Page 45 of Scarlet Wars
“Where’s Caden?”
James tilted his head slightly. “He’s outside, talking to Rachel.”
“Good,” I said, firmer than I expected. “I want to get started right away.”
James’s eyes widened. “Emma?—”
“I’ve already made up my mind,” I cut him off, holding his gaze. “Respect my choice or you can fuck off.”
James clenched his jaw, then nodded once, his expression unreadable, though there was clearly some disappointment flickering in it.
Sean opened his mouth to argue but stopped, letting out a frustrated sigh instead.
“I’ll let them know,” James said quietly.
As he turned to leave, Sean lingered, his gaze softening as he looked at me. “Are ye sure?”
“Yes,” I said, the word firm and final.
He didn’t push further, only nodded and followed James out the door.
I stood there for a moment, letting the silence settle over me again.
The world might’ve been moving too fast, but no way in hell was I going to let it leave me behind.
I foundCaden and Rachel talking in the hallway together, when out of nowhere a sharp pang of something strange shot through my chest.
So sharp I stopped mid-step.
The hell?
My eyes flicked between them, catching the way Rachel’s mouth curved easily into a smile, the way Caden’s posture seemed…lighter. Relaxed. Almost as if he didn’t have the weight of the world sitting on his shoulders.
The sensation in my chest twisted, feeling unfamiliar, and for a moment I didn’t even recognize it. My pulse picked up, too fast for something ordinary.
After weeks of solely feeling pain and sorrow this was…
What the hell was I feeling?
Annoyance? No. It was deeper, lodged somewhere under my ribs. Restlessness? No, not that either. It prickled, burned, made me want to step in between them and break the easy rhythm of their conversation.
Envious?The word dropped into my head, but it was so absurd I almost laughed out loud at myself.Envious of what, exactly?
It wasn’t as if I wanted to be the one standing there, laughing with Caden in the hallway like nothing in the world could touch us. I didn’t care Rachel’s smile made his shoulders loosen, or that I saw his mouth twitch into something close to amusement.
No, I definitely wasn’t envious ofthat.
Rachel was gorgeous, obviously—everyone noticed when she walked into a room—but I wasn’t the type to begrudge another woman her beauty.
Then what?
Maybe it was the ease of it. Their chatter flowing smooth and unbothered, unburdened, like the kind of conversation normal people had. Like neither of them was drowning in the past or tied up in impossible promises.
My heart kicked harder, quickening in a way that had nothing to do with logic. My palms tingled. Every instinctscreamed at me to interrupt them, to wedge myself between their laughter, to pull Caden’s attention back where it…
Where it what? Where it belongs?
I shook my head, annoyed with myself.What the hell is going on with me?
