Page 59 of Glass Jawed
Tears slip down his face. And for a fraction of a second, I see him as he used to be.
The man who made breakfast while I brushed Cooper’s fur. The man who used to hold me like I was the only solid thing in his life. The man who whispered I love you into my mouth every night.
But the second I blink, the image shatters.
Because that same man told me he loved me one morning—and fucked someone else that night.
Disgust crawls up my throat.
“Lucian,” he says, gingerly getting up, stepping toward me like he’s afraid I’ll vanish.
He kneels in front of me. Kneels. Like this is some kind of confession booth and I’m his goddamn savior.
His fingers graze my wrist, but I fold my arms tight against my chest. He looks up at me, his eyes raw with guilt, hope, and fuck—love.
“Lucian, I made a mistake. But I can’t live without you anymore.”
He swallows again, blinking fast. “When I realized it was her, the same girl, I... I knew you hadn’t moved on either.”
My heart stops.
“I need you back,” he says, voice trembling. “Please.”
His hand lifts, like he’s about to cup my face. Like I’m still his.
Like this is still his right.
I jump up so fast he stumbles back on his heels. He grabs my arm as he stands up—big mistake.
I tear my arm free and shove him. He stumbles again, hits the wall behind him with a thud.
“Baby, please—just listen.” He’s scrambling now. Desperate.
“Why else would you be dating her?” he says, eyes wide, voice cracking with some twisted kind of hope. “You wanted something, right? Revenge? To get even with me?” He exhales shakily. “Well, you did. You have. I’mhere. And I’m fucking sorry.”
What the actual fuck?
“You’re fucking deluded,” I snap, shoving him again. “Me dating her hasnothingto do with you!”
That’s when I see it—something shifts in his face.
His mouth sets into a flat line. His jaw ticks. He’s irritated.
Because I just stripped him of the fantasy that he still mattered. To me.
“Really?” he says sharply, voice still shaking but edged with something sour. “You’re telling me I wasn’t in your head when you asked her out? That it didn’t occur to you thatI’dbe the one most hurt if I found out?”
His volume rises. His breath speeds.
“Oh, let me guess,” he spits. “You wanted some kind of twisted revenge, right? A little power play? Is it one of your deranged kinks now? Sharing the same woman—dipping your di—”
That’s it. My body moves before my brain. One second he’s standing—
The next he’s slammed into the fucking wall, my forearm pinning him by the throat.
“You don’t talk about her,” I growl, my voice ice. “Not now. Not ever again.”
He doesn’t fight back. Just stares at me, wide-eyed, mouth parted, breath shallow.
