Page 252 of The Rules
Her voice was calm. Her posture steady. But her hands—
Her hands were fists.
"No," he said, sharper than he meant to. "You’re not."
Her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
Ben set the glass down—too gently. Like if he moved any faster, something would break.
"You don’t touch this," he said. "If we go down this road—if we plant this—we do it clean. You stay out of it."
Julian arched a brow, intrigued.
Kath stared at Ben like he’d just slapped her.
"You don’t get to make that call."
"I'm making it," Ben said, hisexpression tightened . "I’m not dragging you down with me."
Her laugh wasn’t amused. It was sharp. Bitter.
"You think you're protecting me?" she asked. "By cutting me out? After everything?"
"Yes," he said. "Exactly that."
Her voice lowered, dangerous now. "God, you're such a coward."
He flinched.
Julian made a sound, low and pleased, the kind of noise a man makes when he's not just witnessing chaos—he's savoring it. There was a flicker of excitement in his eyes, sharp and unmistakable.
"You think I haven’t already crossed that line? That I’m just some innocent you can keep behind glass while you do the dirty work?" She leaned forward. "Newsflash, Ben—I crossed it the second I started working at Crimson. And you said it yourself—I'm not clean. Not anymore."
Ben’s throat worked against words he couldn’t force out.
And then she whispered it—quiet, lethal.
"You don’t get to carry this alone."
Julian exhaled, slow and satisfied. His smirk deepened, but he kept the comment to himself this time—content to watch the sparks fly.
She didn’t even look at him.
Ben did.
“You understand what this means,” he said. His voice sounded like it belonged to someone else. “This isn’t something we walk back from.”
"No one’s walking anywhere, Ben. We’re already in the fire."
She leaned forward, slowly, deliberately. Her next words were softer—but heavier.
"If you're still trying to spot the line, you're late—we passed it a while ago." She lifted a hand with faint emphasis, her fingerstilting subtly in Julian's direction before folding back into her lap.
Julian let out a sharp, genuine laugh—too loud for the silence, too real to be dismissed. Katherine’s veiled jab about crossing the line hit its mark, and he loved it.
“Oh, come on,” he chuckled, dragging a hand through his hair with theatrical delight. “That? That was practically a compliment.”
Then he turned to her, eyes gleaming. “That’s my girl,”
