Raine
I stared down at him, my head shaking slightly as a bitter wave of reality crashed over me.
My past was colliding in a single room, threatening to tear down the life I had spent years sweating and crying to build from scratch.
“I can’t do this,” I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
I looked at Kordell, who was frozen in fear, and then looked down at Miguel.
“I don’t understand what’s going on here.
But, I am not doing this.” Miguel’s brow twitched, his jaw tightening just a fraction.
His eyes darkened, his powerful frame shifting as he took a half-step closer, completely invading my personal space.
“Sit down, Raine.” That was the absolute breaking point.
The sudden, demanding tone…the familiar way he thought he could just snap his fingers and expect me to follow his orders…snapped something deep inside my soul.
A hot, furious surge of pure anger rushed through my veins, completely burning away the residual panic.
“I am not sitting down!” I said, my voice rising, sharp and slicing through the quiet tension of the restaurant.
I didn’t care who was watching anymore.
I didn’t care about the other wealthy diners turning their heads in surprise or the waiters freezing with trays in their hands.
I glared directly into his dark eyes, my hands clenching into tight fists at my sides to keep them from shaking with rage.
“You don’t get to just come here after so many years and start telling me what to do, Miguel.
You don’t have that right anymore.
Not with me.
You lost that right a long time ago.”
For a single second, a look of genuine, unmasked surprise flashed across Miguel’s face.
He froze.
His dark eyes widened just a fraction, his lips parting slightly as he stared at me.
He was completely, utterly caught off guard by my outburst.
Seeing that shock on his face made me want to let out a cruel, mocking laugh right there in the middle of the room.
What the hell was he expecting?
Did he think I was going to quietly submit, bow my head, stammer an apology, and take his orders like I used to do when I had no voice of my own?
He must be absolutely sick if that was what he was expecting from me today.
The weak, defenseless girl he threw away because he deemed her unworthy was dead.
I had buried her myself, and I had built a fierce, independent, powerful woman over her ashes.
I wasn’t his victim anymore.
I owed him nothing.
I snatched my purse off the table, my eyes flashing with a dangerous light as I looked down at him one last time.
I spun on my heel, entirely done with this nightmare, ready to walk out the door and never look back.
“I’m leaving.”
I didn’t even make it two steps.
A large, ice-cold hand shot out with blinding speed, wrapping firmly around my wrist.
His fingers clamped down like steel cuffs, his grip unyielding and heavy.
The sudden force stopped me dead in my tracks, jerking me backward slightly.
I gasped, a raw spark of fury exploding in my chest.
I turned back to glare at him, my mouth opening to scream at him to get his hands off me, to remind him of where he was.
But before the words could even form on my tongue, Joshua exploded out of his seat.
The heavy leather chair scraped violently against the hardwood floor, rattling the glasses on the table as Joshua stood up to his full height.
His entire frame was tense, his muscles coiled, and his face was a mask of pure fury.
He didn’t hesitate for a single second.
He stepped around the table, placing his broad shoulders directly into Miguel’s space, breaking the physical line between us.
He looked down at the powerful billionaire holding my wrist, his eyes burning with a dangerous light.
His voice didn’t just drop; it became a low, lethal growl that carried a terrifying amount of quiet authority.
It echoed off the high ceilings of the restaurant, making the air feel thick and heavy.
He didn’t flinch, he didn’t back down, and he didn’t care about the two security guards who immediately moved closer.
He stepped right up to Miguel, demanding immediate compliance.
“Now.”
Miguel didn’t let go immediately.
He slowly tilted his head up, his dark eyes meeting Joshua’s furious gaze.
The silence between the two men was loud enough to break glass.
Miguel’s lips curled into a slow, mocking smile, though his eyes remained dead and freezing cold.
“And who exactly are you to tell me what to do in front of my wife?” Miguel asked softly, his voice dripping with a terrifying calmness.
The word wife hung in the air like a poisonous cloud.
Kordell choked on his breath, his eyes darting between all of us in pure, unmitigated horror.
I didn’t know what he was doing here.
Who opened the cave and brought them out?
Was the universe trying to play a trick on me?
Because I actually do not understand what was happening.
I pulled against Miguel’s grip, my voice coming out like a whip.
“Ex-wife, Miguel!
We signed the papers four and a half years ago!
Let go of me!”
Miguel’s eyes flicked up to mine, his smirk widening into something dangerous and possessive.
“No, darling, we’re not.
You’re still legally mine.
Mine, Raine.” My eyes nearly bulge from their sockets at his words.
He can’t be serious.