His hand was still wrapped around my wrist, warm and tight. I could feel the wall at my back, the smooth wallpaper pressing against my spine, and the way he looked at me, his eyes sharp, flicking over every inch of my face, made it almost impossible to breathe.
His gaze dropped to my mouth, then back to my eyes like he was trying to remember something important. I could feel it, my heart racing like it wanted to tear out of my chest. My mouth opened slightly, but I didn’t know what to say. I was trying too hard not to hold my breath, trying too hard not to lean in like some pathetic girl stuck in the past.
I swallowed. “Is… is something wrong?”
The words were too soft, and I hated how obvious the stutter was.
He didn’t answer right away. His fingers flexed just slightly around my wrist. Then he leaned in, not touching, just close enough that I felt his breath as he spoke.
“I can’t stop thinking I’ve seen you before.”
I froze.
The hallway was quiet, but the sound of those words slammed through me. He meant it, he really didn’t know. My chest tightened so hard it hurt, but I couldn’t let it show. I straightened slowly, lifted my chin, and tried to shake it off.
“Maybe because I’m your fiancée’s sister,” I said.
His eyes didn’t move.
I shoved against his chest, not hard, just enough to send a message, but he didn’t budge, not even an inch.
I sighed, “this is ridiculous, someone could walk out and see us, and you’re getting married to my sister.”
He didn’t respond, but his eyes stayed locked on mine. There was something there, confusion, something tight and unsure but it didn’t matter. He was still stupidly handsome. His jaw was clean–shaven, his cheekbones sharp, his lips too perfect for someone who had no idea what damage they’d done. The hallway light hit just right, making his eyes look like pale steel. It was stupid how much it still got to me.
Eventually, and without a word, he stepped aside,
I walked past him fast, heels clicking harder than I meant, like that sound could keep me from falling apart. My face was burning, ny palms were sweaty. I felt like I had just walked out of a fire.
I stepped back into the dining room and headed toward my seat.
Marissa looked up from her phone and narrowed her eyes. “Why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t even blink.
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8:40 pm ED·
Chapter 4
5 vouchers
Rick walked in seconds later. Everyone’s eyes moved between us like a tennis match. I grabbed Lena’s plate and said quickly, “let’s just eat and get the hell out of here.”
We sat down again, the atmosphere thick and quiet. Knives scraped plates, glasses clinked. I could feel Rick across from me, and even though I refused to look up, I knew he was watching. But then something caught my eye…Marissa.
Her phone lit up again in her hand. She glanced at the screen, then stood up too quickly.
“Excuse me,” she said.
She walked out, head low, looking around like someone was following her. I waited two seconds before quietly slipping out of my chair and following.
I didn’t even need to go far. She had ducked into the small den near the back of the hall. The door was cracked just enough.
“I told you to stop calling me!” she snapped into the phone. “I told you it’s over. I’m marrying someone better, someone rich.”
She paused, and her voice dropped to a sharp whisper. “I don’t care if we slept together last night! Just
leave me alone.”
I felt my stomach twist. I leaned back before she could notice me, then walked as fast as I could back to the table, heart hammering in my ears.
I sat down and stared straight ahead.
What the hell was this?
Marissa had always been the golden child, the one who smiled just right for our father, who wore everything perfectly, who never got her hair wet or her shoes dirty. Now she was just a liar with perfect lipstick, throwing herself into a fake marriage for money.
And Rick… he had no idea.
My hands clenched under the table. I hated all of this, the house, the voices, the food I couldn’t taste. My father laughing like he hadn’t tried to erase me. Marissa pretending she was in love. Rick pretending he didn’t know me. And Lena… sitting here like this was a normal day.
I didn’t ask for this, I didn’t want this.
But I wasn’t going to keep quiet anymore.
Marissa returned to the table, tucking her phone into her clutch like nothing happened. She smiled, fake and easy. The kind of smile you use to fool the world.
I didn’t even think. I just opened my mouth and said it.
“I’m going to marry Rick.”
2/3
8:40 pm ED
Chapter 4
Silence.
Forks stopped moving, conversations die and heads turned.
55 vouchers
“What did you just say?” Marissa said slowly, blinking at me in complete shock like I’d just dropped the world’s biggest bombshell.
My father’s voice exploded across the table. “You ungrateful little, what is wrong with you? You want to snatch your sister’s fiancé now? Are you insane?”
Marissa pushed her chair back again. My stepmother’s mouth opened in full offense but before any of them could get another word in, Rick’s voice cut through everything.
He didn’t raise it, he didn’t even look surprised.
His eyes were only on me.
“The agreement was to marry into the family,” he said, his voice was low and he didn’t peel his gaze off of me the whole time.
He stood up slowly, tall and unshaken. “So it shouldn’t matter what sister it is. I’ll marry Fiona.”
田
AD
