Page 174 of Dare to Love Me

Sophia bursts through thedouble doors, her emerald gown catching the chandelier light as she storms out.

“Sophia, wait!” I cry, my voice ripping out of me, stumbling to keep up.

She whirls around, and holy shit, if looks could kill, I’d be six feet under. “You slept with Edward? What the actual fuck, Daisy?”

I flinch at her face—I’ve never seen her this furious, not in all our years.

“We were seeing each other,” I say, wincing as it spills out. “I was going to tell you after the wedding.”

Her shock twists into something hotter, angrier. She stares at me like I’ve just plunged a knife into her back. “Youliedto me.”

“Technically, I just didn’t mention it,” I offer weakly.

“Fuck off!” she snaps, actually stepping back like I might be contagious. “You promised me no drama, Daisy—no bloodychaos—and this whole time you were sneaking around with my brother behind my back?Edward?”

She says his name like it’s sacred text, like I’ve desecrated something holy. In their world, I have. Edward, the heir to the Cavendish empire. Untouchable. And I had the audacity to touch.

“I’m sorry.” I reach for her, but she jerks away. “Soph, I never meant to hurt you. It wasn’t like that. Edward and I . . . it just happened—”

“It justhappened?” she cuts me off, a sharp, brittle laugh bursting from her lips, her hand fluttering to her chest. “With my brother? Like, what the fuck, Daisy? Are you just trying to sleep your way through my family? Is that the game?”

Her words knock the wind right out of me.

And there it is. The moment when being sorry turns into being angry.

“No!” I snap back, heat rushing up my neck. “How could you even say that? And why the hell is this just on me? You think I was alone in this relationship? That I seduced him into it or something? It takes two people, Sophia! Two.”

She recoils, blinking fast, like these words have stunned her even more. The anger doesn’t fade. If anything, it builds, her chest heaving under that gorgeous gown.

“Arelationship?” she barks, incredulous. “You andEdward?” Her lips curl. Not in cruelty, but in sheer disbelief. Like the idea of me and Edward is so unthinkable, so fucking absurd, that she genuinely can’t decide whether to be furious or just . . . amused. “Are you serious right now?”

The tears hit again, streaming down my face like I’m literally crying out every shred of pride I’ve got left. I thought I was done after Edward walked off—thought I’d hit rock bottom—but no, here’s Sophia, another Cavendish twisting the knife.

All because I gave my heart to someone.

“Why is that so hard to believe? You think I’m not good enough for your precious brothers? Is that it?”

Sophia’s eyes spark, her breath catching in sharp little huffs. “That’s not it in the slightest!” she cries, flinging her hands up, exasperation rolling off her in waves. “Edward’s been through absolute hell—he’s not some random Tinder fling for you to muck about with. You’ve just humiliated him.”

I swallow, and it feels like gulping down glass. “I didn’t mean to make him look bad. But Soph, this isn’t all on me—he was in there with another woman! He told me he was working tonight.”

“Whatever,” she says, shaking her head like she’s done. “I can’t deal with this right now. This is my wedding, Daisy. I’m about to get married, and now you’re causing all this drama? Now, of all times?”

And there goes my last fuck to give.

“Oh, your wedding, right,” I shoot back, sarcasm lacing every word. “Because heaven forbid anything in the universe not revolve around Sophia Cavendish’s special day.”

“Daisy,” she warns. But I’m already careening off the cliff of no return.

“No, seriously, do you even hear yourself? You didn’t notice when Charlie and I were together, you didn’t notice when he broke my fucking heart. You had no idea Bernard was a complete pervert—”

She gasps, hand flying to her mouth like I’ve slapped her, but I’m on a roll. “You kept saying Bernard adored me—oh, he made thatrealclear, didn’t he. Of course you can’t imagine me with Edward—you’ve never seen anything past your own bloody nose!”

Her whole body is shaking now. “What iswrongwith you?” she whispers. “I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”

I suck in a shaky breath, my chest heaving. “Maybe you don’t, Soph, because you’ve never bothered to look. Do you have anyidea how much effort I’ve poured into your wedding? I feel like it’s more effort than if I got fucking married myself.”

She stumbles back a step, and for a long, horrible second, she just stares at me—eyes wide and wet, like she’s watching our entire friendship go up in flames.