Page 13 of His Son's Ex

Just me. Him. Four mirrored walls.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I whisper, breathless.

His smile is a blade. Sharp. Dangerous.

“I don’t do anything I don’t want to.”

He steps in beside me, and I’m immediately aware of how much space he takes up. How his presence warps the air.

“Whatever that was back there,” he says, “I apologize. No one should speak to you like that—including the woman my son chose as his bride.”

I press the button for the ground floor. Try not to stare.

“Well, it was a shit show. But no one has ever done anything like that for me before.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

My spine’s straight, but my nerves fray at the edges. “I’m just… eager to get out of here.”

He laughs softly, and it rolls over me like velvet dipped in heat.

“Luca said he saw his ex slip into the ceremony at the last minute. Once I saw the way his bride acted toward you, I connected the dots.”

My stomach knots. “He saw me?”

He grins. “Of course he did. Nobody walks into a man like Luca’s wedding unnoticed.”

So much for subtlety. “What exactly did he say?”

A flicker of something—anger, maybe—flares in his eyes.

“Nothing kind.”

“So you knew who I was all along?”

“Not at first,” he says, studying me. “I saw you fall. Something in me moved. I didn’t know who you were. But when Sarah did what she did… it was obvious.”

I swallow hard. “And you still…”

“Still stepped in.”

He shrugs, but it’s anything but casual. “It was the right thing to do.”

My cheeks go hot. “Thanks for that. Really.”

“Don’t thank me.” His voice softens. “Let’s just say—I don’t let disrespect slide. Not when it’s aimed at someone like you.”

“She had no right to say those things. But… to be fair, I did show up to their wedding. I was kind of entering enemy territory, so to speak."

His eyes roam over me. “A woman like you should never have to allow humiliation.”

Before I can respond?—

The elevator lurches.

Lights flicker.

The box jerks to a dead stop.

---