Page 127 of The Rivals' Touch

“What’s happening, Zayd?”

“I don’t fucking know!” Warm palms jostle my face, urging me to gaze into a set of brown eyes. “Baby! Look at me. It’s me, Zayd!”

“It’s a panic attack.”

“I know that! Shit! What do I do?”

“Isn’t it big?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“It’s Mommy’s favorite toy.”

My cheek is slapped hard, and the sting tears me from the awful memories flooding through me. I bounce my eyes between Zayd’s. “I was eight the first time.”

He frowns, cupping my chin. “What, babe?”

“It was my birthday.” My voice breaks.

Behind him, Legacy covers her mouth with her hand.

“Don’t you get it?” I look between them all. “It’ll never stop!” I scramble off the bench. “It’ll never fucking stop!” I tear at my hair, staring up at the blue sky overhead. “I can’t do this anymore! I’m not strong enough!”

“What are you talking about, Remi?”

I slap my hand to my chest, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I’m bleeding out!”

Zayd looks to the others for help.

Legacy lowers her hand from her mouth, and her voice trembles when she explains, “She’s talking about her dad.”

“What?” His brows pull low.

“Oh god!” I whimper, stepping backward and tripping over on the curb behind me. I hit the floor hard, but the pain barely registers.

Jacob extends a hand.

I bat him away and stand back up. “I can do it myself. I’ve fought this battle on my own all this time! I don’t need you! I don’t need any of you!” The poison keeps spewing. “I should have never come here. I was happy with Bennett. God, I wish I’d never found out about any of this.”

“You don’t mean that!” Zayd says, inching toward me with his hand out.

“But that’s the thing.” I release a breathy laugh. “I do mean it. Everything has fallen to shit, and I don’t know who I am anymore.” Something dawns on me. “How do I even know any of this shit is real between us?”

Zayd’s mouth opens and closes. He looks to Jacob for help, but I continue, “Remember what you said to me when I found out I’d be moving here?”

Zayd’s eyes come back to mine. “What?”

I point an accusing finger at him. “You told me you would ruin Bennett’s life. You said you would steal his team’s trophy and his girlfriend.” I laugh incredulously and turn in a slow circle. I’ve officially lost it, but that’s okay. “You got what you wanted, huh? But guess what? I’m still marrying Bennett, and you haven’t won a fucking trophy yet. Oh god! You’re so fucking stupid to think you can win against Hedgewood.”

His jaw turns to granite. I’ve annoyed him. “Watch it, Remi!”

“Or what, Zayd? What are you going to do? Hit me?”

He rears back. “Hit you? What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“Zayd!” Legacy says behind him, but he’s angry now.

“I’ve never laid a fucking hand on you, unlike your father, who hits you at every opportunity. So don’t give me that shit!”

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