But before she could take more than a couple of steps, someone grabbed her wrist.
Blayne frowned at her. “Do you even know what kind of event this is? And what’s with your face? Are you deliberately making a fool of yourself, or are you trying to embarrass the Holzmans?”
To the outside world, Terri was known as Blayne’s parents’ daughter-in-law. So, whether he wanted to or not, Blayne had to come back and pick her up for an occasion like this.
But the moment he turned around and saw the slap marks on her face, his sharp-tempered nature flared. His tone, half-questioning, half-mocking, was laced with concern.
It was the first time he had shown any real concern for Terri since Valerie returned.
Terri suddenly recalled the way Blayne used to be—how he was always by her side, inseparable.
Back then, it hadn’t felt like she was just a stand-in. There had been no distance, no Valerie between them.
As if they had never changed.
But it was just as if.
Pulled back to the present by his questioning, Terri spoke, her tone indifferent.
“It’s nothing. I just happened to run into you and Valerie. How do you think this happened?”
Blayne’s grip tightened. “What do you mean? You’re saying Vee hit you?”
“What else?”
She lifted her head, meeting his gaze head-on, unwavering.
“Blayne! Terri! What are you two talking about? Why aren’t you coming over?”
Valerie approached them, but when she saw the slap marks on Terri’s face, she gasped, covering her mouth in shock.
“What happened? Terri, I told you I don’t blame you—why would you hurt yourself like this?”
Blayne’s expression darkened. “What do you mean?”
Valerie sighed and explained, “After I left the country, Terri took my place by your side. She kept bringing up the past, saying she felt guilty toward me. I told her I didn’t blame her, but she wouldn’t believe it. She even grabbed my hand and made me slap her! She got so emotional that I had to get out of the car.”
She hesitated, then looked troubled. “And… she squeezed my wrist too hard. She left a bruise.”
Blayne’s face hardened instantly. He stepped forward. “Let me see.”
Terri was shoved aside, stumbling slightly.
Standing behind them, she watched as Blayne’s concern for Valerie played out before her eyes.
Valerie rolled up her sleeve, revealing a faint bluish mark on her wrist.
The look in Blayne’s eyes shifted—from shock and suspicion to something darker.
“Apologize to Vee.”
“I didn’t do it!”