Page 388 of Double or Nothing

The black wool nearly swallows her. Its sleeves cover half her hands, and the hem reaches beneath her knees. Her blonde hair is uncharacteristically straggled, her cheeks clearly swollen from crying.

Parker’s expression darkens even more when he sees their joined hands.

“Bryce!” he says.

“Bill,” Bryce replies, and squeezes Alice’s fingers tighter, holding her close to his side.

Parker steps towards them.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Alice flinches but doesn’t retreat. Bryce tightens his hand around hers without pulling her backwards.

Good. Go, BT.

Protection means standing beside the woman you love, not choosing which direction she moves.

I want to go over and join them, but let them have their moment.

Alice lifts her chin as she faces off her father.

“I came to tell you myself, Dad. You don’t need to interrogate Jack over anything. It won’t make any difference. I left. And I’m not coming back.”

“You have behaved disgracefully!”

She doesn’t break his stare.

“I really don’t care.”

My fucking God, the scowl he gives her.

“Don’t be absurd. Stop this nonsense and come home. We’ll discuss this privately.”

“No. This is the discussion. All of us. We’ve all got something at stake here.”

Parker points a finger at her.

“This is Reid speaking. Playing games with you. You and Bryce.”

“No.” Alice points a finger at herself. “This is me speaking and this is Bryce beside me. You’re the one who’s been playing games with both of us. For far too long.”

Christopher Otley stands at Parker’s side like a useless twat as he scoffs at his daughter.

“You don’t understand what you’re doing, Alice. And what the hell, Bryce? What the fuck are you doing here, buying into this craziness?”

Alice looks at Bryce. The man she adores.

Years pass between them in a glance. Years spent chasing William’s approval until both of them mistook fear for loyalty.

“You had us both,” Alice tells her father. “Bryce was afraid of losing your respect, and I was afraid of losing everything else.”

“I gave both of you extraordinary opportunities!”

“And you made sure neither of us ever felt good enough to deserve them!”

Bill’s cheeks redden. “That is ridiculous.”

“No. It’s the truth.” Her voice shakes. “We tried so hard to be what you wanted. You could have kept us for ever if you hadn’t pushed so hard.”