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I turn on Cade. “Would that have been a problem?”

“For Lance? Absolutely not.”

“Then why the fuck did I stop?”

“Because you’re smarter than he is.”

“That doesn’t answer me.”

“It does. You’re too pissed to hear it.”

I turn away before the remaining adrenaline convinces me that Cade is another obstacle between me and the violence still demanding somewhere to land. He understands what I am doing and remains silent while I pace the length of the wall again.

My hands will not stop shaking.

Cade notices. He notices every fucking thing and has the decency not to mention it.

“I ruined your night,” I say.

“No, Lance ruined our night.”

“I put him facedown on the terrace.”

“After he hit you twice.”

“Your wedding guests watched me threaten him.”

“They also watched him call your mother a whore.”

The word hits the same place it did downstairs. I stop walking and press both palms against the wall, lowering my head between my shoulders while rage claws through my chest.

“He didn’t fucking know her.”

“I know.”

“He doesn’t get to say that shit about her.” My fingers curl against the cold stone. “She survived every motherfucker who thought being poor and brown meant they could do whatever they wanted to her. She worked. She protected me. She was twenty-six years old when somebody killed her, and that piece of shit stood there acting like dying proved she deserved it.”

“I know, Ry.”

“I was fine until he brought my mom into it.” I push away from the wall and begin pacing again. “I could’ve handled the gutter shit. I could’ve listened to him talk about my father, the foster homes, and nobody wanting me. None of that was new. Then he brought my fucking mother into it.”

Cade’s jaw locks, but he lets me continue.

“Then he went after you. He talked to you like knowing me destroyed whatever your money and family supposedly made you.” I point back toward the castle even though Lance is probably halfway to the police station by now. “Then he saw Briggs standing there and put that shit inside his head because hurting me wasn’t enough.”

“That was when Briggs and I stopped trying to hold you back.”

I stop. “What?”

“We were ready to pull you off him if you lost control, but neither of us was going to stop you from putting him down.” Cade slides his hands into his pockets. “I had a front-row seat to the entire thing. When he went after your mom, Briggs looked at me, and we both stepped back.”

“You told me not to hit him.”

“I told you not to give him control of the story. Then he hit you, ignored the one free punch you gave him, and tried again.” Cade’s mouth hardens. “Watching him hit the ground was deeply satisfying. Watching him leave in handcuffs was even better.”

A humorless laugh cuts out of me. “Happy fucking wedding.”

“Nobody is angry with you. Not Harrison, not the guys, and not even Bliss.”