Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 11

CHAPTER 9-2

Refuse. Not this time.

“I think we’re done here.” He said.

“No.” I said and his expression hardened.

“You will leave this place with me.” He said.

“I won’t.” I said.

“You are a Lawson.” He said.

“I know.” I said.

“You will start behaving like one.” He said.

“I think I’ll pass.” I said.

“You don’t get to refuse.” He said.

“I just did.” I said.

His jaw tightened and for a split second I thought he might continue shouting. Instead another figure quietly stepped forward. Jace.

He didn’t rush or raise his voice. He simply placed himself between us with a calm confidence.

There wasn’t anything threatening about the way he stood. If anything, it was respectful and he wasn’t trying to intimidate my father. He was simply making it clear that the conversation had gone far enough.

“Mr. Lawson. I think Paige has made herself clear.” Jace said evently but Charles looked him up and down.

“This doesn’t concern you.” Charles said but Jace didn’t react.

“It concerns me when someone raises their voice at a guest on our property.” Jace said and

Charles laughed bitterly.

“So now you’re protecting her?” Charles asked and Jace remained calm.

“She doesn’t seem to need much help speaking for herself.” Jace said.

I almost smiled. That was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said about my stubbornness and Charles looked at me again.

“You’ve chosen them over your own family.” He said.

The words hurt more than I expected. Not because they were true but because they ignored everything that had happened before today.

I hadn’t walked away from a loving family. I’d walked away from years of being compared to Charlotte and ignored because of Charlotte. Years of never being enough. Years of wondering why I always seemed to come second.

“I didn’t choose this. You left me with no choice.” I said quietly.

Just for a second something flickered across Charles’ face. Regret, confusion, maybe both. But then I thought I was wrong because he never felt regret.

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