Bound To The Broken Alpha (Amy and Daniel) novel Chapter 187

Chapter 34

“I beg your pardon?” she says.

This is the moment. My cue to double down, m

messy, burn it all so I can walk away clean. That was the plan. Get angry. Accuse her of being dishonest. Break the friendship and free her for Knox to devour.

Only… I can’t.

My fingers tap nervously on the steering wheel. My throat is dry. The words I was supposed to say are now choking me.

“I… uh,” I start, then stop. “That didn’t come out right. I’m sorry.”

“No shit, Finn. I was just about to ask you to stop the car.”

I chuckle, attempting to break the tension. “It’s my mom,” I say. “She mentioned it. I told her she was wrong, but it’s been stuck in my head for a while. I meant to ask you. Just… didn’t know how.”

“Your mom told you I want to get in your pants?”

I wince at the mistake of adding Mom into this. “Yeah.”

“And you believed her enough to ask me? If I’m in love with you? If I want to screw you?”

Well, it’s not like I asked any question I don’t know the answer to.

I’ve always known.

Since the day she sat next to me in that economics lecture, claiming she

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Chapter 34

got the room wrong. I didn’t believe her. Not for a second. Before that, I’d seen her everywhere. In the hallway outside my journalism class. In the library when I studied late. At every campus event I attended,

always hovering a few feet away. I’d catch her glancing over her glasses, then ducking her head like she didn’t want to be seen. She was stalking me. This strange girl with her bangs and lasses was my college stalker.

At first, it had annoyed me. Then it started to amuse me. Most girls who crushed on me were loud about it. Also, they weren’t overly intelligent nerds who constantly had their noses stuck in a book. When she pretended to miss her way and dropped into a seat beside me the day we officially met, I remember thinking, what the hell, might as well keep her around. But she turned out to be funny. Sharp–tongued when she wanted to be. Brutal in her honesty. And she hated every single person I hung out with, especially the ones I took to bed. That alone was entertaining enough to keep her close.

0

So yeah, I knew she had feelings for me. I saw it. I wasn’t blind. The way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention. The way she’d roll her eyes at whatever girl was clinging to me that week. I just hoped she’d never say it out loud. That I’d never have to say no and watch our friendship crack open down the middle.

Even now, I don’t want this relationship to end.

I can’t imagine life without her. Without her dry wit. Her judgmental eyebrows. Her oddly timed texts. Without her.

“Of course you love me,” I say, trying to sound playful. “What kind of friends don’t love each other? I love you. You love me. That’s the way of things.”

She doesn’t respond. My damage control isn’t working.

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Chapter 34

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I add, “It was stupid of me to ask. My mom just put these weird thoughts in my head, and I let it get to me. I’m sorry.‘

I can feel her staring at the side of my face, eyes cutting through every lie.

But she lets it go.

“Today was a long day,” she says.

“It was.”

“I can’t wait to get on a plane tomorrow.”

“Me too.”

She hesitates, then says, “Does this mean you’ve given up on Delilah?”

The answer is simple.

No.

Delilah is lightning in a bottle. There’s no one else like her. No clones. No doppelgangers. And yeah, she’s toxic. But I’ve tasted her chaos, and I want it. I crave it. Whoever experiences her would understand why.

But I can’t say that to Sloane.

“I think so,” I say instead. “She’s made her choice. We’ll be there tomorrow to celebrate with her, wish her a happy marriage.”

Sloane hums. She doesn’t believe me.

The rest of the ride is quiet. I stare at the road. She stares at the window. The silence between us is heavy. Every bump on the road

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Chapter 34

shakes something loose in me. Panic.

I don’t want to lose her.

But I already agreed to.

Knox isn’t bluffing. He never is. If I don’t give he’ll ruin my plans with Delilah. But how do I from me without her knowing I’m pushing her?

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pace to pursue her, Sloane stay away

How do I make Knox believe I’ve ended things? There has to be a way to fake the distance. Just enough to let him make his move. Just enough to get Delilah back.