Page 244 of By His Vow

My stomach knots up and my fists clench at my sides.

I always knew that holding Tatum close was going to be akin to keeping a handful of sand intact.

She slips further away every single day.

Away from her family, from her unwanted responsibilities here, from Chicago.

From me.

My heart pounds as I roll my lips between my teeth.

“You need to let her go.”

All the air rushes from Miles’s lungs and he stumbles back.

“No. I can’t do that. I’ve already lost Dad. Mom is…” A fucking disaster. “I can’t…I can’t lose her too.”

My heart bleeds for him, it really fucking does. But I don’t know how else he’s going to achieve what he wants here.

Right now, with her father’s legacy still lingering in the air around us, she’ll never agree to step into her rightful position.

She may have agreed to marry me, but only as a way to get what she really wants.

To leave.

She doesn’t want to be here.

She doesn’t want to be a part of Warner Group’s reincarnation.

She doesn’t want me.

They’re just facts we’re going to have to learn to deal with.

61

TATUM

“There you are,” Lori cries when she spots me walking through the bar toward the table she’s claimed at the back.

As if I’ve got the weight of the world on my shoulders, I drop into the chair with a loud sigh and let my purse crash to the floor.

“Here,” Lori says, pushing a pretty pink cocktail toward me.

Without any hesitation, I lift it from the table and take a massive sip. Sweetness coats my tongue and I groan in satisfaction as the strong liquor burns down my throat.

Fuck. This is exactly what I need. Alcohol and my best friend.

“Oh my god, that’s so good.”

“Right?” Lori agrees before taking a sip of her half-empty drink, her eyes focused on me over the rim.

“So?” she starts, prompting me to begin talking.

We’ve chatted briefly this week, but we’ve both been too busy to spend enough time together to dive into the shitshow that is my life right now.

Resting my elbows on the table, I drop my head into my hands.

“Oh, sweetie,” Lori soothes, reaching over to squeeze my shoulders.

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