Page 73 of Before I Say I Don't
My throat tightened, but I forced the tears back.
I backed out of the messages and opened Facebook. It took less than five minutes of searching his “likes” and mutuals before I found her. Thankfully, her profile was public.
And the first thing I noticed? She was tagged in a lot of pictures withKendall.
My jaw clenched when I found out about their relationship.
The Taryn chick wasn’t just some random woman; she was Kendall’s best friend.
I sat back against the couch, phone still in my hand, staring at the screen while my mind did cartwheels. The urge to walk over, slap the hell out of him, and start throwing his clothes in trash bags was strong… but louder was the voice in my head saying:
Keep your cool. Play your part. Smile like the perfect fiancée. One more week, Kamira… then you burn it all down at the altar.
My chest rose and fell slow, controlled, like I was rehearsing a cross-examination.
“Okay,” I whispered to myself, nodding.
Okay to patience. Okay to the plan. Okay to letting Viangelo dig his own grave while I handed him the shovel.
I locked the phone, slid it back onto the floor right where it had been, and headed back upstairs, like nothing happened.
Chapter Eighteen
KAMIRA
The following afternoon, my desk looked like a crime scene of highlighters, case files, and empty coffee cups. I had my Bluetooth in, pacing slow circles in my office as I spoke to a potential client.
“Yes, Mr. Reynolds, I completely understand,” I said, glancing at the notes on my legal pad. “And I can assure you, our firm prides itself on aggressive representation, but more importantly—strategy.”
Right then, Serena strutted in carrying a caramel latte in one hand and sunglasses pushed up on her head. She flopped into the chair across from my desk with all the grace of a bored teenager.
“Don’t mind me, handle your little lawyering,” she whispered.
I smirked then resumed my conversation.
“If you can send over those documents by the close of business, I’ll personally review them before our consultation tomorrow. Yes… absolutely. You have my direct number. Perfect. I’ll see you then.”
I ended the call with a soft click, set my phone down, and slid into my chair. The shift from attorney mode to real life alwaysfelt like a jolt—one second commanding a client’s confidence, the next staring down the chaos of my own.
Serena crossed her legs, sipped her coffee dramatically, and waited exactly two seconds before announcing, “Girl, Icannotwait for this bridal shower on Saturday!”
In my head, I was like,Fuck a bridal shower… and a few of the bitches on that guest list.But since Serena had no clue about the storm brewing in my life, I pasted on my fakest smile.
“Mm-hmm… it should be nice.”
Serena grinned. “Nice?! Girl, please!” she waved off. “I’m wearing my backup wig just in case somebody throws a drink and I gotta snatch it off mid-brawl! Don’t play with me.”
I actually laughed at that.
Before I could respond, my phone lit up with Roman’s name flashing across the screen.
“Heyyyyy!” I answered excitedly.
“What’s good, beautiful? You busy?”
“Just got un-busy… for an hour at least. I’m about to grab something to eat.”
“Well, if you don’t want to spend unnecessary money, I cooked. Swing through before you get back to court life.”
