Page 19 of Shattering

Her breath caught.

"He's always in our house. Why not?" Gray gave a sharp, humourless chuckle. "Tomos adores him. I bet you had your story ready from the start. But I figured it out."

"Figured what out?" Cadi whispered.

Gray's expression twisted. "You made a fool of me, Cadi."

Her pulse thundered in her ears. "Gray, I don't—"

"You think you are so special. You are not. There are other fish in the sea," he cut in, his tone suddenly icy. "Smarter. Prettier. And with more integrity."

Cadi stared at him, her stomach churning violently.

"Gray," she said, voice breaking, "Have you—" she swallowed. "Have you slept with her?"

Gray didn't answer.

He just looked at her.

Cadi felt her breath hitch, her heart pounding in her ears. His silence stretched, heavier than any confession. His gaze was unreadable, his jaw set tight, his fists clenched at his sides.

Then she saw it.

Cadi felt her pulse in her throat, the room spinning around her.

Her chest tightened, and she took a step back, shaking her head. "You did... no, no... oh, no..."

Her knees buckled, and she sank onto the sofa like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

The air felt too thick, too heavy. Her ears rang. She couldn't breathe.

"Why?" The word came out as a whisper, then a desperate plea. "Why, Gray?"

Gray looked away. His jaw was tight, his chest rising and falling too fast.

Cadi gripped the edge of the sofa. "Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting us?"

Something in Gray snapped. His head jerked up, eyes burning with fury.

"Ya want tae know why?" His voice was almost a growl, his accent thickening with the anger bubbling beneath his skin. "Ya thought I wouldn't find out?"

She stilled.

"Find out what?" she whispered, her mind too overwrought to connect the dots.

Gray let out a bitter laugh, his hands shaking. "You and Callum."

Cadi felt like the ground had disappeared from under her. "What?"

Gray's laugh was hollow. "I know, Cadi." His voice was low and filled with something raw, something broken. "I know what ya did while I was in Brisbane."

Cadi's breath hitched. "I don't—"

"Ya stayed over at his place," Gray continued, his voice gaining momentum, his words becoming harsher, more clipped. "Ya were always with him.And ya thought—" He let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Ya thought you could confess something like that and it would remain a secret. But she has a conscience. Something ya don't have. Ye make me sick."

Cadi's world tilted. "I—what?"

"And then Tomos." His voice dropped, almost guttural. "Ya think I never noticed? That I never questioned it?" His fists clenched at his sides. "Tomos has blond hair and blue eyes. Just like Callum."

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