Page 63 of Beautiful Lies

“And we’re going to keep it that way.” My jaw clenches.

“He’s my friend.”

“You and I both know that’s not entirely true. Your ex can never be your friend. Not anymore. And I don’t share what’s mine.”

She gives me a brazen smile. “I am not yours.”

“Yes. You are, Isla Monroe. Don’t forget it.” I inch closer and grin. “You aremine.”

I step away and turn, heading back out the door.

I need to cool off.

But let her sit with that. A little reminder never hurts.

Chapter Fourteen

Isla

I stand frozenin the middle of the bedroom, listening to Knox’s footsteps fade down the hallway.

My heart hammers against my ribs like it’s desperate to escape, and I can’t seem to catch my breath.

The silence he’s left behind feels heavier than his presence ever did, vibrating with the weight of his words.

And the last thing he said.

Mine.

The word echoes through me, as steady and inescapable as gravity. God help me, the way it rolled off his tongue—with that absolute finality—made it sound like a law of nature.

He’d said something similar last week when I dropped the contract off at his office. But tonight felt different. There was a carnal look in his eyes that stripped me bare, and damn it, my body responded, humming from the possession in his voice.

I’m not used to having this kind of attention. Or having a man like Knox Vale calling me his.

Chad never did that.He never even blinked when other men flirted with me.

It doesn’t matter. What matters is he’s here. And Knox was rude to him.

He was absolutely, completely out of line. The way he dismissed him, speaking to him like he was nothing more than an inconvenience to be brushed aside, was cruel and unnecessary.

I’m furious about it.

But there’s that thing again buried beneath my fury—the annoying gratitude and logic.

Beneath the layers of indignation and humiliation, is a truth I hate to admit: Knox was right.

Exes aren’t friends. Not really.

And the fact that Chad came back asking for a second chance, looking at me with those pleading eyes, only proves exactly what Knox suspected.

Chad came back to reclaim something he still thought belonged to him.

Me.

There was a time—not so long ago, really—when I would have given anything to have him back.

Anything.My soul. My sanity. My future.