She stumbled backward, and something in me twisted at the fear flickering across her face. But I couldn’t stop. The words, the rage, the confusion, all came pouring out.
“You know it really didn’t take you long to move on, did it?”
Her face shifted, confusion, then something harder. “You cheated on me.”
The reminder hit like a slap, but it also released something worse. Something I’d been holding back since that night, since before we’d even started dating.
“Let’s not pretend like you didn’t fuck Trystan the night before we started dating.”
The shock on her face should have made me feel vindicated, but it didn’t; it made me feel sick.
Trystan appeared behind her, territorial and protective in his boxer briefs. “Do not talk to her like that.”
“Trystan, go back to bed,” Cam ordered.
But I couldn’t stop staring at her, at the way she looked at me like I was the villain. Maybe I was. I’d cheated, I knew that. But this... seeing them together... it confirmed every insecurity I’d buried.
Doors opened. Syn emerged, then Harlow. The hallway was filled with witnesses to my humiliation.
“What’s going on?” Syn asked.
“Nothing,” Trystan said, stepping between us again. “Go back to bed.”
But Cam moved out from behind him, arms wrapped around herself like armor. “Why don’t we talk about this?”
“You want to talk about it?” My lips twisted into something cruel. I could see my pain reflected in her eyes, and it only made the anger worse. “Okay. Let’s talk. Maybe I wouldn’t have cheated on you if you hadn’t…”
My eyes cut to Trystan. I wanted to wound her the way I was wounded, wanted to make someone else hurt.
“If you finish that fucking sentence…” Trystan’s tone was laced with venom.
He moved past Cam with frightening grace, and I saw it then—he’d actually fight for her. Protect her. From me.
The realization should have cooled my anger. It didn’t. This wasn’t even about her anymore. It was about him. Me and him.
“You’re going to eat your teeth for breakfast,” Trystan promised.
“You cheated on her?” Syn’s voice cut through the chaos. “What the fuck, Owen?”
“Can everyone shut up?” Cam shouted. “Please.”
But I couldn’t. “Fuck this and fuck you, Cam. I’m not really into whores anywa…”
His fist came out of nowhere, and pain exploded through my jaw, stars bursting behind my eyes. I staggered, and then Trystan was on me, both of us crashing to the floor. The hardwood slammed into my back, pushing all the air from my lungs.
Fists flew. His. Mine. Pain bloomed with each impact: my ribs, face, and shoulder. I swung back blindly, connecting with something solid.
I deserved this. I deserved all of it.
Jax’s voice boomed through the chaos, and then Trystan was gone.
“What the fuck is going on?”
I touched my fingertips to my lip, and when I pulled them away, they were red. My jaw pounded in rhythm with my racing heart. My gaze collided with Harlow, who was standing behind Syn in the doorway. Her blue eyes were wide with a what the fuck look written all over her face. Something in the way she looked at me softened the rage and pulled me back to reality.
“I don’t know what’s going on… but this ends. Now.”
“Then tell your fucking friend not to call my girlfriend a whore,” Trystan spat, still straining against Jax’s grip.
