Page 183 of Pretty Little Lies

“No,” she replies simply and so not surprising.

Torin tenses at my side but doesn’t utter a word. Meanwhile, Reeve’s in her fucking face, about to rip her throat out.

“I don’t hit women, Viv,” he grounds out, drawing the attention of the room. “But I’ll make an exception for you. I’ll make you bloody and broken just to hear you beg and plead for mercy that I won’t give you. Last chance. Give. It. Back.”

“No.”

That simple word is the end of this conversation.

I’m fully aware that coming here to ask Vivian to do anything was a long shot. She’s too in her feelings to ever let it go.

And now that she’s seen or heard me with Bay, she’ll try to chokehold me to her side. It won’t work. I don’t bow or worship her anymore after the shit she pulled on my brother, but she sure tries.

“Should we break her legs now or later?” Reeve asks casually, signing his question for Torin and keeping his voice down. “I’m voting now.”

“Too many witnesses,” I claim, as Vivian’s smug smile shows brightly, like I’m doing it for her and not for what I just said.

I’m not sure where in her fucked up head she thinks I give a shit about her, but I don’t.

Never will.

“How about before her recital?” Torin vouches. “It’d be fun to see her on crutches.”

“Honestly…” I give away a small smirk to Vivian because she doesn’t know what I’m saying, and sheloatheswhen we sign around her.“That’s not a bad idea if she wouldn’t go rat us out to her dad.”

“Then we should sew her mouth shut.”That from Reeve, and it’s a possibility. However, it doesn’t mean that we can’t make Vivian pay for her bullshit.

“Let’s go,” I say, watching all the tap dancers and ballerinas stare at us with fear laced in their eyes. “We gave her one last chance and she fucked it.”

“Stop signing,” my ex barks out through her teeth. “Just say what you want.”

“Already did,” I claim as Torin turns on his heel to leave the place. Vivian immediately steps forward and clutches to my forearm with a death grip, aware that I’m not far behind.

“Cai,” she soothes softly, peering up at me with fake kindness in her eyes. “You know why I did it, right? I can’t stand the thought of you cheating on me and?—”

“Like you did me?” I quirk a brow because, I’m over it for one, and I have every fucking right to return the favor. And fucking Bay wouldn’t only be icing on the cake, but it would release all the pent-up lust that has been building for that woman.

I’ve had a taste.

I’ve felt her body crushed against mine.

It took everything in me not to shove my hand down her pants and feel if she was wet for me. If she felt anything for me besides the side glares and shitty little remarks she leaves.

When I heard her voice in the ring, demanding that I focus, I was surprised I heard it at all.

Maybe it was because everyone was on the edge of their seat, not expecting Matteo to do as well as he did.

Rule number one: don’t underestimateanyone. Matteo De Leon isn’t just a punk-ass gangbanger, but a desperate one. I’m not going to be surprised when he tries something else.

Dude’s a fucking prick.

“That was a long time ago,” Vivian objects with a sharpness to her words. “I was young?—”

“And still stupid.” I want to pull my arm away, but I let her have this. I allow her to touch me and think she can sway me a certain way just for the denial and rejection to batter her in the face. “You’re not gonna win, Viv. I’m not sure why you keep trying. Really, it’s quite pathetic.”

“Cairo—”

“Vivian…I’m going to let Torin and Reeve bend and break you after this. Maybe even before, call it an early closing present.”

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