Page 109 of How to Break My Heart 1

His voice triggers me, but I pretend to be nice for the sake of my best friend.

With Myles two seats away from me, I lean over to ask, “How are you feeling after last night? Ready to walk down the aisle?”

He reaches out to kiss Maddy’s hand, but something is amiss. She glances down at her plate of creamy pasta alla boscaiola with a blank expression.

“I’m ready.” He smiles, then chuckles lightheartedly. “Last night was interesting. I know a few of my boys went home broke after Harvey cleaned them up in poker.”

“Of course he did,” I mutter under my breath. My head tilts to observe Mr. Beaumont. His need to win doesn’t surprise me one bit. Everything is a power trip to that bastard.

More bottles of wine are brought to the table to prepare for a few speeches. While most of the speeches are reserved for the wedding day itself, it’s common for family members to say a few words at a rehearsal dinner.

I glance across to Aston again, but he ignores me as if I’ve done something wrong. There’s no way to get him outside to talkwithout raising suspicion, so I text him quickly, with frustration building inside of me.

Me

Why are you acting like a dick?

He drops his attention to the screen but then places his phone back into his pocket.

Did he just completely dismiss my text message?

A tightness inside my chest makes it difficult to focus on whatever Ramona is talking to me about. Her voice is drowned out as my veins begin to pulse with this anger swelling inside of me.

Mr. Beaumont rises from his chair, capturing everyone’s attention. My throat feels like it’s closing up as I attempt to listen to this asshole’s impending speech.

“It is my greatest pleasure to welcome you tonight to our final dinner before my daughter, Madelina, officially becomes the new Mrs. Whitney,” Mr. Beaumont begins, raising his glass as everyone gushes over the sentiment. “I believe love is a sacred thing, and the moment you find it, you hold on to it and spend a lifetime creating memories, hopefully with my soon-to-be grandchildren.”

The guests seem to laugh at his dig, and Maddy contrives a smile to please everyone.

As for me, I struggle to listen to a man who makes everyone believe family is always first, when he single-handedly putsbusinessfirst. Not to mention I’m worthless, according to him.

“I will save the speech for tomorrow when my darling daughter makes me the proudest father and marries her future husband.”

Myles cheers, then raises his glass to say, “Okay, we get it. You want grandkids, too. You do know you have a son as well, right? No pressure, Aston.”

Mr. Beaumont brings his glass to his lips to have a drink,thrusting his chest out with an expression radiating superiority. “My son will be busy in Dubai starting two weeks from today. The Beaumont Group has acquired a rather lucrative chain of hotels, and Aston will be the new CEO of the Emirates portfolio. Perhaps he can find a wife there if he must. After all, he will be living there indefinitely.”

A brutal coldness hits my very core, making my entire body freeze. I stare blankly at Mr. Beaumont, trying to register what he’s just said. He glances at me while adopting a pondering pose, only to then focus back on everyone else at the table.

My chest suddenly demands my attention. My once-beating heart feels like it has stopped, forcing me to gulp for air.

An uncontrollable shudder takes over until I direct my gaze to Aston. His normally vibrant green stare would usually fill me with warmth, but as I look at him for comfort or a reason for all this madness, all I see are dull eyes staring back at me.

He lied to me.

All this time, he lied to me.

I push my chair out mid-speech, ignoring the weakness in my legs. Maddy diverts her attention to me but doesn’t say a word as I turn my back to leave the table. My feet move as quickly as they can given the tight dress around my legs. I push the main door open, smacked in the face by the cold air against my heated skin.

The sound of the door opening again forces me to turn around.

Aston has followed me but is smart enough to keep his distance.

“I hope you followed me because you have a damn good reason why I had to sit there and hear from your father that you’re moving to another countryforever!” I thunder, unable to hide my emotions.

He takes a step closer, clenching his jaw. “Everleigh, it’s not what you think.”

“It’s not what Ithink?” I take a step back, refusing to get close to him. “Don’t do this again!”