I turned fully toward him then, a whirlwind of emotions burning through me.It was like I could see the memories in his eyes—walking in on him, the shock, the humiliation, him scrambling for excuses while he barely looked guilty.
“Let’s get something straight,” I said coolly.“I don't want or need your attention.”
“Always so defensive.”He tsked and leaned his elbow against the bar.“I've been meaning to reach out to you, though.You know, to make sure things are good between us.I know you freaked out the last time—”
“And by freaked out, you're referring to when I literally caught you with your pants down?”
He sighed, long and theatrical, like I was exhausting him already.“There you go again, always making something out of nothing.Savannah, you were away all the time, and I was struggling.What about what I was feeling?”
Disbelief flashed through me.“Whatyouwere feeling?You cheated on me with her!”
“You'll never understand the pressures of inheriting a global company, and that's okay.My dad, the company—everything rides on my shoulders.I needed support, for you to listen to me, but you weren't there.”
“Support goes both ways, Chase.You never once supported my decision to go to law school.”
His jaw clenched.“This all happened because of that fucking school.I told you it wasn't worth it, but you went anyway.Youchose to put distance between us.Yourefused to give us the real chance we deserved.I could have given you the life you wanted, but I never expected that you'd choose that school over us.”
“That schoolmeant everything to me—the law is my life.”
“Before that, you used to say I was your life.”
I huffed and looked away from him, biting my tongue to keep me from responding.It was my natural reaction to argue, but there was no point arguing with him.Not anymore.
“I miss you,” he added softly, stepping closer again.“You and I make sense.All our history together.You know you want me back.We have five years, Savannah.It would be stupid to end all that because of one mistake.”
“You’re getting married to my cousin,” I hissed, my voice low but shaking.“Do you even hear yourself?”
His expression hardened.I didn’t let him speak.
“Trust me when I say the last person on earth I’d ever be with is you.”I took a sip from the tall glass.“I am uninterested and unavailable.”
“Unavailable?”His gaze flicked past me briefly, then returned, rolling his eyes.“So that’s what this is.You bring a replacement to make me jealous?Baby, you know you don't have to make yourself uncomfortable for me.”
“Jaxon is not—”
“You’ve never been good at pretending, and you hate public affection.”
“I—”
“It's obvious.Painfully obvious.You could barely stomach my hands on you in public, much less”—he waved a hand in the air—“whatever this is.”
“Maybe because my boyfriend is much better with his hands.You could learn a thing or two.”
His jaw ticked and that broad smirk withered away.
“I hate seeing you like this, Savannah,” he said, lowering his voice.“Petty.Desperate.This isn’t who you are.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.“You don’t get to define who I am.Not anymore.”
“And you think he will?You looked like some common prostitute sitting on his lap, having his hands all over you.He will never be me.”
Anger flared in my belly.He couldn't possibly be serious right now.There was no way the man I knew all those years had become this delusional and manipulative.
“And I'll send my prayers for that,” I spat, glaring daggers at him.How dare he say that to me?
“Don’t be stupid.Faking it with this guy isn't—”
My laugh this time was sharper as I folded my arms across my chest.“I’m not faking anything.Not that I owe you anything, but we've been seeing each other for weeks.”
