I grabbed her wrist, hard enough to make her wince. “Why tell me?”
A sad smile touched her mouth. “Because once upon a time, we were friends.”
Vanessa studied me for a long moment before her expression darkened slightly. “You should be careful. That wife of yours might not last long.” She added.
I leaned in, my lips brushing her ear. My voice dropped to a whisper, low and dangerous.
“You walk out of here right now, and I’ll forget this ever happened. But if I see you again, if you go near my wife, I will deal with you myself. Do you understand?” I forced an edge into my voice, keeping it calm but firm.
Her breath hitched. She knew I wasn’t bluffing.
But before she could respond, I heard the cabin door open again.
And I saw Zara, her face drained of color.
She stood frozen in the doorway, her eyes locked on Vanessa’s hand still pressed against my chest.
Vanessa straightened immediately, a sly little smile curling her mouth. “Well. There she is.”
My jaw tightened. “Vanessa?—”
“No, it’s fine.” Zara’s voice came out calm enough to surprise me. “Who’s your friend?”
The tension in the air sharpened instantly.
Vanessa stepped forward, extending her hand like this was a polite social call instead of a loaded gun. “Vanessa.”
Zara looked at the offered hand for half a second before ignoring it entirely.
The silence that followed was deafening and Vanessa took note, using that as a chance to make her escape.
I closed my eyes, composing myself, before looking at Zara. Her eyes were wet. Her hands were shaking. She looked devastated, and I hated seeing that look on her face. For a moment, she just stared, as if her mind couldn’t quite process what she was seeing. I could almost see the thoughts racing behind her eyes: flashes of every broken promise, every night she’d wondered if she was enough, every time she’d taught herself to expect disappointment and betrayal. Her lips trembled, and her face shifted from confusion to pain to that familiar mask of disappointment, the memory of old wounds cracking open all over again.
“Zara—”
“Don’t.” Her voice cracked. “Don’t you dare.”
“It’s not what it looked like.”
“Oh, really?” She laughed, hollow and broken. “Because it looked like she was all over you, and you were standing there letting it happen.”
“I wasn’t letting her. I was about to throw her off the boat.”
“Right. Because you’re so innocent.” She backed away, her heel catching on the edge of the deck. “You know what? I’m so stupid. I actually thought—” She stopped, pressing her hand to her mouth. “I thought maybe this could work. That you were different.”
“She came here uninvited,” I said tightly. “I told her to leave.”
“And before that?” Zara shot back. “How many women were there before me, Lorenzo? How many women touched you like that? How many promises have you made?”
“None of them mattered; they are not you, Zara.”
I moved toward her instinctively, and she flinched.
That alone nearly fucking killed me. Frustration clawed at my chest. “Why won’t you believe me?”
“Because every man in my life has lied to me!” Her voice broke, tears streaming down her face. “My father left. Every boyfriend I’ve ever had has cheated or tossed me aside. And you—” she choked on the words.
I stepped toward her, hands raised. “I’m not them.”
