Chapter 19
Elias
Tom frowns. “I’m sorry to hear that. He seemed like a nice young man.”
I watch her from the other side of the table.
But I’m not the only one.
Dominic is watching their conversation too.
There’s a slight tremble in her hand when she lifts her glass again. “He wasn’t,” she says after another sip. “Let’s just say I found out who he really is, and it wasn’t someone I wanted to be with.”
“Did something happen? He didn’t lay his hands on you, did he?” Tom presses, concern written all over his face.
I shift in my seat, leaning forward without meaning to.
“He cheated,” she states simply. “With someone from his gym.”
“Oh, honey,” Mom says, reaching across the table and Cora’s frame to squeeze her hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Victoria shrugs. “It’s fine. Better to find out now than on our wedding night, right?”
My jaw tightens.
Wedding night? To Garrett?
There’s no way she considered marrying that cocky asshole.
“Absolutely,” Tom agrees. “You deserve better than that.”
I don’t look away from her as I butt into the conversation “How did you find out?”
The table goes quiet.
Everyone looks at me. Including her.
For a moment, our eyes lock.
Did she not expect anyone to ask?
“Someone sent me a video,” she says after a pause. “Anonymous text. I still haven’t found out who sent it.”
“That’s fucked up,” Dominic mutters beside me.
Victoria lets out a hollow laugh. “Yeah. It was. But I’m just glad I know now.”
“Do I need to kick his ass?” I ask, ignoring the look Mom sends my way.
Victoria’s eyes narrow slightly. “Oh yeah, because I want you and Dom to get arrested for defending my honor..”
I raise a brow as I continue to watch her.
What I’m offering is something I’ll actually do.
Her eyes widen slightly as she notices that I’m serious, “No. That’s not needed. I’ll just move on like every other person, no problem.”
Dom speaks up next to me. “You sure? ‘Cause I have a few psych patients who are more than willing to stab h-”
“Dominic, you hush now.” Mom blurts out.
“Well,” Tom clears his throat, clearly trying to move things along, “sometimes things like that happen for a reason. Maybe now you’ll have more time to focus on your career going forward.”
Cora speaks up, “I agree.”
Tom and Cora glance at each other, tension flickering between them for a split second before she rolls her eyes and turns away, angling herself in the opposite direction.
She still despises him.
“Yes, I suppose so,” Victoria replies, but the smile she gives doesn’t hold.
The server arrives, setting plates down and breaking the tension.
We all eat, keeping up light conversation, but I don’t stop paying attention to her.
She barely touches her food and pushes it around more than she eats it.
Her hand goes to her wine more often than it should.
“Tom mentioned you’re working on the J. James project,” Dominic turns to me. “How’s that going?”
I chew slowly before answering. “Behind schedule as usual. The foundation work is more complicated than I expected it to be.”
“Nothing you can’t handle,” Tom mutters across the table.
Victoria excuses herself from the table.
Once she does, Tom leans forward to whisper over to Dom and me. “I worry about her,” he says quietly. “She seems fine, but I know that she’ll work herself half to death to forget about that boy.”
“She’ll be fine,” I say, though I’m not entirely sure why I say it.
He studies me. “You seem certain about that.”
“I’m not entirely sure. But she’s strong; independent. You and Cora raised her that way. I trust she’ll be alright.”
She comes back a minute later, sliding into her seat with ease. But the second she looks up, her eyes find mine.
Dinner carries on around us. Voices, laughter, the scrape of silverware against plates.. all of it fades into the background.
Because every few minutes, without fail, our eyes lock again.
Like we’re stuck in the same loop neither of us is trying to break.