Page 110 of Crushed Vow

And still chose to stay.

My phone rang.

I blinked, startled, then picked it up.

“Hey, remember this person?” a smooth voice teased.

I frowned. Familiar, but I couldn’t place it. “No...”

“Doctor Manuel.”

Oh, God.

That ridiculously hot doctor I’d flirted with near the hospital—just days ago, in a moment of chaotic defiance. I never gave him my number. I only took his card.

“How... how did you get my contact?”

There was a slight chuckle. “Ethan gave it to me.”

Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he? I’d ask him about that later.

“Okay...” I said hesitantly.

“Dinner tonight,” Manuel said. “At Cielo Rosso.”

Cielo Rosso? That luxury rooftop restaurant that had a six-month waitlist?

“I think I might be busy,” I replied, instantly overwhelmed.

“Come on, Charlotte. It’ll be fun. Just food and conversation. Nothing heavy. We can get to know each other.”

I hesitated.

His voice was easy, confident, flirtatious in a way that would’ve once made me blush. But now?

Now it made me tired.

“I’ll think about it,” I muttered and quickly ended the call.

As soon as the line dropped, I exhaled deeply, like I’d been holding my breath the entire time.

Why had I even approached him that day? Oh right—to make Cassian jealous. To pretend I could still flirt. That I could still matter to someone else.

But now...?

Now it felt like a trap. What if Manuel thought I was serious? What if he wanted something more? Should I just call and tell him I wasn’t available? That I wasn’t ready?

Because the truth was—I wasn’t.

I wasn’t capable of loving anyone right now. Not him. Not Ethan. Not even Cassian.

I was too broken to belong to anyone but myself.

And even that felt like a lie.

Chapter 16

CHARLOTTE