Page 27 of The Edge Of Us

Corinne just... crumbled. Her knees buckled, and it was Noah who caught her.

She sobbed into his shoulder, shaking violently. "Two years… they were my years..."

Her father stood then, cold and composed, but his eyes burning. "Get out. Both of you."

"I’m still their father—" I started.

"Outside this house, you can be whatever you want. But under this roof? You are nothing."

Jake grabbed my arm, shoving me toward the door.

Natasha followed behind, quietly crying.

At the threshold, I turned, desperate. "Corinne, I didn’t mean to hurt you like this."

She looked up—her eyes raw and ruined. "Then why did you keep doing it?"

I had no answer.

The door slammed shut.

Behind me, Natasha was shaking. "What now?" she whispered.

I didn’t respond.

Because I didn’t know.

Inside, I could still hear the sound of my children. My wife’s cries. My family's silence.

I had burned down my world. And I was standing in the ashes.

Chapter 18

Allen

The silence in the house wasn’t just silence—it was judgment. It echoed through the walls like a verdict I already knew I couldn’t overturn.

The moment we stepped inside, Natasha stormed past me without a word. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her body, her head bowed like she was trying to disappear into herself. She lingered by the window, her breath fogging the glass as she stared into the night. Her shoulders rose and fell in quick, shallow breaths, and though she was only feet away, she felt miles apart.

It had been hours since everything exploded at Corinne’s. Since Noah stormed off with that look on his face like Natasha had betrayed the universe. Since my parents looked at me like I was unrecognizable. Hours since Corinne’s voice—shaking, heartbroken—called me a stranger.

And Natasha hadn't said a word since.

I yanked off my tie and tossed it onto the couch like it burned me, running a hand through my hair, pacing like a man unraveling at the seams. I watched her from the corner of my eye—watched the way she trembled but never turned around. The silence felt intentional, like she was punishing me by pretending I wasn’t even here.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Are you going to tell me what the hell that was?” My voice cracked through the quiet, sharp and sudden.

She didn’t flinch. Just stood there. Still.

“I said talk to me, Natasha!”

She turned her head slightly but didn’t look at me. “Not tonight, Allen. Please.”

I laughed bitterly. “No. You don’t get to shut down and pretend this didn’t happen. You’ve been crying since we left. You looked like you were going to fall apart every time Noah so much as breathed. And don’t even try to tell me this is just about Corinne.”

She finally turned, and the look in her eyes nearly knocked the air out of me. Red. Swollen. Haunted.

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