Page 97 of Twisted Control

“If your dad loses his mind over this—and he will—I don’t want you left with nothing because of me.”

He pulls me against his chest.

“I don’t want you regretting this two days later because everything happened too fast,” he says.

I nod slowly, even though every part of me already wants to leave with him right now.

“Okay,” I whisper. “One week.”

His shoulders loosen slightly, like he’d been bracing for me to fight him on it. Then he kisses me.

When he finally pulls back, he rests his forehead briefly against mine before straightening my dress with careful hands.

“Go back out there before someone notices you’re missing,” he says. “And stop crying. Your mascara’s terrifying.”

A laugh escapes me.

“There she is,” he says softly, like the sound physically relieves him. “My girl.”

My heart squeezes so hard it almost hurts.

“I’ve got you,” he says, his voice turning serious again. “I promise.”

I fix my makeup in the restroom, take several deep breaths, and eventually make my way back into the ballroom like I haven’t just decided my entire future in a storage closet.

Charles barely glances up when I sit back down beside him. Apparently my absence ranked somewhere below his investment portfolio in terms of urgency.

A few minutes later, I spot Drew crossing the room. He casually steals an empty chair from another table without even pretending to ask permission and settles himself two tables away from me. Close enough to keep me in sight.

Our eyes keep meeting. Every time they do, something warm and secret curls low in my stomach. I can’t stop smiling.

I’m really doing this.

I’m leaving.

The thought sends a sharp rush through me—terrifying and exhilarating all at once. Drew’s right. We have to be smart about this. I saw what happened when my mother tried to choose herself. Dad didn’t just punish her emotionally. He stripped everything from her.

One week.

Just one more week, and then I’ll be free.

My phone buzzes inside my clutch. A flicker of excitement jumps through me as I reach for it, expecting a message from Drew.

But it isn’t him.

Finn: Well?

My stomach drops. In the chaos of my own night, I’d completely forgotten about Teresa.

I scan the room and spot her almost immediately. She’s pressed close against her husband’s side, laughing at something he’s saying, her hand resting possessively on his arm. She looks completely at ease with him. Nothing like a woman planning to blow up her marriage.

I hesitate for half a second, then type back.

Grace: She didn’t want you here because she didn’t want you to see this.

I quickly snap a photo of the two of them and send it.

Grace: I’m really sorry, Finn.