Chapter 5

I walked straight past them.

I went back to Lewis's side.

He looked down at me, something like satisfaction in his eyes.

He smelled like Mia's perfume. I didn't want to think about what had happened while I was gone.

It didn't matter anymore.

I checked my phone. Thirty minutes until ten.

Lewis bent close and murmured into my ear. "Let's do the wedding next month. I've been looking at venues. I'll have my assistant send you the options tonight — you can pick."

I looked up at him. "I already told you. The wedding is off."

A warning crept into his voice. "There's a limit to how far you can push this. I told you — the spot as my wife is always yours. What more do you want — do you need me to get down on my knees?"

He was impatient. He kept reading my detachment as a tantrum.

"I don't want anything from you," I said. "I'm just not marrying you."

"Fine." His voice turned sharp. "Do you need me to send you back to the facility before you'll start making sense? Don't be ungrateful."

I took a slow breath. "You still think I'm throwing a fit. Don't you."

"Aren't you?" He laughed curtly. "How many times have we done this over Mia? Just tell me how many."

I was about to say that I genuinely didn't care anymore.

But before I could, Mia came swaying back across the room.

She was moving like someone who'd had too much to drink. She let herself fall against Lewis, arms winding around his neck.

"I'm so dizzy." She melted against him, voice soft. "Lewis, I think I drank too much."

As she said it, she flicked her eyes over at me. She wasn't drunk at all. She was daring me to react.

The three friends were watching from nearby, clearly waiting for the show.

Lewis put an arm around Mia's waist. His brow furrowed, but he didn't push her away. He glanced at me.

The old me would have already snapped. Would have shoved her, screamed, made a scene.

Instead I said, calmly, "If Mia's had too much to drink, you should take her home."

Something shifted in Lewis's expression.

He opened his mouth, but Mia cut in first. "Lewis, take me home. I just want you to take me, like you used to. Please?"

Lewis hesitated, then turned to me. "Go home and wait for me. I'll take her back and come straight to you. Don't cause a scene. Just go home."

I smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Lewis scooped Mia up in his arms and carried her out, right in front of everyone.

Daniel started clapping as he walked over to me. He looked me up and down. "Betty, seriously — what kind of facility did you go to? It's a miracle."

"So which is it — genuine peace, or holding it together?"

Griffin came closer too. "Say what you want, this version of you is a lot easier to be around than the old one. Lewis might actually be into it — playing it cool, making him come to you. Smart move."

I didn't bother responding. I turned and walked out.

Behind me, Austin called out, "Really going home to wait like a good girl? Not even going to wait for Lewis to come back and comfort you?"

I didn't stop. I didn't look back.

I got in a cab, went home to get my suitcase, and went to the airport.

I boarded the plane and put my phone on airplane mode.

I slept. It felt like a long sleep.

When I woke up, the plane had landed.

I turned off airplane mode. In almost the same instant, my phone started shaking violently.