The freaking nerve.
“Join me, Anna, and…” He furrowed his brows, pretending to think. “Can’t remember the other one’s name.”
“No, thank you.” Whatever daze the tequila had me in earlier was long gone. Now, I wanted to get the hell out of there.
“Come on…” He leaned in closer, the smell of whiskey rolling off him. “Since you’re not upset, you might as well.”
“Stop!” The word came out sharper, louder than I intended.
“What?” He had that damn smirk again, the one that used to make my knees weak but now made my skin crawl. He had the whole actor thing down, putting on quite the show.
“This game you’re playing. It’s embarrassing.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
I held his gaze, unflinching, my eyes locking onto his. His eyes—those deep, endless oceans that once pulled me under—didn’t get to me this time. No, not anymore. I was done drowning in them.
“No, no, no. It’s embarrassingfor you,” I said, my words cutting clean through the haze of whatever bullshit game he was trying to play. He stood there, stunned. My hands reached for the door. Chris’ cockiness had shattered, leaving him silent, almost lost. Good.
And then, as I opened the door, his eyes dropped to my hand.
He saw it.
The ring.
I had forgotten about the ring, honestly. My mind had been so tangled up in trying to escape itself that I hadn’t spared a thought for what it meant. George and I—everything about him—I’d shoved to the back of my mind to deal with later. But the second Chris’ eyes locked onto that small, stupid band on my finger, I knew he wouldn’t let me leave.
Why hadn’t I taken it off? No. I didn’t need to. Why should I? I could wear my ring if I wanted to.
Deal with it,bitch.
I was determined to leave before this spiraled further, but his hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. He pulled my hand up to his face, his eyes narrowing as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The door clicked shut behind us.
“What is this?”
I yanked my hand back, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
“Don’t youdare,” I warned, my words trembling but firm. I could feel my throat tighten, my chest threatening to explode.
Don’t cry, Jules. Don’t give him the satisfaction.
Chris’ face twisted, his confusion boiling into anger. Before I could react, his hands were on my waist, gripping me like I weighed nothing. In one swift motion, he pushed me back until my back touched the wall, his body pressed close, his breath hot and heavy as he glared at me.
“Is that it?” he growled, his voice raw.Rough.“You’re going back to him? Like nothing happened between us?”
I didn’t falter. My own anger surged, burning through my veins, and I threw his words back at him.
“Youcannotbe serious. Your tongue was down someone’s throatseconds ago!” My stomach twisted, the tequila threatening to betray me. I clenched my fists to ground myself.
Chris’ hold loosened as his hand fell away and he stepped back. His hands ran slowly through his hair. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to punch a wall or scream. I knewIwanted to do both.
“It’s not like I’m marrying any of them,” he muttered, quieter now but still frustrated.
“Oh, aren’t you?” I spat, my fury matching his. “Isn’t that thefamous Anna? God, you two look like a perfect couple.”
“STOP!” His voice boomed through the small bathroom,practically shaking the walls. He took two steps back, his hands clenching into fists at his sides as he controlled his emotions. “You can’t use some fuckingmarketing stuntas an excuse to do this!” he shouted.
I froze, both from the sheer intensity of his reaction and the mounting nausea rolling through me.
