Page 67 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

Few people came over to talk to us—mostly Tristan ’cause I didn’t know any of them. They asked a few questions about how we had survived the shooting and why my ex had tried to kill us. Tristan ended the conversation when he noticed how uneasy I was about the topic.

Mrs. Sanchester gave a touching opening speech. She apologized in front of everyone about what they had done to me, and I gave everyone a wide smile when they turned to look at me. I wished I could go invisible from the attention put on me tonight. My cheeks were hurting from fake smiles.

Thirty minutes into the party, and my parents were still nowhere to be seen.

“Hey,” someone called from behind me, tapping my shoulder lightly.

I turned to Tristan, who held out a glass of grape wine for me to take. “Thank you.”

“It’s the party too much for you?” he asked and took a sip from his martini.

“A little since I don’t know half of the people here.” I looked around at the room filled with people in fancy clothing, engaged in conversations as they sipped expensive wine.

“You look stunning. I love the dress.” He sounded like he had more to say but didn’t want to.

“Just the dress?” I cocked a brow as I took a sip of my wine, a flirtatious smile tugging at my lips. I didn’t know where that had come from, but something about it felt familiar.

He smiled and stepped closer, his eyes not leaving mine. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know what’s going through my head right now, Chloe,” he whispered softly and brushed a stray hair behind my ear.

I took another sip from my drink, fighting a blush.

“Can I have a dance?” he asked, extending one hand to me.

I hesitated at first, but I figured we could have a little talk during the dance.

“Yes.”

I placed my remaining drink on the table close by and took his hand. His large hand swallowed mine. His rough and warm palm held me around the waist.

We swayed slowly to the tempo of the song playing. I chuckled when I almost tripped on my heels. Tristan pulled me closer to him. I placed my head on his chest and got lost in the feeling for a moment.

He placed his chin on my head, holding me close to him. I could feel the warmth from his body and hear his heartbeat. I wished things were better. I just wanted a moment where I had nothing to worry about. Kayla belonged here. He should know about her and what I had done.

I withdrew and looked him in the eyes. He seemed happy, and there were sparks in his eyes that I had never seen before. This was a different Tristan, the one that had healed and became better. His eyes searched mine and flickered to my lips. I cleared my throat, getting uncomfortable with the air around us.

“You changed your perfume.”

It didn’t sound like a question. I stopped the hotness growing on my cheeks. He still remembered my old perfume.

“Yeah.” I prepared myself to tell him about Kayla. Maybe we needed to do this somewhere else, not here.

“Chloe!”

I heard my mom’s voice. I turned around and smiled at my mom. My dad stood behind her. He looked like he had lost some weight. He looked sick.

“Dad!”

I hugged him tightly. Tristan welcomed my parents before walking away. I didn’t want to bring up the divorce topic yet. I could feel the tension between them as we spoke, but I was happy to see my dad. I spoke to them for a few minutes and left them to enjoy the party. I searched for Tristan, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, Scarlett,” I called to one of the maids passing with empty champagne flutes.

“Hi, Chloe.”

“Have you seen Tristan?”

“I saw him going upstairs.”

“Thank you,” I said quickly and ran up the stairs, hoping not to trip on my heels.

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