Chapter 22 #2
Panic slithers through me. Because if you saw him, Bren, if you saw Jax and me together, you’d know how I’m falling for him. You’d know everything, and that would ruin all of it.
My throat burns. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated is code for heartbreak.” Bren shifts back with a steely stare. “And you’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.”
The silence that falls is razor thin, every second stretched taut. I glance at the Eiffel Tower again.
My chest aches with the truth I can’t speak. Jaxon is the one thing keeping me grounded. Callum is the ghost I can’t bury.
“I’m fine,” I whisper, though it doesn’t sound like me. “Just let me be fine for once.”
Bren doesn’t push again, but the look in his eyes says he doesn’t believe me for a second.
And as I sit under his scrutiny, I know one wrong move, one careless slip and my entire world comes crashing down. Bren’s suspicion is still lingering in the air when the suite door clicks open down the long marble hallway.
His brows knit. “Fuck. I didn’t think he’d be back this soon.”
“You promised me he was with his mom all night.”
Bren frowns. “Not all night. Besides, it could be someone doing turndown service.”
Careless and heavy footsteps echo against the stone, then his voice calls down the hall.
“Hey, Guns! Brought back a surprise!”
My stomach knots.
Fuck!
It is Callum.
Bottles clink together as his laugh ricochets. It’s reckless and boyish, the kind that used to unravel me.
By the time he rounds the corner into the living room, I’m already frozen in place with my breath held, hoping it will make me invisible.
He’s holding two bottles of liquor, wearing a cocky grin. His messed-up hair falls over his forehead. Then he sees me.
The alcohol slips from his hands. Glass shatters across the floor, liquor spilling like blood.
“Lily...” His chest caves as if the air’s been stolen from him. “I was fucking looking for you.”
The room tilts, and my pulse careens. Bren jerks upright, but before he can react, Callum barrels forward.
I shoot to my feet, heart hammering. “I shouldn’t be here.”
His hand snatches my wrist. His grip, scorching and possessive.
“Remember what we had, Lily.” His blue eyes are wild with desire. “I’ve never stopped loving you.”
“Callum, stop.” My protest is too late, and gets muffled against him.
And then his mouth is on mine—raw, desperate, and uninvited. His lips press hard against mine with the hunger that used to feel like home, and for one gutting second, I’m dragged under.
Bren’s voice cracks like a whip. “What the fuck are you doing, Cash? She told you no.”
That’s when the laughter comes, all high-pitched and feminine, from behind him.
I jerk my gaze to the foyer, and bile claws up my throat. Two blondes stumble into view, naked and flushed. Their smiles are lined with mockery.
One leans against the wall, eyes sliding over me. Her smirk curves like a blade.
“Thought this was only a foursome. But if she’s in…” She tilts her head at me. “I could get on board.”
The other giggles, careless and cruel.
Horror sears through me. My skin burns where Callum’s lips just were. I rip free from his grasp with every nerve in my body screaming.
“You’ll never change.” The words burn through my chest.
Callum doesn’t answer. His jaw locks. The look in his eyes fractures. It’s as if he somehow thinks I’m the one hurting him…again.
I bolt past the blondes, past Bren’s surprise, and past the wreckage of glass glittering on the marble floor. My pulse is a war drum in my ears, and my heart shreds open.
And somewhere between the hallway and the door, it happens… The last fragile thread snaps.
Whatever buried hope I still carry for Callum Mayze dies here in this suite, under Paris lights and the weight of a toxic love that was always destined to ruin me.
The hallway stretches like it wants to hold me hostage, every step ringing too loud and too harsh. I’m out the door in seconds.
As it shuts behind me, his voice shouts out, desperate. “Lily, don’t go!”
It drives through my veins, unwanted and unshakable.
The elevator doors ding open and I dive inside, pressing the button with hands that won’t stay still.
The blondes’ shrill and triumphant laughter trails in from down the hall as if I were the punchline all along. Then the doors close, sealing me in with nothing but the rasp of my own breathing.
My reflection stares back from the mirrored wall. Smudged mascara. Lips swollen from a kiss that never should’ve happened. Eyes that look older than they should at twenty-one.
It’s not grief that stares back at me. It’s recognition of how far I’ve fallen. Of how much further I can go if I let Callum Mayze stay a part of my soul.
The doors slide apart. I march through the lobby, slip out from the revolving door, and spill into the Paris night. Cool, merciful air wraps around me, but it’s not enough to wash away the taste of him on my tongue.
I glance around, trying to get my mind right. The city gleams in front of me. Streets humming with life and the Eiffel Tower glowing against the dark like a torch lit for someone else’s hope.
I step onto the sidewalk and into the night air. The bitter chill hits me, and it’s almost cleansing. Almost.
My chest is tight, my throat raw, and my stomach rolling in revolt. Because for one unforgivable second in that suite, I kissed Callum back.
For a heartbeat, I let myself drown in it and remember what it’s like to be his. And now the betrayal isn’t his. It’s mine.
If Jaxon ever finds out… If he ever feels it in me, that invisible shell of Callum still rattling in my bones, I’ll lose the only man who makes me believe I can survive my own wrath.
I stride faster, heels cracking against the pavement like I can outrun both of them, the ghost who won’t release me, and the man who already owns me.
That’s all it takes for me to realize there’s something I need to do, and right now is the perfect time to get it done.