Page 226 of Wicked Brutal

His eyes snap back to me. “You publicly humiliated my fiancée.”

I shrug. “She’ll live.”

“Whether Alison was emotionally wounded by your little performance is irrelevant.”

There it fucking is. Not you hurt her. Not you embarrassed her. Nothing about Ally at all.

Kaid goes still beside me. X’s face empties. Danny’s jaw tightens. Iz’s head tilts.

I stare at Victor. “Then what exactly is the problem?”

His expression hardens. “You made my fiancée look foolish in front of her peers.”

I look at Ally. At the ridiculous diamond on her finger. At the envelope in her hand. Then back at him. “This isn’t about her.” I smile. “It’s about you.”

“Careful, Harrington.”

“Did I get it wrong?”

“When you degrade something that belongs to me, you degrade me.”

Something. The entire hallway seems to hear it. Not someone. Something. Bella’s words from yesterday slam through my skull. Victor doesn’t want a wife. Something that behaves.

Victor’s attention comes back to me. “Alison will carry my name. Her conduct reflects on me. How she is treated reflects on me.”

“You hear yourself when you talk?”

“Perfectly.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Victor takes one step closer. “You will stay away from what is mine.”

Every violent thought I’ve ever had shows up at once. I smile, because if I stop smiling I’m going to ruin everything. “Fine.”

Victor waits. He wants more. He wants submission. He wants the whole school to hear that Alison O’Toole means absolutely nothing to Ryan Harrington. Fine. I can give him that.

I shrug. “Keep her.”

There. I finally look at Ally. Nothing changes on her face. Not publicly. But I know her. Fuck, I know her. And I see it — the tiny hit, the break she buries before anybody else could ever catch it. Something in me apologizes to her in a language only she’d understand. It doesn’t reach my face either.

Victor smiles. “I intend to.”

My pulse pounds against my skull. Kaid’s shoulder presses into mine. X is right there. Danny. Iz. Five. I smile wider.

Victor studies me for another second. “Don’t make me have this conversation twice.”

“Then make the first one more interesting next time.”

Kaid laughs. Victor’s eyes go cold. Then he turns. And has to walk all the way back across the atrium. Toward the fiancée he left standing there.

The irony isn’t lost on anybody now. Neither is the fact that Bella immediately steps back. One pace. Then another. The exact amount she moved closer when Victor walked away. Distance restored. Like she was never watching Ally at all.

Victor reaches Ally. His entire posture changes again. Smooth. Polished. Controlled. He says something too quietly for us to hear. Ally smiles. Of course she does. He touches her cheek. Then bends and kisses it. I lock my knees. Don’t fucking move. Ally’s hand rests lightly against his arm. Victor says something else. She nods. He kisses her forehead this time. Then leaves.

The second he disappears through the administrative hall, the entire building erupts into noise. Everyone starts talking at once. Phones come down only because teachers finally remember they have jobs.

“Enough.” “Phones away.” “Get to class.” “Move.” “Mr. Ellis, your entire class is in the hallway.”