Page 8 of Shattered Oaths

I think for the longest time we all believed that Grayson would never have the kind of love he has now or that he would eventually go on to have a family. It was no secret that he believed he didn’t deserve it. And that just makes today even more special.

I haven’t known Liv as long as I’ve known Grayson, but the moment I met her and Savannah, I knew they were people I wanted in my life forever.

My thoughts are interrupted by the bedroom door opening and I look up at Justin through my vanity mirror. He leans against the door frame, his white dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves as he crosses his arms over his chest.

I smile at him, resuming my hair brushing. “Hi, honey. Did you just get home?”

He’s silent for a long moment, his eyes holding mine in the mirror and I try to get a read on the blank expression on his face.

“Hmm,” he hums.

I frown at his minimal response and turn to look at him properly. “Are you okay?”

His eyes trace the length of my body before meeting mine again. “Where are you going?” He asks, ignoring my question.

“To Liv’s baby shower. I thought I told you it was today,” I reply, confused by his strange behaviour.

He tilts his head. “No. I don’t think you did.”

Now it’s my turn to look him up and down. His eyes are slightly glassy, his usually put-together self more dishevelled than normal. There’s a look in his eyes that I’ve never seen before.

“Are you drunk?”

Justin blinks at me before pushing off the doorway and moving across the room until he’s standing directly in front of me. His fingers find my chin, his thumb pressing into my bottom lip as he lifts my head so that my eyes meet his.

“Ishegoing to be there?” He asks, searching my face.

I blink at him. “Who?”

The smile that climbs up his face is full of spite as he stares down at me. “Don’t play dumb with me. You fucking know who.”

I sigh, my shoulders dropping in defeat. “No. He won’t be there.”

Thehehe’s referring to is Noah.

He has been like this ever since New Years Eve.

I should never have played that stupid fucking game of Never Have I Ever.

We left the party shortly after Justin leaned over and whispered in my ear that I had some explaining to do. And boy did I have to explain myself. He grilled me until the sun came up.

He’s been different ever since. Every time I leave the house, he questions where I’m going, who I’m going with, ifNoah is going to be there. If I’m late home, he questions me. Every day after work, he asks if Noah came into the café that day.

It’s becoming draining.

To some extent, I understand. If the shoe were on the other foot and I had just found out that he had a one-night stand with a woman he spends the majority of his time with, I don’t think I would be too happy about it either. But I also trust him enough to know that it is in the past. That she isn’t someone I have to worry about anymore.

And the fact that he is questioning my every move just proves that he doesn’t trust me even a little.

“But he’ll be on the ranch?” Justin asks and I nod.

“He lives there, Justin. So yes, he will be on the ranch somewhere.”

“I thought I told you how I felt about you being around him,” he says, his grip on my chin becoming tighter as he tilts my head back even farther.

I’m not familiar with this version of Justin and a boulder of dread settles in the pit of my stomach as I stare up at the man I thought I knew. I’m unable to find the words to respond with and my silence only seems to spur him on.

“How am I supposed to trust you to be around him without me there, huh? How do I know you’re telling the truth, and he won’t be at the baby shower.”