Page 150 of No Rings Attached
“Yeah, I heard most of it, but even if I hadn’t, I trust you.”
Drew pulled me into a big bear hug and let out a relieved sigh. “Thank God. With everything that happened with your ex … I wasn’t sure. Fuck.”
I was kind of surprised by my own certainty, too. Kyle’s betrayal had been devastating, and I’d wondered if I could ever trust someone again.
But this wasn’t the same. Drew had been cornered, had explicitly rejected her several times, and he’d declared his feelings for me.
He would have chosen me even if I wasn’t there to see it.I knew that with absolute clarity.
“You heard everything?” He looked down at me, uncertainty shading his beautiful hazel eyes once more.
I grinned despite the whole shitshow around us. “Yeah, I heard that, too.”
“Well, fuck.” He turned and glared at Celia.
She had a lot to account for.
I stepped out of Drew’s embrace to face my sister. My heart hammered, but my feet stayed planted. For once, I wasn’t running.
“Why, Celia?”
She shrugged, the gesture so casual it was like a slap across my face. “I figured it didn’t matter if the two of you weren’t really dating.”
Liar!The word screamed through my head. She knew. She’d always known what her actions would do to me. “But that hasn’t mattered in the past. Look at you and Kyle.” My voice was steady now, clear. Strong. “You knew exactly what you were doing tonight with Drew. You were trying to take something else from me. And after everything I did for you.”
Heat flashed across her face—not shame, but anger that I’d dare to call her out.
Good. Let her be angry. I’m done taking her mental and emotional abuse.
“Two years ago, I covered for you,” I continued, my voice rising. Each word felt like shedding weight I’d carried for far too long. “I toldeveryonethat Kyle and I had broken up well before the two of you got together. I told people I washappyfor you to save your reputation. Yet you still treat me like crap, and like an evil villain you steal my wedding ideas book? How could you?”
“You weren’t using it anyway,” she snarled, her beautiful face twisting into something ugly.
There it was. The cruelty she usually kept wrapped in sugar and smiles when others were present.
I stood my ground, and forced my chin up. “That’s not an answer.”
I will not back down. Not this time. Never again.
“What do you want from me, Ellie?” Her tone was vicious and dripped with contempt.
Her question should’ve made me falter. The old Ellie would have apologized and made herself smaller to make Celia comfortable.
But I wasn’t that Ellie anymore.
“It’s an easy enough question. Why did you steal my ideas, Celia?”
“You want to know why?” She stepped closer, and I caught the flash of something feral in her eyes. She wanted me to flinch, to step back, to give her space like I always did.
I didn’t move. “I do.”
For a moment I thought she wouldn’t answer. That she’d storm off or deflect or play the victim like she always did, but something in her snapped. “Six months ago, I showed my followers your book as a joke. A fucking joke.” Her laugh was sharp and mean. “I couldn’t wait to make fun of your stupidly simple ideas with them, your pathetic attempt at drawings and color swatches. But the joke was on me … they loved them.”
The words hit hard like a physical blow.
She was going to mock me to thousands of people? She planned to turn my dreams into cheap entertainment?
“So once again I was supposed to be used for comedy? That’s not okay, Celia.” My voice held strong, my rage underlying each word.
