MasukQuentin's eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying, but he had himself under tight control now. When he answered Garrett's question, his voice came out low and steady. "I know."But beneath that composure, the sadness in his voice was impossible to miss.Garrett noticed the shift in him, and his grip on Quentin's collar slowly loosened. When he spoke again, his tone had softened considerably. "If you knew she was in danger, why are you here and not out looking for her?"Quentin flinched and pinched the bridge of his nose before answering, his voice barely above a whisper. "She went back with Christian on her own."That was all it took to set Garrett off. "So she said she wanted to go back to him and you just let her?"Quentin dropped his gaze. "I tried everything I could to stop her, but her mind was made up. Nothing I said was going to change it."Garrett swallowed the urge to hit Quentin and stepped past him instead. "If you won't look out for her, then I will. That's wha
Every single word out of Talia's mouth dripped with cold contempt, and the way she looked at Christian was nothing short of pure disdain.Christian watched her in silence. Then, in the next moment, something in him snapped. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward him, pulling her right up against him. He leaned in close, his voice barely above a murmur. "You want to try me?"Every single word came out low and ground between his teeth.Pain shot through Talia's arm, but she didn't make a sound. She tilted her face up to meet his gaze and gave him an almost amused smile. "Go ahead."There wasn't an ounce of sincerity in her voice. If anything, she was testing him.Before Christian could respond, she spoke again. "If you don't mind how dirty I am, then sure, let's give it a go. But let's be honest, all those other times weren't exactly impressive either, were they?"The more she mocked him, the more desperate he became to prove her wrong. His grip on her wrist tightened until his
Christian's displeasure boiled over. "What's so great about Quentin? He's got women all over the place. Talia, what do you even see in him?""Christian, just because he has a reputation, it doesn't mean that he's actually unfaithful," Talia said."And just the same, just because you claim to be devoted to Nancy, it doesn't mean you actually are. You two aren't even in the same league. There's no point comparing the two of you."Christian listened, his eyes slowly falling shut. He tried to swallow the rage churning inside him, but no matter how hard he pushed it down, it wouldn't go.Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. His eyes snapped open, bloodshot and burning, and he rounded on her. "No point comparing? How good is he exactly? One hour? Three? Or does he just go deeper than I do?"He advanced on her with every question.Talia backed away instinctively until her back hit the wall, leaving her nowhere else to go. She raised her hands against his chest to keep him at a distance
The ringtone startled Talia, but when she pulled out her phone and saw the name on the screen, she froze. It was Garrett.A wave of dread washed over her.She glanced up at Christian, and the anger inside her surged so fast that she couldn't contain it. Before she could think, her hand swung up and connected with the side of his face.She hadn't put much force behind it, but the slap still cracked sharply through the room.Christian pressed his hand to his cheek and stared at her in open shock.Talia glared at him through her tears. "Christian, you're insane."Garrett had told her that if she went back to Christian, they would be done with her. So what was she supposed to do now?Christian lowered his hand from his face and looked down into her eyes, his jaw clenched. "Yeah, I am. So don't provoke me, because there's nothing I won't do."Talia held his stare without saying a single word, tears streaming silently down her face. She hadn't answered Garrett's call, so it rang out
Christian's chest ached fiercely, yet in the next breath, he shrugged it off with practiced indifference. "So what if you don't love me? That's never been something I cared about."There was a time when Talia would have tried to read between Christian's lines, would have dug into what he really meant. But she didn't have the energy for that anymore, and she didn't want to. What he was thinking had stopped mattering to her.No matter what he said, she let it wash over her without flinching. She turned and started up the stairs.Out of habit, she moved toward the guest room, but Christian, who had been following close behind, steered her into the master bedroom instead.He flicked on the lights. Talia glanced around and realized everything looked the same as it always had. She hesitated, caught off guard.Christian sensed her surprise. "Nothing's changed in here since you left."The familiar furniture and layout pulled old memories to the surface, and Talia could almost see the nai
Talia didn't respond to Christian's remark about her getting bold. They sat in silence, locked in a quiet standoff.Christian broke first. He searched her eyes and found nothing, not a trace of the love or longing that used to be there. The way she looked at him now was ice-cold, chilling enough to swallow a person whole."Get out," he said, and stepped out of the car.Maybe it was habit from being with Quentin, but Talia instinctively waited for him to come around and open her door.But Christian wasn't Quentin. He never would be. He walked straight toward Elmwood Estate without looking back.Talia stared at his retreating figure, the realization catching up to her a beat too late. This was Christian, not Quentin.A bitter smile tugged at her lips, and she pushed the door open herself.Christian had already reached the front entrance when he noticed Talia hadn't caught up. He paused and glanced back over his shoulder. When he saw her coming, he said nothing and waited until she
Talia looked at Christian's face and saw the probing look in his eyes.She wasn't sure what he was trying to say, but the pain tearing through her lower abdomen told her one thing clearly. This didn't feel like an ordinary period.Even so, she said firmly, "I fainted because of severe period cramp
Garrett immediately asked, "Where is Talia, then?"Paige was just as confused.Quentin paused for a moment before letting out a bitter laugh. "She's in the hospital."Paige misunderstood and said anxiously, "But I went to the hospital. She wasn't on shift today."Quentin replied, "Paige, she wen
When Talia saw that it was Margaret, she abandoned any thought of fleeing. Margaret carried a small container in her hand. As she approached, she tossed it carelessly onto the nightstand."Chris was worried you'd starve to death alone, so he sent me to check on you," she said without any warmth.T
After talking himself into it, Quentin rolled around under the covers, deciding on his own to warm Talia's bed for her.He figured that when she came back and finished showering, she could slip straight into a warm bed and fall asleep.But Quentin kept waiting. He waited long enough to nearly fini







