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“Take a note of the coffee,” Hux interjects after a minute.
“And the snack. Let’s see if she took the same one the next day.”
I highlight the mention and keep going.
Coffee, double. Blueberry muffins. Red over white. Bordeaux over merlot. Middle row, back of the cinema. IMax over 3D. Dark-haired guys,neverblonds.
That one makes me smirk.
“I don’t get it. She has a pretty big circle of friends from college, right? Why was she a complete loner at school?” I ask, confused.
Caden winces while Osborn and Hux exchange a look.
“Really?” Hawk snorts.
I stare at the lot of them, eyes shifting from one to the next. “What?”
They seem to be in tune, but I really don’t get what I’m missing here.
“You honestly didn’t know everyone was bullying her at the academy?”
“Pardon me?”
My jaw falls. They can’t mean that. There’s no way. I’d know, right?
Except…would I?
I made a point of actually not paying too much attention to her back in middle school. Sure, she was my fiancée, but she was a kid. I knew that if we were spending too much time together, I’d end up fucking her pretty damn fast. Even back then, I suspected that wouldn’t be a good idea. I didn’t fuck anyone until I was sixteen, surely she should have the same amount of time to grow up.
But if she’d actually been bullied, I wouldknow.
I remember the ripped knees. The pure rage in her eyes when she saw me with that chick whose name I can’t remember. I’d actually quite liked the fact that she was so obviously jealous.
Then, she’d confessed that the girl had been the one pushing her a year prior, and not only did I never touch her again, I also completely ruined her reputation and personal standing in the school to make her pay for it.
“Rewind a sec. When you say everyone—”
“Everyone,” Caden insisted. “I mean, not us, but the girls who were hanging out with us, the guys who wanted to be somebody. Her grade, your grade, the undergrads—it was bad.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” I shout.
The guys exchange glances again. “I mean, we figured you knew. It was pretty obvious.”
“Not to me!” I shout.
Cad frowns. “It’s possible people were only doing it behind your back, I guess. They never stopped in front of me, so I didn’t consider that. Sorry, man. I would have told you if I thought you didn’t know.”
“In what universe would I know my fiancée was getting bullied by everybody and not do something about it? Not only was it hurting her, it was reflecting badly on me! She was mine! If someone can shit on something that’s mine, who am I?” I realize the words are cold, and frankly horrible as they cross my mouth, but that’s what we’re like together.
We don’t filter our thoughts, letting them spill, raw and dirty. We certainly can’t afford that level of honesty in public. Letting my friends see the worst of me is how I keep my sanity.
So of course, that’s when I notice Ivy at the door, her pale green eyes wide open.
She straightens her spine and walks in, faking a smile that would have convinced literally anyone, unless they’d heard what I just said.
She’s as proud as a queen, in spite of it all.
And with sickening accuracy, I understand why.
