Page 17 of Poison's Promise

“Polly, I... I didn’t know,” I stammer, my voice barely audible.

“Of course, you didn’t,” she spits, tears welling up in her eyes but refusing to fall. “Because you never bothered to ask. You just believed whatever bullshit you were told and walked away.”

I stagger back, the words slamming into me like a freight train.

Polly’s eyes are wild, filled with a pain that cuts right through my core.

My mind spins, trying to grasp the reality she’s laying before me.

The walls of the small room seem to close in, the air thick with years of misunderstandings and misplaced anger.

“Polly, I?—”

“Save it,” she snaps, swiping at her eyes angrily. “You never gave me a chance to explain. You just assumed the worst.”

She takes a breath, composing herself.

Her shoulders are squared, her chin high, but I can see the tremor in her hands, the vulnerability she’s desperately trying to mask.

“That night,” she begins, her voice steadier now, “I went to a party. My dad did his usual shit and didn’t show up. I needed you, but you were at that meeting with the record label. So, I felt alone. So, I went to a party. Just to blow off some steam. I drank too much, started feeling sick.”

I swallow hard, my throat dry as sandpaper.

Her voice cracks, but she pushes on. “That was the worst night of my fucking life. That party... it was supposed to be fun. Just a break from everything. But I drank too much, Asher. Way too much.”

Her fingers tighten around the hem of her crop top, knuckles white. She’s holding on for dear life, trying not to fall apart.

“Everything got fuzzy. I remember feeling sick, needing to lie down. Someone offered to help me. I thought they were being kind...”

A shiver runs through her, and I reach out instinctively, but she steps back, shaking her head.

“Don’t,” she whispers. “Just... don’t.”

“That night changed everything for me,” she continues, her voice a mere whisper. “I lost more than my dignity. I lost you. And the worst part? You never even gave me a chance to explain.”

“Polly, I swear?—”

“Shut up,” she snaps, her eyes blazing with a fire that both terrifies and enthralls me. “Just shut up and listen.”

I bite my tongue, nodding.

“After that night, I was a wreck. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face. And every time I looked at my phone, I saw your message. Over and over again.”

“God, Polly,” I whisper, my heart breaking for her. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t change anything,” she says icily. “Sorry doesn’t give me back what I lost. Sorry doesn’t rewrite the past.”

“It doesn’t even surprise me that lie came from Rachel,” Polly’s laugh is sharp and bitter, like shattered glass. “I should have known she said something to you.”

“Polly, what—” I start, but she cuts me off with a raised hand.

“That night,” she begins, her voice trembling slightly, “I told Rachel to stay out of our business. She’d been meddling for too long, trying to come between us.”

“Why would she do that?” I ask, confusion knitting my brows together.

“Because she’s always wanted what I had,” Polly snaps, her eyes flashing with anger. “She couldn’t stand seeing us happy. So when I told her to leave us alone, she lost it. We got into a huge fight. She threatened me, Asher. Said she’d make sure you never looked at me the same way again.”

“Threatened you?” The words feel foreign on my tongue.

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