I didn’t even breathe.

Not when he said it.

Not when my mother went still as stone, staring at him like she hadn’t just heard the most gutting thing a man could say to the woman he claimed to love.

But I felt Ryder’s eyes shift to me. And then to her.

And then… his voice broke through.

“You know that’s not fair for Lorelei,” he said, voice low, rough with the effort to keep it calm. “You’re angry and saying shit that’ll hurt you more than it’ll hurt her. You always do ...