“I know,” he agrees with a shake of his head, “but I’ve been thinking about things. About us.”
I frown. “Us?”
“Yes,” he smiles hopefully. “I’ve been thinking about you since I left.”
I roll my tongue along my teeth, sucking. “Uh, huh. So thetenunanswered messages were your way of thinking about me?”
He closes his eyes, pursing his lips as if he just realized he never responded to me. “Yes. In a way. Listen, Mel,” he takes my shoulders gently as he lowers his voice, “I screwed up. I know that. But it made me stop and think about what we’re doing. We’ve been engaged for four years. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
I blink, my brain buffering. This is a mental overload. “You don’t want to wait? What are you talking about?”
He sucks in a breath. “Okay, you’re going to be a little mad at me—”
“Dylan,” I warn with a glare.
“I moved up our wedding date,” he winces.
My eyes widen. “You moved up our wedding date?!”
He shushes me, looking over his shoulder as people side-eye us. He quickly pulls me away from the party, tucking us in the corner of the dining room where no one can hear.
“I know you’re mad—”
“Mad?!” I ask incredulously. “I’m furious! You fucking leave in the middle of the night, say some hateful, awful things to me, and pop back up out of nowhere to declare that our wedding date has been moved because you don’t want to wait anymore?! Are you on rock?!”
His brow furrows. “What the hell is rock?”
I wave a hand. “Doesn’t matter! You didn’t communicate this with me!”
Dylan peers over at the party, his mind elsewhere as his eyes gloss over the investors and family members waiting to congratulate us. Always calculating his next move. Never paying attention to what’s in front of him.
“Dylan!” I snap.
He whips around, grabbing my bicep before leaning down. I try to pull back, but he doesn’t relent as something nasty and frightening grips me at the look in his eyes.
He looks like he’s on the verge of crashing out right here, but he quickly shields it with a firm set of his lips. “You’re going to smile and talk. Our wedding is in a month now. Don’t fucking embarrass me or your shop will be sold before we leave this afternoon, Melody.”
No.
I can’t lose that shop. It’s the only dream I held tight to with trembling hands. He’s using it against me…
I don’t recognize this man anymore. He isn’t the same person I fell in love with four years ago. He’s colder and lacks the compassion he once had, burning like a torch at his center. That fire is now snuffed out and replaced with hard, heavy coals, creating someone entirely new.
I yank my arm out of his grasp, my features lacing with hurt. “Okay…”
He blinks, that mask slipping back on as he softens. “I’m sorry, baby.”
I bite back my tears, pulling on a tight, forced smile. “Let’s just get through the party, and we’ll discuss it later.”
Dylan nods as he wraps an arm around my waist. My skin pricks unpleasantly at his touch, and I have to keep up my act all through the evening. As people gush over our upcoming nuptials and throw questions at Dylan left and right, I’m not in my body anymore. My thoughts swarm like locusts, buzzing uncomfortably against my skull. The atmosphere is so thick, yet no one even notices my obvious discomfort.
Except Kodi.
She sticks close to me, offering a reassuring hand whenever she isn’t being pulled away to discuss her duties as my maid of honor. I’m thankful for her strength right now, because I need something to keep me from crumbling into a heap.
“Where’s your ring?” Dylan whispers as he leans in close to me.
I blink, pulling myself into the present. “Upstairs.”
