Page 73 of Enemies to Lovers

Jade was Cerise’s twin sister, the favorite.

Jade was also the most horrible person in existence, and if she’s mentioned at all when it comes to Cerise’s fiancé, Markus, I wasn’t thinking good things.

“Okay…” I waited, belly tight.

“So Jade, Markus and I became really good friends. To the point that Markus counts Jade as one of his best friends, right?” She hastily wiped away her tears.

I nodded.

“So, Mom asked Markus and me if Jade’s fiancé—whom I hadn’t met until tonight, though I’ve been shown a ton of pictures—could propose to her tonight at our rehearsal dinner. I said no, because obviously, this is my rehearsal dinner. I want it to be about me. That’s not selfish, right?”

That question she asked to Copper, who shook his head.

No, it wasn’t selfish at all to want your wedding to be about you.

“That’s what I thought!” she cried, throwing her hands up. “And so I said no, and Mom was fucking pissed. But I ignored her and went about my business. Anyway, right before you came in, Jade and I were standing in the room talking about how excited we were about tomorrow. And none other than Taigen comes in with Markus. I’m too shocked to do anything, just staring in shock at my high school bully not only standing next to my fiancé, but also at my wedding festivities in the first place. And he gets down onto one knee and proposes, in the middle of my freakin’ party, to my sister. And she accepts!”

My stomach dropped. “Holy shit.”

“I know!” she cried out. “What the hell were they thinking?”

I scrubbed my face. “I don’t know what to say.”

“And obviously, I freaked the fuck out, because it’s Taigen. He literally had me attempting suicide in high school. Twice. I still have flashbacks to how he hurt me. And then, there’s Markus, being all buddy-buddy with him.”

“How did you not know it was him from the photos?” Copper asked.

Cerise turned to him. “He had a beard. And tattoos. He was in the military, and he’s just different. But he shaved so he could propose tonight, and I knew him immediately.”

Before Cerise could say anything more, Markus slammed into the room, angry as hell and his eyes blazing. “That was embarrassing, Cerise.”

That had my ire rising.

“Embarrassing that she had a guttural reaction to the man that terrorized her to the point of suicide in high school? Twice?” I laughed humorlessly. “You’re joking, right?”

Markus, who’d never met me before, turned to survey me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know,” I said. “I was there for all of it. I was the one who found her on the bathroom floor after she swallowed a bottle of her mom’s pills. I was also the one to find her when she tried to jump off a bridge. She might’ve pulled away from me, and everyone, after she moved away, but that was to heal. She’s always been a very special person in my life, and you’re deluding yourself if you think this isn’t a bigger deal.”

“You know nothing. Ray…” Markus started, but I was already shaking my head. “His name is Taigen. Taigen Reyes. Whomever this ‘Ray’ character is he’s portrayed to you is literally not him. He’s a bully and a psychopath. You need to be very careful about how you handle your next words and actions.”

“I can and will do what I want to do, because you’re fucking nobody but a friend from high school. You don’t even know her anymore.” He rolled his eyes. “Plus, from what I’ve heard Joey say about you, you’re not much more than a whore and a liar.”

That got Copper stiffening. “Excuse me?”

He’d been quiet until now, but not because he wasn’t feeling the same rage that I was, but because he was trying to control it.

“You’re not going to handle me like you’ve handled Joey,” he said, eyeing Copper. “I have enough money to burn your world down.”

“You could try,” Copper said in a deceptively calm voice.

“You’re joking right now, aren’t you, Markus?” Cerise gasped. “I told you Joey was smooth with his words. He’s not the victim here.”

“I’m not sure I quite trust your judgment anymore,” Markus replied coolly.

Cerise turned her head, surveying Markus with a look of understanding crossing her face.

“You know, I tried really hard,” she said quietly. “I tried to be the perfect fiancée. I tried to give it everything I had, because our families insisted that this was the best opportunity for us both to move into the future with our companies. But I can’t do it. I won’t.”

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