“Get out. I’ve heard what you’ve got to say, and I have no plans to leave with you, so you can go.”
She looks like she’s about to argue, but she doesn’t get the chance when Rowan steps forward, cutting her from my view, and holds his arm out toward the door.
Without another word, she turns on her expensive heels and storms out of the room with him right behind her to make sure she goes.
Asher tugs me against his chest, and I don’t hesitate to settle into his warmth.
I’m safe here.
Nothing can hurt me when I’m with them.
But what if they’re the ones who are going to break me in the end?
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
ASHER
She’s pulling away.
Hannah may be sitting between us on the couch watching the movie I insisted on making us watch, but she’s quiet. Too fucking quiet.
I should have known Marianne’s reappearance in her life would spook her, but I had hoped that after everything we’ve been through, she would believe in us.
Perhaps it was a stupid pipe dream, knowing what I do about Hannah’s upbringing. Maybe I should have been preparing myself for this eventuality, but I wanted to believe that because we’d worked so hard to put all the pieces into place, everything would work out.
Rowan watches her more than he does the movie, constantly checking in to make sure she doesn’t need anything, but every time he looks at me, I see the same worry in my chest staring back at me.
He can see it too, but the question is, what are we going to do about it?
The credits roll, but none of us move. The pizza sits mostly untouched on the table beside the statue we were so excited to see out of its box just a few hours ago.
How quickly things can change.
Hannah is the first to move, pushing herself up. “I’m going to turn in. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” She doesn’t pause to kiss us. Instead, she grabs that damned file and heads for the stairs.
But it’s her unspoken words that ring loudest.
Every night since she arrived, she’s slept between us, but not tonight.
Tonight, she wants to be alone.
It’s not until the door closes upstairs that I finally move, dropping my head into my hands.
“That fucking asshole,” I growl. “Why can’t he just leave her alone?”
“Because men like him don’t let go of their possessions.”
“She’s a human being, not a fucking piece of property.”
“I know that, and you know that, but he doesn’t. He uses people to get what he wants, and right now, he’ll stop at nothing to bring her back into the fold and marry her off to whoever he sees fit.”
I press my eyes closed as Jeffrey’s words filter through my mind for what feels like the hundredth time since he uttered them.
“If you let her go now, I’ll ensure she marries someone who will treat her right, who will come to love her. But if you resist, Trent will look like Prince Charming compared to who I choose.”
What if all of this was for nothing? The plotting and scheming. Quitting fighting instead of rehabbing my ACL because I couldn’t wait any longer. Everything we’ve done to ensure we can give her the life she deserves.
None of it matters if she leaves.
