Page 81 of Crushed Vow
I didn’t slow. Didn’t look at him.
I walked right past him.
I would not get on that bike.
Chapter 12
CHARLOTTE
I stood a few meters away from him—deliberately distant, my lungs burning with the weight of everything I couldn’t scream.
I opened my Uber app, thumb hovering over the glowing screen, fingers trembling despite how hard I tried to steady them.
Each breath was jagged. My eyes blurred. My heartbeat roared louder than the city noise.
Don’t look at him. Don’t let him win.
I tapped Request Ride.
But before the confirmation could even process, I felt it—that shift in the air.
Heavy. Familiar. Possessive.
A shadow stretched over my shoulder, swallowing the sunlight.
I turned, slowly, unwillingly.
Cassian.
His towering form loomed behind me, dark suit sharp against the light. His eyes hidden behind dark lenses. But I didn’t need to see them. I could feel them—cutting through me like a brand.
His presence coiled around my throat like a chain. That same chain I thought I’d escaped.
“I’m not getting on your bike,” I said before he could speak, my voice cold, though it trembled beneath the surface.
“I’ve already requested a ride. I’ll get home on my own.”
His jaw flexed, a single muscle ticking in silence. “You’re not going back alone.”
“Oh, so you’re the one calling the shots again?” I snapped. “Like nothing ever happened? Like I didn’t just get thrown out of a hospital because of your insecurity?”
“I’m not insecure,” he said tightly. “I’m territorial.”
His sunglasses caught the glare of the sun, masking whatever emotion might’ve flickered in his eyes.
His jaw clenched.
“I’m not giving you a choice,” he said dangerously.
I felt the breath catch in my lungs.
“So you’ll what?” I asked, voice cracking. “Throw me over your shoulder in front of everyone? Drag me to your bike like a sack of bones? Like some possession you think you own?”
“Yes,” he said. No hesitation. Just brutal, suffocating truth. “If that’s what it takes.”
I took a step back, my fingers curling into fists. “You wouldn’t dare.”
He stepped forward, his voice a low growl. “Try me.”
