Page 14 of Off-Limits

Later, we make small talk with the other guests at our table—people Mia knows from college, though none of them seem particularly interested in making conversation with me. And why would they? I'm just the random guy who showed up with their friend, no explanation given. But it doesn't matter. The only person here who matters is sitting right across from me, and she hasn't said more than a handful of words to anyone else all night. It's surprising, really.

Mia excuses herself to use the restroom, leaving her half-finished glass of champagne on the table beside her empty plate. I watch her go, my eyes tracing the curve of her back as she moves through the crowd. It's only when she disappears from view that I realize I've been holding my breath since she stood up. She always has that effect on me, and I can't change it. Can't hope to ever change it, either.

While I'm still sitting there and waiting for her to return, a man approaches our table. He's tall, with slicked-back hair andan obnoxiously loud laugh that grates on my nerves even before he opens his mouth. I don't know who he is, but I already dislike him. If he spends too much time around me, I'll start to hate him, too.

"Hey, you're here with Mia Chen, right?" he asks, extending a hand towards me as if we're old friends.

I stand up to shake it, though I have no intention of actually doing so. "Yeah," I say instead, crossing my arms over my chest and looking down at him coolly. "You know her?"

The man's smile falters slightly under my scrutiny, but he quickly recovers, turning on the charm like a light switch flipping on. "Oh yeah," he says, his eyes gleaming with something that makes my hackles rise. "We went to college together. She was... quite memorable."

I can feel the anger building inside me like a storm about to break, but before I can say anything, Mia returns to our table. Her eyes widen when she sees us standing there, and I can practically see the gears turning in her head as she tries to figure out what's going on.

"Hey," she says cautiously, looking between the two of us. "Everything okay?"

The man turns his attention to her then, a predatory gleam in his eyes that makes me want to punch him square in the face. But I don't, because Mia deserves better than that, and because I can tell from the way she's stiffening beside me that this isn't some random stranger; it must be her ex.

I don't know what his intentions really are, but I'm not going to give anyone a reason to kick me out of the wedding.

"Mia," he says, his voice smooth as he takes a step closer to her. "It's been too long."

She doesn't respond right away, but I can see the tension in her shoulders as she forces herself to meet his gaze. And then, before either of them can say anything else, another woman appears at the man's side, his arm around her waist, pulling her close like a possession. That might not be too far from the truth.

"Oh," Mia says softly. "You brought your girlfriend."

The man has the decency to look slightly embarrassed by that, but it doesn't last long. He just smirks and pulls the woman even closer, pressing a kiss to her temple like he's trying to prove something. "Yep," he says finally, his voice filled with an arrogant confidence that makes me want to wipe the smile off his face. "We're engaged now."

Mia thought only her friend would have to deal with an ex flaunting their new partner, but now it's happening to her too and she can barely hide how she feels.

I can see the shock in Mia's eyes, the way she's struggling to maintain her composure despite the pain I know she must be feeling. But she doesn't let it show—not on the surface, at least—and I admire her for that more than anything.

"Congratulations," she says, her voice steady as she forces a smile onto her face. "That's... that's really great."

The man just smiles back at her, like he thinks he's won something. And maybe he has, but not the way he thinks. Because even though Mia might be hurt by this, even though there's a part of her that still cares about this man despite everything, she's already moved on, and she'll find someone better—a man who deserves her and knows how lucky he is to have her.

As the ex's gaze lingers on Mia, his grip tightening around his girlfriend's waist, I can see the tension in her shoulders growing even heavier with each second. She's trying to keep ittogether, but there's a flicker of emotion in her eyes that tells me she's hurting more than she's letting on. I sympathize with her and want to protect her.

And then, without any warning, the ex opens his mouth again, his words sharp and cutting like a knife. "You know," he says, smirking as he looks Mia up and down, "you should've tried harder to keep me interested."

What the fuck? He thinks so highly of himself, saying something like that. He has no respect for Mia, and in turn, I feel the same way about him.

I feel the anger surge through me at that, a red haze clouding my vision as I take a step forward, ready to lay into this piece of shit for daring to speak to her like that. But before I can say anything, Mia beats me to it.

"Excuse me?" she says, her voice cool and calm despite the way her hands are clenching into fists at her sides. Sometimes, she can actually be pretty good at hiding her emotions. "What did you just say?"

The ex just smirks wider, clearly enjoying this little game he's playing. "You heard me," he says, his voice filled with a cocky confidence that makes my blood boil.

Mia takes a deep breath before responding, and I can see the effort it's taking her to maintain her composure. "I think you need to leave," she says finally.

The ex laughs at that—a harsh, grating sound that makes me want to punch him square in the face. "And if I say no? What are you going to do about it?" he taunts, taking a step closer to her until they're standing almost nose-to-nose. All pretenses have been dropped, and now he's fully confrontational with her. "Call your big brother to come save you?"

I can see the way Mia's body tenses at that, how much those words hurt her despite knowing they shouldn't. And before I can even think about what I'm doing, I step forward, positioning myself between them like a human shield.

"Back off," I growl as I glare down at the man who dared to speak to Mia that way. "Now."

The ex looks up at me then, his eyes widening slightly as he takes in my size for the first time. But there's still that arrogant smirk on his face, like he thinks he can take me if it comes down to it. He can't.

"And just who do you think you are?" he sneers, taking a step towards me. "What are you going to do? Hit me?"

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