Page 166 of The Silver Fox Brother

"I'm not a thing to be taken," I snap back.

"That's not what I—" Rowan stops, takes a breath.

"I don’t owe you an explanation for anything that I do, Rowan," I say.

"This is bullshit!” He fires off in one of his extended tantrums.

“You just disappeared. Stopped answering my calls. Blocked my numbers. And then accept a job working for..my brother?" Rowan's voice rises again.

"You betrayed me. You broke my heart. We broke up. End of story."

"It's not the end," Rowan says, his voice dropping to something quieter, more desperate, as he reaches out to me, grabbing my hands and placing them to his chest. He meets my eyes directly, with intent.

"I know you're angry. I know I hurt you. But I can make this right. Just give me a chance."

"No." I say, as I yank my hands away from his grasp.

"Winter—"

"You need to leave," I say firmly. "Now."

Rowan doesn't move. "I'm not giving up on us."

I walk around him and over to my desk, picking up my phone.

"If you don't leave, I'm calling security."

Rowan stares at me for a long moment. Then he shakes his head.

"This isn't over. You can run to my brother, you can take his money, you can pretend you've moved on. But I know you, Winter. I know you still love me."

"You don't know anything about me."

Rowan walks to the door but stops with his hand on the handle.

"He's going to hurt you. Knox doesn't care about anyonebut himself. And when he's done using you to get back at me, he'll throw you away."

"Get out," I say, trying to disguise the aching in my voice.

Rowan opens the door and walks out without another word. I stand there shaking, my phone still in my hand, my heart pounding so hard I can hear it. The door closes and I sink into my desk chair.

My hands are trembling. I feel sick to my stomach. I get up and run to the bathroom, kneeling down in front of the toilet as I vomit. I think nothing of it, as the stress plagues me.

***

By 6pm, I'm sitting in a wine bar in the West Village with Kate and Amy. I texted them both the moment Rowan left my office. Emergency meeting. They both showed up within the hour, rearranging their schedules without question.

Kate slides a glass of red wine toward me.

"Start from the beginning."

I take a long drink first. "Rowan showed up at my studio this morning."

Amy's eyes widen. "What?"

"He was waiting in my office. Maya let him up because he told the front desk he was my boyfriend."

"That's insane," Kate says. "What did he want?"