“History repeats itself. It’s been accomplished before, it can be accomplished again. Our world is very different from yours, Sunny.”
I glance back at the couple. They do look good together. Their children would be stunning.
“Tyler tried for a while with her so that when they married it wouldn’t be just for convenience. Also because a part of him thought maybe he could find something deeper to her than the bleach in her hair. But Shelby did something that Tyler refuses to speak about. So he broke it off and has been essentially biding his time since. Makes me feel like he has something up his sleeve.”
“Do you think Tyler will change his mind and forgive her?”
Sam laughs. “No. If there's anything I know about my brother, you don’t cross him. He’s a powerful motherfucker. And a scary one. He’s planning something, I’m sure of it. Regardless of the fact that Shelby’s parents still have a deposit on the wedding venue.”
They have a wedding venue.
“Understandable,” I say. “She is gorgeous though.”
“Gotta love plastic surgery,” she laughs. “Come on, let’s go snag a bar table. I’m hungry.”
I take my time down the long, dark brick hallway from the bathroom to the main dining area. The sounds of the venue are muffled in here, a moment of relief before it’s time to paste a smile on my face and be introduced to names I’ll soon forget.
In the shadows, a tall figure emerges. “You didn’t come say hi,” Tyler’s voice echoes through the muffled voices reaching through the hall.
“Mmmm,” I hum as I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hide the clear difference in attire between us. “You seemed preoccupied.”
He arches a brow as he walks towards me with his hands in his pockets. “Preoccupied, or annoyed?” He leans against the wall. A lazy smile sits on his lips, his greens softer in the dim lighting of the hallway.
“I guess you're the judge of that one.”
He flicks his eyes to my dress, half covered by my arms. “I like that dress.”
Despite myself, I feel a blush cover my cheeks. “I feel a little underdressed. Especially compared to Shelby.”
Whydid I say that?
Tyler laughs. Actually laughs. “So, Sam told you who that was.”
“Why do you let her treat you like that? So maybe you could get laid tonight?”
Tyler’s smile fades as fast as it came. “Why does it bother you, Sunny?”
Heknowswhat he is asking. The right questions to reveal an admission of something I refuse and will keep sealed on my tongue, despite the words desperately pressing to get out.
“Because you spend all your time saving everyone else but yourself.” I want to suck the words back in as soon as they are spoken, but what’s done is done.
Tylerwincesas if my words actuallymeansomething to him.
“I don’t need saving, Sunny. Why does it bother you, howshetreatsme?”
My brows crease, and anger kindles inside my chest. “Who touches another human like that? You expect me to not tolerate Ryan, but you tolerate her?”
It’s how it started with Ryan. Small aggressions here and there. Grabbing my arm too firmly. Grabbing my face too firmly. Slamming a door too aggressively. Throwing an object near me but never at me. It’s the same thing I told myself over and over—it wasn’t anything serious until,until it was.
“There is nothing I can’t handle.” He smiles. A symphony of laughs rings from the dining area, taking our attention for a brief moment. We both look at one another again.
“Duty calls,” I say.
He lulls his head against the wall and pushes off, slowly making his trek to the dining area in slow, measured steps.
“Tyler,” I call out.
He turns around, his hands in his pockets. He keeps silent, allowing me to finish my sentence.
