Page 13 of Discretion at Its Finest

My hand raised to slap him, but he caught my wrist, jerking me forward until I was flush against him. I didn’t care how close we were or that I could feel his heat against me again. I didn’t care that part of me missed it, either. Because all I could think of was slapping some sense into him. Something that would get him out of my life for good.

“Tell me something, Vieve,” he muttered, his fingers trailing down my spine as I glared at him.

“Let me go,” I breathed.

“When they started to push me away, when they cast me out of their precious family…were you already fucking him?”

The question detonated in my chest. I could hear my pulse in my ears, loud enough that I wanted to scream, to hit, to yank free and shove him until he staggered. I wriggled in his hold, his grip only tightening on my wrist as he glared down at me.

“When you were still with me… when I thought I still had you… were you already with him? Letting him touch you so you could forget about me? So it would be easier to let me leave?”

Finally, having enough strength to pull out of his hold, I crossed my arms over myself, and heat blurred my vision as he eyed me.

“You stay away from my son… and stay the hell away from me.”

For a long moment, he didn’t move. His jaw tightened, eyes locked on mine, and I hated how calm he looked when every inch of me was shaking.

Then, slowly, he released a breath that sounded almost like a laugh. “There she is,” he murmured, voice low, edged with something cruel. “I knew your little façade could only last for so long.”

I crossed my arms tighter, nails biting into my skin. “I mean it, Reid.”

The smirk that ghosted across his lips didn’t reach his eyes. He let the silence stretch long enough that I almost faltered under his gaze. But then, with the quiet scrape of his mug, he pushed it onto the counter before striding out, his footsteps fading down the hall.

Only when the silence swallowed him did I feel my throat clench, my chest straining as I tried to hold myself together. My mind replayed his voice, each word sinking deeper, twisting tighter around me until I could barely breathe.

I’m not here to save your family, Vieve… I’m here to take backeverythingthat was taken from me.Starting with you.

I pressed my arms harder against myself, nails biting into skin, as if I could hold myself closed against the memory. But it was useless. His vow clung to me like smoke, suffocating me and seeping into every corner of my life.

The words echoed, colder now in silence than when he’d said them.

Not agreement.

A warning.

One I wouldn’t understand until it was too late.

Chapter seven

Genevieve

Entering the Cancer Center, I walked over to the front desk, hand in hand with Eugene, as the chill of the lobby pressed into me. The heavy smell of disinfectant and the faint hum of fluorescent lights wrapped around us, sterile, dense, and unforgiving. Eugene swung our joined hands, oblivious, his little sneakers squeaking against the polished tile.

He was so excited to see her, his voice threaded with excitement the whole way over. The folded, crumpled paper from under his arm was a mess of crayons and bold lines that only he could explain to her.

My throat tightened, forcing a smile as I gave our name to the receptionist.

The woman behind the desk glanced up, her expression softening when her eyes landed on Eugene. “Room 108. She’s almost done with today’s treatment.”

I nodded, adjusting my grip on Eugene’s hand as we made our way down the corridor. The walls were a blur of muted art prints and closed doors, but every step felt heavier, pulling me back into memories I didn’t want.

Jamie had always been the backbone of the home: Raymond’s anchor, Gregory’s mother, the only softness I’d known in this family that demanded perfection. Seeing her like this, weakened and fragile, was something I could never get used to.

She always called this her karma: for going out of wedlock, for causing division in the family, for following her heart. She loved Raymond, but when another tugged at her heartstrings, she let him pull until she finally unraveled. For the family’s sake and because he loved her, Raymond forgave her. But she never forgave herself.

Eugene tugged at me, skipping ahead just a little. “C’mon, Mom. Grandma’s waiting.”

His voice had almost brought me out of my head. She always emphasized how staying a unit was most important, made me naive enough to think nothing bad could happen as long as we were together.