Lewis lifted his hand sharply — the gesture alone enough to cut my voice off. His eyes were glacial. “Nadine, what is wrong with you?”
Wrong… with me?
Victoria sniffed loudly and buried her face into his chest. “I think she hates me,” she whimpered. “Ever since my parents died and hers adopted me… she’s never liked me. She always bullied me. I tried so hard to be her sister, but she—she never wanted me.”
My jaw dropped.
That was a lie. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Victoria pressed on, voice breaking at all the right places.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I just wanted to be part of the family. Maybe she thinks I stole her parents’ love… but I never tried to. I just… I just want to belong.”
Lewis tightened his hold on her, protectiveness flaring in his eyes. Not for me. Never for me.
“Victoria,” he murmured, brushing her hair. “It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”
I stared at them, speechless. My pulse pounded like it was trying to rip out of my skin.
“That’s not what happened,” I managed to whisper. “I never—”
Lewis turned to me with a look that could slice flesh.
“She’s pregnant,” he snapped before I could finish. “You should calm down. What if something happened to the baby? If anything happens to the baby, that’s on you.”
Victoria hid behind him, peeking over his shoulder with a look of victory so thinly veiled it made nausea crawl up my throat.
Lewis continued, voice filled with manufactured disappointment. “You should apologize. Victoria didn’t deserve that.”
Victoria clutched his arm. “It’s okay, Lewis… don’t blame her. She’s probably stressed. I know she doesn’t like me. I understand. Let’s just go.” They left.
I walked to the bedroom on shaking legs and started shoving my clothes into a suitcase. I didn’t care if they heard. I didn’t care if they stopped me.
They destroyed me.
But I’d be damned if I stayed here long enough for them to finish the job.
I left the house without a word.
At the first red light, I froze. A massive billboard towered above me — the face of Isaac Halt staring down, sharp jaw, cold blue eyes, confidence radiating from every angle.
Lewis’s enemy. Maxon’s rival. The man the twins hated more than anyone.
And suddenly, a smile curled on my lips.
Maybe I didn’t have to run. Maybe I could fight.
Fifteen minutes later, I strode into Halt Corporation’s marble lobby, hair messy, eyes swollen, emotions burning like wildfire.