I stood there, trembling, the air thick between us, choking with everything we had never said and everything we couldn’t take back.
He was waiting—eyes wild and desperate, suitcase handle clutched in white-knuckled fingers. Waiting for me to say something that would either destroy him or save him.
And I did.
“I want you to stay,” I whispered. My voice cracked. “Because I want to hurt James.”
His face barely changed.
I stepped closer, not letting him pull away again.
“And…” My throat tightened, but I pushed through it. “Rhys… I—”
His eyes found mine again, searching.
“I want both of you.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
“I want both of you,” I repeated, firmer now. “I’m not saying it’s fair. I’m not saying it’s right. I just… I do. I don’t know how else to say it.”
His b
