Page 14 of Heart Sick Hate

Rhett doesn’t seem to notice the sadness hinted in her comment. He’s too lost in the compliment to care.

Her stare moves to her plate once more. And when he unwinds his arm from Echo’s chair, her shoulders relax.

It’s slight.

Insignificant.

Her gold eyes flick to mine and pause. If my father is the devil, she’s Lady Justice, weighing my fate and looking straight through me.

I set my fork down and lean back, wrapping my fingers around the back of my head and avoiding Echo’s eyes. As painful as these family dinners are on a regular weekend, they’re worse when Ryan and Echo are here. A chess game of power and faith.

Dad and Ryan dive into some mind-numbing conversation, and I all but zone out.

Even if it’s stupid to get in the ring with a broken nose, nothing is going to stop me after this dinner. I need to hit someone—anyone. I’ll just make sure I don’t take a punch to the face.

The last thing I need is more ammo when Dad already made plenty of comments about me showing up to dinner with two black eyes. He’s always got a lot to say about how I disrespect the Kingsley name, and tonight is no different. It’s laughable considering I know what he and my brother, Adam, do to build the family empire.

No matter what I do, or how sadistic people think I am, I’m no worse than them.

“A fall wedding would be best.”

The wordweddingdrags me out of my head, back to whatever our fathers are talking about.

Echo’s face is pale as she swallows, looking on the verge of throwing up.

“Eight months?” Her dad asks my father.

He nods. “Which means an engagement by the end of February to appear natural. Does that work for you, Rhett?”

A train of thoughts floods my brain, grinding to a halt. Smoke fills my mind as the wheels of what they’re talking about rip like metal tearing.

“You’re getting married?” I don’t intend for the question to be to Echo, but I’m staring at her. I can’t take my eyes off the darkness of her own. Or how she’s popped another piece of gum in her mouth and the chewing is all I hear in this deathly silent house.

“February works.” Rhett ignores my question and answers our dad instead.

But I can’t break my gaze on Echo as I watch her become a shell of the girl who was the sun a few minutes ago.

“What?” she says in a whisper yell when I don’t look away from her. “Yes, we’re getting married. Are you just now joining the conversation?”

“You guys have barely been dating.”

“Why do you even care?”

Because I know she isn’t on board with any of this. Not that I can say that. I don’t give people reasons to think I give a shit, and questioning her motives would just make her think I do.

My gaze drops to her finger, where she’s twisting the simple white gold band she’s always wearing around her finger.

“Guess you’ll be upgrading.”

Echo narrows her eyes, and Rhett looks at where she’s spinning her ring around.

He takes her hand. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll replace this piece of junk with something pretty.”

Once more, she flinches.

I hate everything about her, but what I really hate is that stupid flinch. Like she’s been hit, but her soul is where she feels it.

Rhett drops her hand, once more not noticing, and she grabs her ring with her other hand, twisting it around. The boring ring means something to her, I just don’t know what.

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