Page 113 of Revenge Is a Dish Best Served… Wearing Heels?
The three men had followed us, warily, I might add, and I crooked my finger at them. "You too," I ordered, waving them inside.
For one mad moment, I thought about locking them all in there and throwing away the key, disgusted with all of them, every last cell in their bodies, annoyed with everything and everybody on this planet right now.
But no, I wanted, Ineeded, that confrontation, to have it out, to give them all a piece of my mind. Because one thing for sure in this world?
You didn't fuck with a pregnant woman. You just didn't.
So I shoved my way in there after them, the five of them squashed together, all turned toward me, shoulder to shoulder in a tight, little circle.
Flicking on the light switch, I shut the door behind us, giving us some privacy, knowing in my gut that this was ridiculous, that I was acting unhinged, that it would be way more civilized to calmly invite everyone over to my place, order some food, and have a respectful, grown-up discussion with no raised voices or name-calling or hissy fits.
But you know what? Fuck that.
I'd had it.Had it.
I'd officially cracked. No more miss nice girl. No more.
"You," I hissed at my sisters who stood across from me, flanked by their boyfriends, Tristan by my side like he was ready to defend me.
What? Was he really?
I shook my head. Never mind. It didn't matter. Because I waspissed.
"Why?" I spit out. "Why the fuck would you tell him?"
The lack of eye contact told me everything I needed to know. They had no good answer.
"Why?" I repeated in a low growl. "Just tell me already. What was your reasoning? What was your thinking? I need to know. The least you can do is try to explain."
Aria took a deep breath, then finally looked me in the eye. "We had different reasons. But mine... mine is more because I think you have real feelings for this man, and I—I thought this would force you to... to... I don't know, realize that, to see this man you care for rushing to be by your side for this huge moment, that this is real, that you'dfeelit, that—"
"And mine was the opposite," Annalise interrupted. "I thought he'd be a no-show. I never in a million years thought he'd literally run to get here."
I felt Tristan stiffen beside me. "Of course I would. What kind of man do you think I am?"
She rolled her eyes and continued as if he hadn't spoken. "And then, you would have been able to know the truth, that a tiger doesn't change its stripes, that it was time to move on with your life without him."
"No. Absolutely not," Tristan said beside me. "There is nothing on earth that would have stopped me from being here, now and in the future. If Astrid will have me, I'm here to stay."
Whoa, whoa, whoa, too much.Too much.
"See?" Aria turned to Annalise. "He proved you wrong. Heistelling the truth about the past, and hedoesreally care about Astrid."
Tristan's eyes bored into the side of my head, drawing my attention. "So I take it you told them everything?" he asked me.
"Of course she did," Max chimed in. "There are no secrets among these three. So be prepared. Anything you say or do will be shared to the entire group in here."
The man had the nerve to smile again. "Okay. Noted."
"Even what happens in the bedroom," Ethan added.
Aria elbowed him. "I don't tell themeverything. Like they don't know the size of your—"
Annalise shushed her. "Ew, gross. There are some things we don't need to know."
"Gross?" Ethan repeated. "Really?"
"Yes, gross."
