Page 39 of The Vow

He freezes.

I add, "If you had to destroy my father all over again, would you do it?"

Silence fills the air.

More tears fall. "I guess I have my answer." I spin and go into the other room.

He follows me and grabs my wrist. "Blakely!"

I angrily turn. "Don't!"

"You told me it was okay to destroy your father. You never once told me to stop."

"You used me to do it! You told me you'd protect me and never turn me over to him!" I cry out.

"I didn't turn you over to him! I did protect you from him!" Riggs claims.

My insides quiver. "Do you really believe sending those text messages to my father was protecting me? Are you that big of a fool?"

He glances at the ceiling and takes a few deep breaths. He finally meets my gaze and in a calm tone, states, "I made a mistake, pet. I know what I did hurt you, and I'm sorry for it. But you have to let this go."

I swipe at my tears. "That's easy for you to say, Riggs. You weren't the one who was used. I have to get ready. Let me be." I push past him and go into the bathroom, locking the door behind me, unsure if I'm ever going to be able to get past what he did—especially if he can't fully understand why I'm so upset.

8

Riggs

The arena erupts in ear-shattering applause and screams. Kalim gave me noise-canceling earbuds, claiming they're the best on Earth, but they still can't drown out the enthusiastic spectators.

Blakely stands and bows, raises her arm in the air and waves, declaring, "Thank you so much! I'm Blakely Fox, and I hope to see you soon! Now, if you're ready, someone else is dying to come on stage!"

The crowd continues screaming, and Colton runs out, joining Blakely on stage. He hugs her and picks her up off her feet. She laughs, and when he sets her down, he steps back and asks, "What do you think about helping me with a few songs?"

"I don't know. What does our audience think?" Blakely teases, beaming at the fans.

The crowd gets louder, which I didn't think was possible. Pink and green lights flash, and the drummer pounds out a chop while Colton holds his hand to his ear. When the drummer finishes, Colton puts his finger over his lips.

It takes several minutes until the noise settles to barely anything.

The intro to Colton's song fills the arena, and he and Blakely belt out the words. When they finish, they move into one of Blakely's songs she released earlier in the week, and the fans eat it up.

Colton slings his arm around Blakely and declares, "Ladies and gentlemen, you saw her first with me! Give it up for my girl, Blakely Fox!"

The noise only grows.

Blakely takes another bow and runs toward me, glowing as she exits the stage.

I pick her up and hug her, yelling, "You were amazing!" I squeeze her tighter, and she returns my affection for a moment. It's like nothing's wrong between us and everything is how it used to be.

As soon as I set her down, Noah embraces her, and I have to hold myself back from tearing her away from him. He releases her and steers her away from the stage toward her dressing room before I can cut in.

I follow them, not happy with his hand on my wife's back. And I'm not blind when he tugs her closer to him as they round the corner. Nor do I enjoy realizing how comfortable she is with him. So I follow behind them, not next to my wife as I should be, and squeeze my fist inside my pocket to try and calm down.

A dozen VIP reporters wait in a line behind a red rope. A mix of Kalim's and Benny's guys are with them, making sure no one crosses the line. When we get closer, they clap and give Blakely their praise.

The three of us go into her dressing room and shut the door. Noah sits next to Blakely on the couch, puts his hand on her thigh, and claims, "I'd put money on both songs you just sang with Colton fly to the top of the charts."

She widens her eyes. "Do you really think so?"

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