Page 58 of No Strings Attached
Fuck.
She saw that ring and ran.
And I let her.
My vision narrows. The edges of the hallway blur, and the background noise is suddenly too loud. I can feel a tight band of pressure winding around my chest, the familiar tingle crawling up my neck.
I swallow it down. Bite hard on the panic clawing at my lungs.Not now.
“I have no idea what story you spun for yourself, but I’m notgetting back together with you. That chapter is over. It’sbeenover for months, way before we broke up.”
Celia’s lips part, wounded disbelief blooming across her face as if she didn’t know this already.
“You should have never come here,” I seethe. “And using my mother to get in, showing up wearing that ring? What the hell did you think would happen?”
“I—”
“Don’t. Just… don’t.”
I take a step back, breathing hard, trying to keep my voice from rising so as not to draw attention from nearby guests.
“I think it’s best if you leave.”
She’s about to protest, but I’m already walking away.
I racethrough the house like I’m chasing a damn ghost.
People are still talking and laughing as if a bomb didn’t just detonate in the middle of the party. But everything in me is coiled, straining to find Amira. I scan faces, rooms, corners—nothing. Not the kitchen. Not the back patio. Not the hallway where she hovered all evening just out of sight, making sure everything ran smoothly.
I round the corner near the grand entrance—and there she is.
Amira’s back is to me, shoulders tense beneath the soft glow of the overhead chandelier. She’s talking quietly to one of the staff members.
“I’ll be leaving for the night, but if anything urgent comes up, please call me.”
The person nods, gives her a sympathetic glance, and walks off.
Amira doesn’t turn, though I know she knows I’m here. I see it in the sudden stillness of her body and slight shift in her breathing.
“Amira,” I whisper.
I take a step forward and gently place my hand on her shoulder.
She flinches and jerks away like I burned her.
My chest caves in as she turns to face me. Her eyes are glassy, rimmed red. Her expression livid.
“Don’t touch me,” she snaps, tears clinging to her lashes.
“It’s not what?—”
“I don’t even want to hear it, Henson. Itrustedyou. I let my guard down, even though I knew I shouldn’t. And all you did was prove to me that I was right all along. Youarea heartbreaker,” she seethes, but I can hear the faint tremor in her voice, like I broke something.
“Amira, I’m sorry?—”
“Save it.” Her hand comes up, cutting me off again before I can even get the words out. “I saw the ring. I saw the kiss. I saw the look on your mother’s face. Don’t insult me by pretending there’snothinggoing on.”
“There’s not. I swear to God, Mira, I didn’t know she’d be here.”
