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“Mr. Morrison,” Eric says, his words measured, but it’s not like he’s trying to protect Declan in any way. “I’ve contacted the detective and the police. This is taken care of.”
My entire body is still shaking, the feeling of vomit burns my throat as I watch Eric push Ethan away, motioning for him to go to me.
It’s over. It’s finally over.
But then, as Ethan is walking over to me, Brandon comes out of nowhere, socking Declan right in the face. Shaking his hand out, a grimace on his face, it looks as if Brandon is even more mad than Ethan is.
“I called you my friend. I trusted you when everyone else said you were a dickhead, and now here you are, trying to ruin my wedding, trying to ruin my best friend’s life,” Brandon hisses, his hand clutching the neck of Declan’s shirt.
“None of this would be happening if he would’ve just gone through with my proposal,” Declan spits back, his lip bloody, his face swelling from all the shots he’s taken.
He points at Ethan as if this is all his fault. Declan’s eyes narrowed, the hatred spewing from him, the rage that’s blanketed with jealousy, all because Ethan declined to go into business with him. Did he really think that going after me would allow him to recoup his losses?
He’s crazier than any of us knew, and the simple decline of a business proposal has now led to him possibly spending the rest of his life in prison. It’s exactly where he needs to be.
“Take him out the back,” Ethan orders. “I don’t want anyone to see this. He doesn’t get to be paraded around here, overshadowing Brandon and Tracy’s wedding.”
“One second,” Simon says, walking up to Declan, he looks him up and down, and without warning, his nails Declan right in the side of the jaw, shaking the pain out of his hand when he pulls back. “That’s for fucking with my brother and his happiness.”
Ethan clamps Simon on the shoulder, pulling him away from Declan and letting Eric do his thing. Eric zip ties Declan’s hands behind his back, holding him in place as he begins to walk him toward the exit and away from all of us. Stepping in front of him, I can’t let him leave without telling him exactly how I feel.
“I’ve been through a lot of shit, most of it caused by you, but what I hate more than anything is that some slimy motherfucker like you thinks you’re entitled to Ethan’s success or that blackmailing my parents, who built a successful business, owe you anything. You fucked with the wrong girl,” I hiss, my words laced with venom.
And without giving it a second thought, I haul off and slap him across the face, knowing he deserves it and knowing it is something I’ve been dreaming about doing. Hitting him over the head with the toilet tank cover wasn’t enough. He really needs to feel just how stupid he is to think I would just lay down and die.
“Don’t ever fucking underestimate what someone will do to get back to the person they love,” I tell him. “And you have to be the stupidest person ever to follow me into the hallway. There are cameras all over this place, and the second I saw your face, I recorded our entire interaction on my phone, you stupid fucker. I plan to turn everything over to the police.”
Eric doesn’t give him a chance to say anything more, just shoving him away from us and taking him out the back of the lodge. Seeing him go feels like the biggest relief, but it also feels like it isn’t over just yet.
There will be a trial and I’ll probably have to testify, which will only bring back all the memories I’ve tried to avoid, but I also don’t ever want Declan to be able to do this to anyone else. He’s tortured my family, Ethan and me, enough for a lifetime.
My body melts against Ethan’s when he walks over to me, instinctively finding comfort in him and even though I know Declan has been caught, I can’t help the feeling of being overwhelmed.
My mind is a jumbled mess of what if scenarios and worrying about Brandon and Tracy’s wedding. This is supposed to be their day, a day that they remember forever and not for all the reasons that have happened today.
“I’m so sorry, Brandon,” I mutter, my face buried in Ethan’s chest as I try to not break down in tears. It feels like my body is wired and has been going nonstop for the last twenty-four hours and now it’s hit a wall.
Ethan’s arms close around me, holding me close and I can hear the beating of his heart, the sound soothing, but it also triggers something in me, triggering me to think about my life without him, about how close we’ve come to losing each other.
The tears spill from my eyes, my body shaking, and Ethan tightens his hold on me, the weight of his body a comforting pressure against the stress that grips me.
“Baby, it’s over,” Ethan whispers, his lips pressed to the top of my head. “Why don’t I take you home?”
I shake my head, not wanting to leave. This is Ethan’s best friend’s wedding, and he should be here. We both should be here.
“He has taken more than enough from us. He doesn’t get to take Brandon and Tracy’s wedding,” I reply, leaning back to look up at him. Ethan runs his thumbs over my cheeks, brushing away the tears. He kisses my forehead, letting his lips rest there for a few minutes.
“Are you sure?” he asks, looking over at Brandon, and when I shift to look at Brandon too, his eyes are loaded with sympathy.
“Zoey, this isn’t your fault, so please stop feeling guilty about ruining mine and Tracy’s wedding. If anyone is at fault here it’s me for remaining friends with that asshole for all these years,” Brandon says, letting out a hard sigh.
“We can sit here and debate this, but I don’t want to,” I tell both of them. “I don’t want to waste any more time on him or this or anything that has to do with Declan. Tonight, we are going to celebrate you and Tracy.”
“I think we could all use a drink,” Brandon says, laughing a little. “Tracy is probably already drunk and dancing without me.”
“We all should be drunk and dancing,” Simon jokes, making us laugh a little. We really do need to be drunk after all of this.
We all smile, trying to push through the stress and enjoy ourselves. With Declan in the hands of the police, we at least know we’re safe for tonight. With Ethan’s arm around my shoulders, we all emerge from the bathroom, trying not to draw attention to ourselves, but I’m sure all the guests know something has happened. We can just hope that they have such an amazing time at the wedding that they don’t remember the arrest that took place in the parking lot.
