Page 46 of Lush

I stopped pacing, narrowing my eyes at her. “What do you mean,earlier?”

Laurene froze. Box in hand, I stormed toward the exit, seething. I couldn’t get to the car quick enough. I ripped the door open and dropped the stuff in.

“Reese!”

Laurene was rushing toward me.

“We need a plan.”

“What’s there to plan?” My patience was worn thin. “We need answers, and we need them now. Let’s go confront Tobias about this bullshit.”

“You’re letting your emotions take over.” She took a step closer, eyes cold but focused. “We don’t go charging in blind. We gather what we need, then we make him answer for it.”

I began to protest, but Laurene interrupted me.

“You never think about the fallout.” She shook her head. “You haven’t even said what that paper is for! What will Toby do with that now? If at all? Are you just picking him to be guilty?”

“Now it’s my fault?” I scoffed. “Just like it was back then,right? I was always the one to blame for wanting more, for wanting us to be something.”

“You’re impossible!” she shot back. “You never listen. You’re always making everything aboutyou.”

“You’re damn right it’s about me!” I retorted, stepping closer to her, trying not to be entranced by that damn perfume. “Because you never gave a damn about us.About what I wanted. At what point do I stop hoping that you’ll do right, Laurene? At what point do I stop only wanting to meet in hotels and sneaking to other towns to be with you like I wanted? I was honest from the beginning.”

“You werereckless, just like now! It was fun when we first started dating, but we weren’t in a vacuum, Reese! We had families, reputations. I just said I’m sorry?—”

“You care so much about duty? That’s rich coming from you.” Anger flooded my veins. “Do you really love your family that damn much? Huh? The same people you cried on my shoulder about? The mother that arranged this bullshit? I wanted a life with you, not a series of stolen moments!”

Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. “Do you think I didn’t want a life with you?”

“Then why didn’t you do something?” I pressed, my frustration boiling over. “Why didn’t you stop the damn arranged marriage if you cared so much?Youhad the power to change everything! Maybe Conrad would be alive if you had.”

Laurene’s face went white.

“You were too busy playing the martyr because that’s what you’re used to, Laurene. People coming to save you. Everyone loves the girl who looks good while suffering.”

Her expression hardened. “And what about you, Reese? You think you’re some kind of hero? You were too busy pretending you didn’t care what people thought, but you did. You always thought Conrad was better than you, and you use him as an excuse to be an asshole. You’re judging me about giving in? Youlet this town and their opinions, their judgments, get in your head too.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she wasn’t done.

“You don’t get to act like your pain is bigger than anyone else’s.”

The breeze stirred, lifting strands of Laurene’s hair in a gentle dance around her face. Despite our argument, she looked stunning, a haunting reminder that Laurene King was my greatest love and my worst mistake.

“We should go,” I murmured finally. “There’s nothing more to say.”

Her jaw tightened. “Trust goes both ways, Reese. And right now, I don’t know if I can trust you.”

“You don’t trust me?” I bristled, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.

Silence. The words she didn’t say stung.

“I can’t do this right now,” she finally said, her tone weary as she held herself. “I need some space.”

“Laurene…” I started, but the words got tangled in my throat.

She shook her head, her expression hardening.

“Fine.” I forced myself forward, but my heart was screaming. I reached my car, and I stole a glance back at her. “I’ll talk to you later.”

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