Chapter 5
over.
The voice exploded with rage, cracking through the silence of the backyard like a thunderbolt.
The guy choking me let go instantly. I crumpled into the mud by the pond.
Cold water dripped from my hair. My fever–baked brain could only register that voice over and
I forced my eyes open. Through the blur, I saw Reid striding toward me against the light.
His broad shoulders and narrow waist were ramrod straight. His usually cold eyes were coated in frost. The pressure rolling off him was terrifying.
Every step he took made the flagstones seem to tremble.
His gaze swept over the thugs who’d been holding me, then landed on Tessa. His eyes were
ice–cold.
Tessa flinched back. All her smugness evaporated, replaced by panic and confusion.
[Holy crap, what’s happening with the plot? Shouldn’t the hero be protecting the female lead? Why is he glaring at her?]
[This is broken. Like, the whole plot is broken. That’s not the male lead I remember. Why is he looking at Blair like he actually gives a damn?]
[Wait. Look at his eyes though. That’s not hate. That’s straight–up heartbreak.]
“Reid, what are you doing here?”
Tessa’s voice shook. Her fingers twisted the hem of her expensive dress. The arrogance was
gone.
She looked confused too. She must’ve been seeing the comments as well.
Reid didn’t even glance at her. He walked straight to me, bent down, and scooped me into his arms like I was made of glass.
His chest was so warm. The contrast with the freezing pond water was insane.
My shivering body instinctively pressed closer to him. His clean scent filled my nose.
All the fear, all the misery, came flooding back, Tears spilled down my cheeks onto his shirt.
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His hand stroked my wet hair. When his fingers touched my burning forehead, he froze.
His jaw tightened. His rage deepened. His arms closed around me even tighter, like he was
afraid he’d drop me.
“Reid…” I croaked. My voice was barely a whisper, just raw misery.
“I’m here.”
He looked down at me, and his voice went soft completely different from the ice–cold tone a
second ago. The worry in his eyes was almost too much to look at.
“Don’t be scared. I’ve got you. No one’s going to hurt you again.”
Those simple words steadied something in my chest. I grabbed his shirt, buried my face
against him, and sobbed.
[Oh my god, the male lead is comforting Blair? The comments lied to me all this time?]
[So he doesn’t hate her. Looks like… he’s in love with her? I did NOT see that coming.]
[Tessa’s face is white as a sheet. She must be seeing the comments too.]
Tessa watched Reid being gentle with me, and panic set in. She lunged forward to grab his
arm, her voice high and tearful.
“Reid, how can you hold her? After everything she did to us? Don’t you remember how she treated you? Don’t you remember me washing clothes in that pond in the middle of winter? My hands were bleeding.”
“The comments said it, she’s the villain. She’s the evil one. We’re the ones who are supposed to
be together!”
Reid turned sideways, dodging her hand. His eyes cut to her,
The distance and coldness in that look made Tessa freeze mid–reach.
“When did she ever mistreat me?”
Reid’s voice was flat, but it carried absolute authority.
He glanced down at me in his arms, his eyes softening for a split second, then looked back at
Tessa.
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“When she made me kneel down to tie her shoes? She always put cushioned insoles in them
first. When she made me hand–wash her clothes? She secretly switched out the detergent for that
mild, hypoallergenic stuff so it wouldn’t mess up my hands.”
“And when she made me carry those scalding hot soup bowls? She’d wrap a kitchen towel
around the handle so I wouldn’t burn myself. You never noticed any of that?”
I froze in Reid’s arms. Tears still wet on my cheeks, but I forgot to cry.
He knew.
All those little games I played to get his attention, the fake cruelty, he saw right through them.
