جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

CYRUS POV.By the time the plane touched down the next morning, my nerves were already hot. My stomach felt like it had been tied into a tight knot since the second I closed my eyes on the flight and immediately saw the same scene replaying in my head the hotel room, Dominic's breathing, the heat of his anger in my face, the grip of his hand on my arm, the way I grabbed him back without stopping to think, the way I kissed him because for one second I stopped fighting everything inside me and then the way I panicked right after and walked out like an idiot who couldn’t handle the consequences of something he initiated. I kept reliving the look on his face when I stepped back. I didn't know if it was shock, or anger, or disappointment, or something I wasn't brave enough to name. I didn't know if he hated me for leaving. I didn't know if he told Phoebe anything. And because all those thoughts kept circling nonstop, I barely slept. My head was buzzing when the driver dropped me at the ga

Cutting him offDOMINIC’s POV My whole body felt wired, like something under my skin wouldn't sit still, and I couldn't tell if it was excitement or nerves or some mix that made no sense, because every time I tried to slow down and breathe normally I just ended up thinking about Cyrus's face downstairs and the way he wouldn't look directly at me. And the more I thought about it, the more I knew I couldn't let things sit in that weird middle place where neither of us said anything and everything felt like it could blow up if either one of us breathed wrong. I needed something to cut that feeling, and the fastest way I knew was Marcus. When he called to say he'd pulled into the driveway, I told him, "I'll be out in a minute," and my voice sounded steadier than I felt. After I hung up, I sat on my bed for a second, palms damp, trying to convince myself that using my fiancé to test my almost-affair wasn't completely insane. It was stupid. It was reckless. But I needed to remind myself w

A NEW RIVAL.CYRUS’S POV.My chest was already tight, like I'd been clenching my teeth in my sleep; my shoulders were stiff, my brain still replaying last night over and over, a bad recording that I couldn't seem to shut off. I expected Phoebe to be pissed, clingy, pushy, something-but she was weirdly calm. Too calm. She didn't try to climb into my lap, didn't hover around me, didn't demand a morning kiss. She just brushed her hair and put cream on and hummed and acted like we were two normal people starting a normal morning in a normal marriage, except every second felt like it was building toward something I didn't want to deal with.When we came downstairs, breakfast was already on the table. Dominic and Marcus were both there. Immediately, Phoebe brightened up — at least, greeted both of them like everything was fine, like she didn't notice how stiff Dominic sat, or that Marcus barely looked at him. She plopped herself down beside Marcus, launching into easy, light chatter, laughi

A NEW POSITION.CYRUS POVI paced back and forth in the living room, trying to make sense of the phone call, trying to convince myself it was nothing. But it wasn't nothing. Not when every nerve in my body screamed that it was everything. I could feel the heat rising in my chest, my hands clenching into fists, my jaw tight. My mind ran in circles, but every circle ended with a single thought: she's still cheating. That's what this was. That's what she was doing. Who the hell did she think she was? Who was she calling? And why? And why the fuck now?“I can’t believe this,” I muttered mostly to myself. I rubbed my face with both hands, trying to breathe, but it didn’t help. I was strung so tight it felt like a wire inside me was snapping. Dominic sat with his arms crossed on his chest and eyes partially closed, which made him look like I was overreacting, and honestly, he was right as always. But I couldn’t stop it.“Chill,” he said flatly, “you’re losing your mind.”“Chill?” I almost s

ALMOST CAUHGHTCYRUS POVThe second Phoebe’s voice floated down the hallway Dominic jumped away from me so fast the cushions slid off the couch. I pushed myself back like I’d been caught committing a crime. My pulse was thrashing in my throat, my legs felt shaky, my breathing refused to steady. There was still heat on my mouth from the kiss, still tension burning low in my stomach, and the stupid pillow in my lap was the only thing keeping me from completely humiliating myself.Dominic grabbed the nearest throw pillow like he was in a panic, holding it over his lap with both hands. His ears were still red, his hair messed up, his lips swollen from my mouth on his. I didn't look much better — shirt wrinkled, collar stretched, whole damn body flushed like I'd just run a marathon. Phoebe stepped into the living room and stopped dead. Her eyes flicked between us-me on one end of the couch clutching a pillow like a life vest, Dominic on the other looking like he'd been electrocuted. Both