Page 200 of Triplet Babies for my Ex's Best Friend

“Yes.”

“After I helped you?”

The bitterness underneath the words catches me off guard.

Bryce has always hated feeling excluded from something he once considered his.

Addy’s gaze snaps to me.

I don’t look away from Bryce. “You sent an unverified patch into a live demo environment without authorization.”

“And it worked.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you can’t be here.”

His eyes narrow. “You’re welcome.”

“You don’t get to create proximity through usefulness.”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

“Careful.”

Celeste touches his arm. “Please. Let’s just go. I told you this was a bad idea…”

He ignores her.

“You always were good at acting like everyone else was a liability,” Bryce says. “Even when you needed us.”

“Us?”

“The people who helped build this.” He gestures around the ballroom. “You stand up there as if you did it alone.”

I study him, feeling the burning resentment. “This isn't the place.”

“No, it’s exactly the place.”

Addy shifts beside me. “Bryce, stop.”

His attention cuts to her. “You don’t know anything about this.”

“I know enough to know you’re embarrassing yourself.”

His expression hardens.

Sara appears at the edge of my vision, assessing whether intervention or cleanup will be required. Jeffrey is behind her, no longer pretending not to be involved.

Bryce laughs, but there's no humor in it. “Of course. This is what it is now.”

“This,” I say, “is you being asked to leave.”

“I have every right to be here.”

“No. You don’t.”

“I helped build your company.”

Exasperation burns through me. “You left it.”