The arrogance in that nearly makes me smile. “You think this is about you?”
“It always is with you.”
I tilt my head slightly. “You overestimate your importance in my life. Not for the first time.”
He steps closer, invading my space the way he always used to when he wanted to intimidate. “You were in my bed on New Year’s. You tried to ruin my engagement.”
“And you tried to ruin my life first,” I say evenly. “Let’s not rewrite history.”
“You could have had this,” he says, gesturing vaguely to the room, to the venue, to the curated life outside these walls. “When I got back from my honeymoon, we could have figured something out.”
The audacity of it leaves me speechless for a moment.
“You’re married to my sister,” I say slowly. “And you’re propositioning me in the bridal suite. Do you not see the problem here?”
“It’s not like you’re innocent.Don’t rewrite history,” he quotes me in a snotty tone.
I smile then, sharp and deliberate. “Who do you think I was in your bed with at New Year’s, Jason? Ask your wife. She knows.” I nod toward the doorway.
The door he forgot to close.
When he turns around to see his teary bride, the color drains from his face. “Faith,” he says quickly, smoothing his tie like that will cure reality. “I was just?—”
She raises one hand. “I was looking for you.” Her voice is calm in a way that terrifies me more than shouting would.
Jason laughs awkwardly. “You caught us at a weird moment.”
“Did I?” Her eyes flick to me for a second, then back to him. There is no hysteria there. No tears anymore. Just recognition. She looks me in the eye over his shoulder. “You can have him.”
“What?” Jason snaps.
But I shake my head. “Absolutely the fuck not. He’s your mess now, Faith. I tried to warn you when I caught you two sleeping together, but I’m pretty sure you knew what he was back then, so it’s your turn to figure it out.”
Faith’s face tightens, and this time the hurt shows.
Jason turns on me. “You always do this. You stir things up and then pretend you’re above it.”
Faith looks at him now like she’s seeing him clearly for the first time in years. Then she leaves.
I feel something inside me harden. Sisterly love? Ex-girlfriend rage? I’m not sure which, and I don’t think it matters what it is. I stride over to Jason, closing the distance between us. I’m inches from his handsome face, and all I feel is impatient fury. “If you don’t find some way to fix this with Faith,” I say to him, and my voice is low and steady, “I will make your life a living hell.”
He looks at me like he doesn’t recognize the person standing in front of him. “You don’t get to threaten me.”
“Oh, I absolutely do. Because, unlike you, I am not drunk enough to forget what matters. Forget her again, and I will start the party by slowly gutting you while smiling. Wanna know what comes after that?”
Jason hesitates only a second before following her. The door slams shut behind him, leaving the bridal suite quiet again.
I stand there alone, breathing hard, listening to the distant music from the reception swell and fall. Ten minutes ago, I was crying in this room. Now, I have truly ruined everything for everyone I care about.
I used to crave drama. Lived for the thrill of it. But drama left me with a pair of twins, and everything changed. Including me, apparently.
I don’t know who I am anymore.
26
DAMIAN
I double backtoward the reception hall because it’s the most logical place she could have gone. Logic is all I have right now, and I’m running in short supply of it.
