Page 44 of Devious Vows

“Viva, it’s nice to see you again.”

She whispers something behind her hand to her groupies before flashing a fake smile my way. I can feel the hatred in her amber gaze but still return her smile despite it. “It would be even better if I never had to see you, Beverly.” Julian sucks some air between his teeth as she continues, knowing my already thin patience with her is being tested, “You’re unwanted, Beverly. Whatever you have to say, I don’t want to hear it.”

I take a deep breath, calming the stinging of my lungs. I keep any snotty retort that wanted to slip out behind my teeth, trying to keep the peace. “I’m just trying to be nice to you, Viva. We don’t have to fight every time we see each other.”

She laughs and it travels over all of the tables, turning the heads of the people nearest to us. Once she starts speaking, I know it was intentional, to have the attention on us. “I wonder what it’s like for you, always being second best.” The girls around her giggle behind raised hands, spurring her on. “You’ve already lost the race, Beverly, it’s time to give up. You’re starting to look pathetic.”

My fists clench in the soft fabric of my maxi dress, fingernails biting through the cloth to sink into my palms. “I hope your party is everything you want it to be, Viva.”

I turn, Julian spinning with me, grumbling almost disappointedly, “Well, that was anticlimactic.”

“He was with me last night.” I stop in place, barely a step away from where I was previously standing.

Julian stops with me, a quiet, “Well, maybe not,” whispered through his growing smile.

She speaks to my back, a smile in her words. “He came over the minute you left and fucked me.”

I close my eyes, hands shaking with the anger I’m trying to keep under control. Slowly turning on my heel, I can barely see her face through my fury. “You’re lying.” I know she is. One hundred thousand percent confident, but that doesn’t stop her words from digging into the small amount of insecurities I do have.

She smiles at the group, eyes shifting past me to see if people are still listening. “Why would I? He’s my fiancé, and he fucked me so good I could barely get out of bed this morning, I was so exhausted.” Another round of little giggles sounds off around me.

This. Bitch.

I’m on her before I even realize what I’m doing, hand reaching out to slap her so hard she stumbles backward, dropping the drink in her hand. She gasps, grabbing her face before trying to hit me back. A pathetic weak-armed slap that I easily knock away, giving her another opened-hand slap that sends her face straight to the gravel walkway.

One of her minions is screaming but I ignore it, hand reaching to grab the back of her hair. “Get the fuck up so I can finish kicking your ass, Viva.”

I’m suddenly being lifted off the ground, stomach squeezed in a snake-like grip as I kick my legs in a ridiculous attempt to get loose.

“That’s enough of that, Bev. You’re going inside.” Andrea’s chest rumbles against my back as he speaks, his arms tightening further when I refuse to stop squirming. “Why the fuck didn’t you stop her?”

He’s speaking to Julian, who’s chuckling, hands in his pockets as he eyes the crying gaggle of girls at the gazebo.

I see him shrug before I’m carried out of sight.

“Let go of me or I’ll hit you too!” Andrea ignores my threat and keeps walking with me dangling in his arms, easily carrying me despite my fighting limbs. Dropping me into the first available room, he frowns down at me as I push the hair from my face and scowl back up at him. “She fucking deserved it and you know it.”

He scoffs, shifting to block the door when he catches my eyes drifting that way. “How exactly do you think she deserved getting her face slapped into the gravel?”

I don’t answer him right away, pinching my lips together instead. “It was a long time coming.”

He shakes his head, eyes rolling toward the ceiling before dropping back onto me. “Beverly, listen to me.” He pauses, staring at me until he’s convinced my attention is completely his, raising a brow when I blink at him with fake interest. “Remy is going to marry Viva, and there is nothing you can do about it. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move on.”

My gaze drops to my hands, my mocking expression wiped clean as he blows out a deep breath. I know that he’s right, but I wish he wasn’t.

“Do you really think slapping Viva around is helping the situation? She’s lying and you know it. She couldn’t have slept with Remy or anyone else until marriage, youknowthe rules. She said that to goad you and it worked. She didn’t look like the fool out there, Bev.Youdid.”

My eyes lift up to his and I see the concern in them. I know he’s only saying this to help me, but I don’t need to be scolded. I am well aware I acted a like a mess out there. And now, I feel even more stupid because he’s right; I know that Viva has to be a virgin still.Unless Remy really did fuck her like he did me. To give myself some credit, I didn’t go into that conversation with the intention of it ending that way. “I don’t regret hitting her.”

He chuckles but I refuse to smile back, watching him rub his hands over his face. “You wouldn’t be you if you did.”

“I need to speak with Beverly.”

My eyes snap to Remy in the doorway, his gaze on me when Andrea turns to walk past him out the door, shaking his head like he wants to say something but chooses not to before he disappears from sight.

Remy steps farther into the room, the click of the door shutting the only sound as we continue our stare-off. I can’t tell if he’s mad or not, his face blank of emotion. I track him as he steps up to me, eyes breaking from his face as he makes a slow circle to stand behind me. I feel his fingers trail along the top of my exposed shoulder, the light touch burning a path across my neck as he pushes my hair out of the way.

His chest is warm against my back, breath skimming along my skin just before his lips lightly scrape the feather tattoo behind my ear. “You ruined my party.”

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