Elodie’s POV
“Sorry.”
“My bad.”
We both stepped back at the sa ti, the words tumbling out in that awkward way they do when you’re not really paying attention.
I looked up.
My stomach dropped.
Harrison.
One of Dante’s closest friends. Part of that inner circle I’d never been allowed into, no matter how many years I’d known them.
He recognized instantly. Of course he did.
And I watched his expression shift from mild surprise to sothing cold. Dismissive. Like I was sothing unpleasant he’d accidentally stepped in.
I felt it like a physical thing, that look. It settled over like ice water.
I’d known Harrison for years. Known all of them, Harrison, Levi, and others. They’d grown up with Dante, inseparable since childhood. School together, playing together, building the Bellini Pack’s business empire together as adults.
And in all that ti, through all those years, Dante had never once let in.
Even after we got married, after I beca Luna, I was still just... there. Existing on the periphery of his life while he kept his real world, his friends, his interests, the things that actually mattered to him locked away from .
But Sienna?
Sienna got an invitation within weeks.
Dante introduced her to Harrison and the others like she was sothing precious. Brought her to their gatherings, their private dinners, included her in their inside jokes. And they’d welcod her. Accepted her as one of them in a way they never had with .
I’d heard from Amber that they even invited Sienna to things now when Dante wasn’t around. That’s how close they’d beco.
And ? The longer Sienna was in the picture, the colder they got. Like her presence sohow made my existence even more offensive to them.
Harrison’s ice-blue eyes were flat as he looked at . No warmth. No basic courtesy. Nothing.
I’d tried, in the beginning. Tried to build so kind of relationship with them, to be friendly, to fit in. But they never gave a chance. Never even pretended to care.
So I’d stopped trying. Stopped forcing myself into spaces where I clearly wasn’t wanted.
I still greeted them when I had to. Basic politeness, because I had so dignity left.
Most of the ti they ignored . Sotis they looked at like I was dirt.
I wasn’t going to say anything now. Wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
I moved to step around him.
“Elodie.”
His voice stopped cold. Not because it was warm...it wasn’t. It was sharp. Suspicious.
I turned back slowly. “What?”
“Didn’t know you were into racing.” His tone made it clear he didn’t believe it. Made it clear what he was really asking.
He was trying to ask if I had followed him here?
My jaw tightened. “What are you trying to say, Harrison?”
He didn’t even have the decency to look ashad. “Just surprised, that’s all. Didn’t think this was your scene. Seems a little... convenient.”
The implication hung in the air between us.
He thought I was stalking Dante. Thought I’d shown up here to spy on him, to ruin his night, to be the pathetic, clingy wife who couldn’t take a hint.
Sothing hot and bitter rose in my throat.
“Soone like ?” I repeated, my voice dangerously quiet. “What’s that supposed to an?”
Harrison’s expression didn’t change. “Co on, Elodie. We both know you don’t care about racing. You don’t care about any of this. So why are you really here?”
Each word felt like a slap.
I wanted to scream at him. Wanted to tell him that I was here because Stella had ordered to co find York, because apparently I was still useful when they needed soone to clean up their sses. Wanted to tell him that I hadn’t known Dante would be here, that I hadn’t wanted to see him with her, that watching my husband decline my call without a second thought had already gutted enough for one night.
But what was the point?
“Harrison.” My voice ca out colder than I expected. Sharper. “Are we really that close? Do you actually know at all? Because if you think you’ve got all figured out, why don’t you tell exactly what kind of person you think I am?”
I watched sothing flicker across his face. Surprise, maybe. Like he hadn’t expected to bite back.
I’d always been quiet around them. Kept my head down, smiled politely, tried not to make waves. The perfect, passive Luna who knew her place.
That’s probably what he thought I was, so ek little thing playing at being innocent while scheming behind everyone’s backs.
I knew what they all thought about . Knew the story they’d all convinced themselves was true, that I’d done sothing terrible to trap Dante into this bond. That I’d manipulated everything just to get his attention, and then had the audacity to act like I didn’t know what I’d done.
They’d never asked . Never gave a chance to explain.
They just decided who I was and hated for it.
Harrison didn’t answer. He just stared at with those cold eyes, like I wasn’t even worth the effort of a response.
Of course he wouldn’t answer. Why would he? He’d already made up his mind about years ago.
But sothing felt different tonight. Maybe it was watching Dante decline my call. Maybe it was seeing him look at Sienna like she hung the moon. Maybe it was just that I’d finally hit the bottom and realized there was nothing left to lose.
I wasn’t going to smile and take it anymore.
I held Harrison’s gaze, and I saw the mont he noticed sothing had changed. The way his eyes narrowed slightly, studying like I was soone he didn’t quite recognize.
Good.
Let him be confused. Let him wonder.
I was tired of pretending to be smaller than I was just so they’d feel comfortable around .
“That’s what I thought,” I said quietly when he still didn’t speak. “You don’t actually know at all. You just know the version of you all decided on.”
I didn’t wait for a response. Didn’t give him the chance to say sothing else that would cut open.
I turned and walked away, and this ti my legs didn’t shake.
-----
By the ti I got York back to his place near the academy, it was past eleven. The drive had been quiet. York had fallen asleep in the passenger seat almost imdiately, probably exhausted from all that screaming and jumping.
I’d been grateful for the silence. It gave ti to shove everything back down, to lock it all away where it couldn’t touch .
When we pulled up outside the house Stella had rented for him, York stirred awake, blinking groggily.
“We’re here,” I said softly.
He yawned, stretching. Then his stomach growled. Loudly.
I almost smiled despite everything.
“Sister-in-law,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “There’s this amazing late-night food spot just down the street. Best dumplings you’ll ever have. Let buy you sothing? As a thank you for coming all the way out here to get .”
My first instinct was to say no. To tell him I was tired, that I just wanted to go ho.
But ho ant that empty house.
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