from you when we first met. Fucked and chucked you just like I always intended to.”
I glanced at Erik, who looked as broken as I felt. This was not how this meeting was meant to go.
“I don’t want to marry you, Scott. I can barely stand to look at you.” Disgust marred his features, twisting them into something unrecognisable. “Get out and stay away from me,” Graysondemanded before looking at Erik. “That goes for you as well. You’re as much to blame for this as she is.”
“Brother—”
“You are no brother of mine. I have no family.”
Erik recoiled at the comment and a flare of anger burned in my chest. If he wanted to be angry at me for the situation we found ourselves in, then so be it. But Erik had done nothing wrong. Erik had tried to warn us both to stay away from each other.
“Grayson, don’t you dare?—”
“What? You can’t tell me what to do. Take a hint, Scott. You aren’t wanted. You should be used to it by now. Story of your life, isn’t it? Discarded and abandoned. Completely pathetic. Chasing after people who no longer want you.”
Everything that held me together finally shattered. The last thread snapped.
I trusted Gray with my past. Everything from my parents to Ethan had been poured out to him with an understanding that he would carry those admissions as close to his heart as I did. They were sacred. I never imagined that he would use them against me, let alone with such vitriol.
Without thinking, I ripped the engagement ring from my finger. It sailed through the air, passing through the bars, before landing in the dirt behind him.
Those words were all I could take. I wouldn’t stand there and beg for him to keep me. If that was what he saw, if that was what he thought, then he could suffer. Grayson had shown his true colours.
Pain ripped through me in waves so violent that the edges of my vision blurred and nausea threatened to undo me.
“Quentin,” Erik whispered.
The world swayed, and I felt Erik grip my arms before the world went black.
The world came into focus with a vibrancy that felt wrong. Beneath my head, there was the comforting softness of a pillow and my fingers curled around a comforter. But despite being sheathed in tenderness, my body ached. Each joint was filled with pain while my insides felt as if they were on fire. The sensations became overwhelming, and I shut my eyes tight, blocking out the world and willing for it all to stop.
Taking in a deep breath, I realised I must be back at Erik’s estate. If I was foolish enough, I might have believed that the conversation with Gray was nothing more than a bad dream. A nightmare that I could forget and laugh about. But the pain that coursed through my chest was not a figment of my imagination. The phantom ring on my finger testified to my reality.
“Welcome back, Scott.” To my left, the bed sagged as Larkin took a seat. I cracked my eyes open to find her peering down at me with concern etched into her features.
I opened my mouth to talk, but the pain went from a dull ache to a sharp stabbing, forcing me to curl into a ball. Her long, slender fingers stroked my hair. The gentle touch was enough tobreak my already wavering resilience, and the tears fell. Larkin offered no words of comfort. She neither encouraged me to stop or continue.
I needed reassurance. Wanted someone to take the reins. For as long as I could remember, I ran on autopilot. Life threw a curveball and soldiered on until the next one. What else was I meant to do? The only other option was to give up, and it looked more and more appealing.
Gray had promised that I wouldn’t have to handle things alone anymore. He’d made good on that promise until now. Brick by brick, he removed my walls until he had access to every part of me.
The sobs turned into screams as frustration bled into the mix, summoning Erik and Sloan into the room.
“Erik, there has to be something…” Sloan trailed off.
“There’s nothing I can do. Their bond—” He choked on the word.
I’d never felt pain so raw in my life. Not even when my parents died. That pain had been numbing and dulled my world. Time slowed and life became hazy as I navigated my way through each day. This pain pulled everything into focus and demanded to be felt in its entirety. It sobered me and brought things into focus. Everything was too loud. Too bright. Too much.
Inescapable. That was what the feeling was. I was trapped in a world that I’d never asked to be a part of, and the one thing that made it bearable was now salt in the wound.
I writhed on the bed, struggling to take a breath as pain flooded my senses.
