Page 89 of American Beauty

I’ve loved Magnolia from the second I laid eyes on her, and if it’s possible, I love her even more now. Maybe because I experienced what life looks like without her in it—and I know I can’t survive it again.

But I need to know the truth.

The question burns my throat on the way out. “What is going on between you and McRae?”

Her entire body tenses at the sound of his name. “Tyson McRae is the last thing I want to talk about right now.”

My blood roars in my veins. “I don’t want to have this conversation either. But I won’t give that fucker the satisfaction of twisting the knife. Tell me the truth—have you fucked him?”

Her head snaps back. “No, Alex! I haven’t fucked him.”

Relief slams into me, fierce and fast—but the anger rides its heels. “Did he try?”

Her hesitation is enough to make my blood curdle.

“I need to know what’s happened.”

Magnolia’s hands twist together in her lap. “I’d be lying if I said nothing has happened between us.”

Rage surges under my skin, hot and uncontrollable.

“Fuuuck!” The word rips from my throat as my fist slams into the cushion beside me, rattling the frame of the couch.

Magnolia jolts. “I’m so sorry! I thought we were over and you’d moved on with someone else. That’s what Tyson told me. Think about it from my point of view. I believed you’d broken up with me in one of the cruelest ways possible. And you told me multiple times that you wanted a wife and family. There was no reason for me not to believe him.”

Nothing happened between us. That’s the only right answer. The only one that would let me breathe again. But now my mind is a fucking battlefield, a war zone littered with images I can’t stop seeing.

Fuck.

“What happened between you?”

She opens her mouth—but I lift a hand, cutting her off, the regret already crawling up my throat. “I don’t know if I can hear this.”

A surge of rage shoots through me, and I’m on my feet before I even realize it, pacing across her living room like a cagedanimal. “Is he in Charleston right now? Because if he is, I’m going to fucking kill him.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to get in line.”

Magnolia pushes off the couch, moving toward the bar cart with clipped, angry steps. She pours herself another drink—heavy, reckless—and tosses it back in one long swallow. The glass hits the cart with a sharp clink.

“What the hell were you thinking?Tyson McRae?” The words rip out of me, raw and furious. “Even if we were over—you know what kind of man he is. I told you about him.”

“I needed clients, Alex. I had just opened my firm. There was a ton of money going out and nothing coming in. He was a steady paycheck.”

Her voice shakes, but she doesn’t back down. Doesn’t sugarcoat it. She lays it out plainly, like ripping off a bandage neither of us wants to deal with.

“You’ve always had money. You’ve never woken up one morning and lost your financial security. My safety net was gone. I didn’t have the luxury of falling apart. I was scared.”

Hearing her admit that she was scared hits me harder than anything else tonight. Magnolia Steel doesn’t lean. She doesn’t crumble. She’s always been strong enough to carry the weight of the world on her back without asking for help. Vulnerability isn’t something she wears easily.

And the fact that she’s letting me see it guts me.

“He swooped in the second you were vulnerable and took advantage. Because that’s what he does, Magnolia. That’s all he’s ever done––hurt people.”

She may hate me for this—but she’ll just have to. Because protecting her will always come before keeping the peace.

“You’re done working with him. I don’t care what it costs for you to break the contract. It’s over. Done! And if I have any say in it, you’ll never see him again.”

The words leave my mouth without hesitation, firm and absolute. Over the top and I don’t give a fuck.

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