Page 77 of Knotted

I want her so much that in the few hours we’ve been apart, I’ve drifted in and out of physical pain.

Hell, I can still taste her on my lips from that kiss...

God, that kiss.

It’s the kind that rewires your brain and wrecks any notion of moving along without her.

I step inside, instantly hit with signs of her everywhere—her laptop tossed on the sofa, phone abandoned on the table, and her favorite plush winky face emoji slippers, tossed haphazardly on the floor, a small reminder that she’s here.

This is home now. Messy. Lived in.Happy.

A second later, her sweet voice drifts from somewhere in the house.Hmm. She must be on the phone.

The sound of her light giggles shoots straight to my dick, tightening low and deep, making me feel every damn inch of the want I have for this woman.

But then another voice cuts through the space, deflating me faster than a bouncy house rented by the hour.

I rush down the hall, following familiar laughs and voices until I step into the kitchen.

And there she is. My gut sinks like a stone, heavy and hard, when I see the last person I ever expected to find here tonight standing beside my Peach Pop.

Jess.

My sister.

The one who’s supposed to be in Fiji. On her honeymoon. With Mark.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, pulling her into a hug and forcing a grin that feels like it’s about to crack. “You’re not supposed to be back for weeks,” I add, biting out the words a little too sharp.

Because just like that, everything I’ve been holding onto—this marriage, Jules—feels like it’s about to crumble to dust.

And I’m not ready for that. Not yet.

“We came back early,” she says, her voice light as a song. Jess’s new tan and wide blue eyes beam at me, completely clueless that she’s about to demolish every last brick of my well-laid plan.

Okay, so maybe I don’t have an actual plan. But I have Jules, who’s already twisting her wedding ring like it’s suddenly strangling her finger.

Jess catches the shift in my expression and, in typical Jess fashion, blurts out, “The suspense was killing me. And there was a typhoon coming. Plus, Ihadto meet her—my new sister! Imagine my surprise when I find out you married Jules.”

God, I love my sister, but can she please stop talking already?

Jess grabs Jules’s hand, inspecting it closely, noticing how Jules is practically ripping the ring off her skin. “Couldn’t you at least get her a ring that fits?”

“We were...” I fumble, my throat tightening as I scramble for the right words. “Impulsive. In a rush.” The second the words leave my mouth, I know they’re wrong. “It’s just...temporary.”

Shut up. Shut up. Shut. UP!

I glance at Jules, and it’s like watching her heart shatter in slow motion. Her eyes wide, filled with uncertainty, doubt, and so much hurt it slices from her heart to mine.

She’s already halfway gone, the need to run practically etched into every line of her face. But she covers it up with a fake smile and misty eyes that make it a thousand times worse.

“I’ll let you two catch up,” she says quietly, her voice small, distant, already out of reach.

She’s trying so damn hard to hold it together, to mask the cracks splintering her apart, but it’s all there—visible, raw. Breaking her in ways I never wanted to.

And all I can do is stand here, helpless, watching her slip through my fingers.

Because what else can I do?

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