Page 164 of Triplet Babies for my Ex's Best Friend

“Addy—”

“No,” I say, louder now, backing away. “No, I’m not… I’m not doing this. I’m not doing this again.”

Bryce edges closer to me. “Hey, can we just?—”

“Don’t,” I snap, the word cracking through the room like glass. “Don’t talk to me.”

His girlfriend looks between us, confused.

Good.

Let her be confused.

I’ve been confused for weeks.

“I can’t…” I start, then stop, because I don’t even know how to finish that sentence.

I can’t stay, can’t breathe, can’t stand here and pretend this is normal.

“I need… I need a second,” I manage, already moving.

“Addy, wait?—”

But I don’t.

I need to get the hell out of here before I combust entirely.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Ethan

There are veryfew moments in my life where I don’t understand what’s happening.

And with Bryce Biggs, Bee, looking as blindsided as I am, his arm still loosely around his girlfriend, this is one of them.

And Addy is gone.

The front door slammed hard behind her, and I need to catch my damn breath.

“Okay,” Celeste says slowly, glancing between the three of us. “I feel like I’ve missed a very important piece of context.”

Bryce exhales, running a hand through his hair in a way I’ve seen before when something slips outside his control. “I didn’t know she’d be here.”

I look at him. “So, you know her?”

His jaw tightens. “Yeah.”

I worked out as much, but I still need clarity. “At what capacity?”

“She’s…” Bryce breathes deep. “My ex.”

Everything in me stills. The world damn near stops spinning.

Celeste’s eyes flick between us again. “Okay, so, just to clarify, you dated that Addy, who just looked like she wanted to set the building on fire?”

“Yes,” Bryce says.

“Excuse me,” I say, already moving.