Page 6 of Forgive You

“You’re in the women’s bathroom,” I tell him with as much bravado as I can muster, as I lift my eyes in the mirror, finding his gaze with my chin high.

The cold water cascading over my fingers is meant to calm my senses, but my veins are only heated more as the seconds pass by, his gaze continuing to drill into my aura.

It’s probably a pallet of rainbow and fireworks right now.All over the fucking place.

He just stands there. Staring at me, his eyes almost as narrow as the thin line he’s pressed his firm lips into, the blue flickering around his irises growing darker. As he takes deep breaths, his chest heaves and nostrils flare.

My heart is beating so fast my insides tremble, but I ain’t backing down.

Do you think he’s plotting my murder?

The antique pink-tiled room fuses with an electrifying tension, as if every breath is loaded with anticipation, the air crackling with unspoken words.

I close the faucet and grab a paper towel while sucking in a deep breath. Drying my hands longer than necessary, I sweep my body around to face him, throwing the crumbled sheet in the trash, then meet his harsh gaze with one of my own.

“What do you want, Jason?”

Though his anger tenses every muscle of his features, part of him still feels so familiar.

Does he have to be so beautiful?

“You heard me.” His hot breath flies over my face, his nose close enough to mine to pick up his cologne.

It’s fresh, like lemongrass, mixed with something that I can only describe as home.

Can’t he just smell like onions and cheese or something?It would make hating him back so much easier.

I swallow to prevent myself from running my nose up his neck.

“I’m not–”

“Shouldn’t you be sitting on my brother’s lap like a good girl?” he mocks, his dig sucking the air from my lungs. “Weren’t you two going to take over North Carolina real estate together? What was it Jacob called you two? The Braeden Power Pair?”

“Fuck you.” He knows I hate that name.

The arrogant asshole also knows I hate that Jacob is working for my father in general. But what I hate most is how I want to blurt out all the shit his brother pulled recently, only I can’t.

“I don’t know what kind of sick trick you two are pulling, but I will not let you destroy what I’ve built for the last couple of months.”

My eyebrows knit together, my heart tensing as if a knife gets plowed right into the center.

Wait, what? I almost chuckle.Almost.He might not know the full truth of my situation with his brother, but after all these years, Jason should at least know I would never doanythingto hurt him intentionally.

It stings.

“Whoa, Jay. You know me so well.” I pull my shoulders back a little and cross my arms in front of my chest.

I can’t believe he’s dead set on painting me as the villain, putting me in the same category as his brother.

“Yeah, selfish, narcissistic…” His voice trails off, still pinning me down with his blue eyes that used to radiate comfort as he places his hands on the sink beside me to cage me in.

Excuse me?!

The heat of his body so close to mine is messing with my mind, but my fury is greater than whatever power play he’s trying to pull.

“Finish that sentence.” Anger flares around my lips close to his.

My glare grows as I notice him flounder while I dare him to be as cruel as he wants to be. To attack me with his words and become the person he hates even more than he hates me.

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