Page 140 of Wild Thing
The prickling sensation of being watched.
It wasn’t until I reached the double doors that I saw her.
Ally stood on the other side of the glass, her eyes locked on me, taking in everything that had just passed between Brax and I.
My stomach dropped.
How long had she been standing there?
Shock rooted me in place. I stared through the glass doors, my reflection blending with hers.
For a moment, we just stood there, staring at each other.
Regret and shame was etched all over my face, heartbreak and devastation plastered on hers.
Then came the sharp click of the door as Ally pushed it open.
Her eyes, razor-sharp, tore into me with a mixture of anger and disbelief. Regret clawed at my insides as I realized my face must have looked just as wrecked as hers—only her heartbreak wasn’t deserved. Mine was.
“How long?” she asked icily.
I closed my stinging eyes for a second.
God, I hated myself.
I forced my eyes open to face the woman whose heart I had helped break.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered hoarsely. “I-I didn’t know.”
It wasn’t the full truth. But it wasn’t entirely a lie either.
She took a sharp breath in. Unblinking, she looked past me.
I followed her line of sight to see Brax standing a few feet away, his broad shoulders slumped as his world crashed down around him.
The realization that Ally probably thought I was just some woman he worked with, and not the love of his life, hollowed me out.
This was not my place.
I was the other woman, the mistake, the worthless side piece.
I didn’t wait for Ally to say more. My legs moved before my mind could process, carrying me farther into the foyer, away from them. I braced for her to chase me down, to scream at me, call me a whore, a homewrecker, a slut—anything.
But she didn’t.
She let me walk away.
Like I was nothing.
Like I wasn’t worth the effort.
***
I rushed through the foyer of the convention center before exiting out of the other end, away from everyone and everything. Steadying myself against a traffic sign, I gulped down some deep breaths.
I needed air, air, air, I felt like this dress was strangling me.
Smell the flowers, cool the tea.
