Page 75 of The Boss

And then—

“No.” Zac’s voice cut through the hush like a thunderclap. Every eye in the room snapped to him, but he didn’t flinch. His gaze was fixed, unwavering, as though the words had torn free from his chest against his will. For a moment, I thought I hadn’t heard him right—but then he spoke again. “I can’t marry you, Chantelle.”

Gasps echoed through the church. Zac’s words hung in the air, incense-thick with finality, as if time itself had stopped. The tension crackled like static, and for one frozen moment, everything—everyone—stood suspended in disbelief. Chantelle stiffened beside him, her veil trembling as she turned to stare at him, wide-eyed.

“What?” she breathed, her voice a tremulous whisper, as if the very idea of what he’d said hadn’t quite reached her brain.

“I can’t do this,” Zac said, loud and clear, his voice steady, resolute. “I won’t.”

“Oh my God!” Chantelle’s mother cried out, clutching her husband, and then silence fell. Stunned, weighted, suffocating.

Chantelle’s expression twisted, flickering from confusion to realization to fury in the span of a heartbeat. Then, suddenly, she smiled—a smile as beautiful as it was terrifying. “You are not doing this to me,” she said, her voice dangerously calm.

Zac inhaled, straightening. “I’m sorry, Chantelle. I do care about you. I always have. But I’m not in love with you. Hell, I don’t think I even knew what love was… until I found it where I least expected to.”

A murmur swept through the crowd. Chantelle’s father surged to his feet, his face darkening. “This is outrageous!”

“Think about what you’re doing, Isaac,” Chantelle spat. “Think carefully.”

But Zac shook his head. “Oh, I know what I’m doing,” he said. “I’ve never been so sure in my entire life. And I don’t mean to hurt you. But I won’t lie to you, either.” He exhaled, then turned to face the assembled party. “Because the truth is—I’m in love with someone else.”

The priest’s mouth fell open. Chantelle’s father paled. Someone let out a low, startled exhale.

I felt my entire body go still.

Zac’s eyes found mine, clinging like a lifeline. “I’m in love with him.”

For a moment, there was only silence—thick, stunned, absolute. And then, with a strangled noise, Chantelle’s mother wobbled in her seat and collapsed in a dead faint. The maid of honor gasped, clutching the back of a pew. A low hum of curses rippled through the church.

Chantelle’s face burned red with rage. She pivoted back toward Zac, her hand flying. The slap cracked across his cheek, loud in the cavernous space.

Zac stood silent, blinking. Then, with an almost rueful smile, he muttered, “Okay, I’ll accept that.”

She moved to slap him again, but Zac caught her wrist mid-air. Her chest heaved, her breath coming fast. For a moment, they simply stared at each other—something bitter, exhausted, and quietly resigned passing between them.

“You’re beautiful, Chantelle,” Zac said softly. “You’re successful. You’ll have no problem finding someone else. Maybe even someone with more money than me. I truly hope you’ll be happy.”

Her lip curled, but she yanked her arm free, her shoulders trembling with the effort to contain herself. Even at her weakest, her eyes remained dry, her pride unbroken. She drewin a sharp breath, steadied herself, then lifted her chin—regal, untouchable. And without another word, she turned on her heel and strode from the church, cold and dignified even in the face of defeat.

The maid of honor lingered for only a heartbeat before rushing after her. Meanwhile, Chantelle’s father was still fanning her mother, coaxing her back to consciousness. When she finally stirred, pale and unsteady, he helped her to her feet and they hurried out together, their hushed whispers and incredulous murmurs trailing behind them. And then, the grand cathedral was nearly empty—leaving only me, Zac, and the priest.

Zac stepped toward me, his gaze raw, unguarded. He took a deep breath, his hands trembling at his sides, his eyes burning into mine like he was afraid I might disappear if he so much as blinked.

“I know I hurt you,” he started, voice thick with emotion. “I pushed you away when I should have held you closer. I lied to myself when the truth was written all over my goddamn soul. But Chris…” He swallowed hard, his jaw tightening as he fought for control. “I love you. And I don’t just mean I want you, or that I can’t stop thinking about you—though I do, constantly. I mean you are the air in my lungs, the blood in my veins. Without you, I don’t function. I don’t exist.”

I stood frozen, hardly breathing.

“I told myself this was just physical. A distraction. I tried to put you in a box that I could lock away, something I could walk away from when the time came. But I was a fucking idiot.” His voice cracked, but he pushed through, his entire body taut with desperation. “Because from the moment you walked into my life, you ruined me for anyone else.”

My chest ached, my vision blurred.

“You are my person, Chris. The one who sees me, the one who knows me. The only one who has ever made me feel like I could be more than what the world expects of me. You are my home, my heart, my everything. And if I have to spend the rest of my life proving that to you, then I will. I swear to God, I will.”

He took a step closer, eyes pleading.

“I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes. I can’t promise I’ll always get it right. But I can promise that I will never,neverlet you go again.” He exhaled shakily, his voice almost a whisper. “I will love you until my last breath, and if there’s anything after that, I will love you then too.”

A single tear slipped down my cheek.

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