“He fucked up.” She nods a few times, more like shaking the idea out of her head. “Please give him a chance. I will forever regret my hand in it all.”
“So I should give him a chance to absolveyouof your fucked-up ways? Fuck you, Roxy, and fuck Xander. I don’t want to be near your kind… entitled manipulators.”
I push away from the table, my chair tumbling to the ground.
“Cora, I’m so sorry.” Roxy doesn’t move.
I snort. “I’m sure you are, Roxy. And I even believe that you snooped through my life only to satisfy your twisted curiosity. That changes nothing about my husband’s betrayal.”
Roxy propels forward, almost face-diving into the table as the door springs open and Xander’s stormy eyes collide with mine.
Earlier today, I thought my life had crumbled into pieces too scattered to ever be replaced. That my heart shattered into a million irreplaceable shards. That my ability to trust vanished into thin air.
None of that compares to the domino effect of my insides folding, and my world collapsing at the sight of the gorgeous man.
I always knew he would hurt me. I always knew he would destroy me. I always knew I would never recover from Xander Stone.
But I never realized how painful it would be to see him suffer in equal measure.
Chapter 30
Xander
The minute my gaze lands on Cora, I know.
I know with unequivocal certainty that we will not recover from this.
I was prepared to meet an angry Cora. A sad Cora. A frustrated Cora.
I wasn’t prepared for this.
Her eyes are devoid of emotion. Her face is unreadable. It’s like she’s gone already. She retreated into a place where I can’t reach her. I can’t pull at her heart. A place where she can be safe from a bastard like me.
I completely lost it with Corm when he insisted I take a client call with him. At one point, his asking me to step in was a badge of approval, something I was thriving on. At one point, the Merged business took precedence over anything and everything.
And before that, it was my family business.
Always focus on the outcome. On the next goal. On the score.
So inconsequential in the light of the loss I already feel in my veins. My entire life has been built on a false purpose.
In a twist of fate, the only thing that matters is something I finally had to work hard for. But instead, I found a shortcut, and now I will pay the price.
The price too steep to survive.
“I’ll leave you to it.” Roxy scurries away, closing the door behind her.
Cora doesn’t move. She doesn’t seem to breathe. I want to say something, but she looks so fragile that a word might break her.
I don’t know what to say to make it better.
To explain.
To apologize. To fucking apologize. I grasp that idea with all the vigor and fleeting hope.
“I’m sorry, Coraline. I’m so fucking sorry.”
The words feel foreign but right on my tongue. “I didn’t think you’d marry me. I didn’t think you would want to be with me. Fuck, I wasn’t thinking at all. I was just acting. I was being a spoiled brat who wanted you, so I got you. At any cost.”
