Page 96 of Mystic's Sunrise

She sighed, shaking her head. “You’re just the next in line. The next broken thing he can pour himself into until he gets bored and moves on.”

My throat burned. I swallowed hard.

She’s lying.

But the doubt was already there, festering, sinking into the cracks Mystic had left in me tonight.

She saw it. She felt it. And she went in for the kill.

“Don’t believe me? Tell me something, sweetheart. If he really cared about you—if you were anything more than a distraction—don’t you think he would’ve told you about me?”

I was starting to feel faint.

She smiled. “There it is.”

I didn’t realize I was shaking until I tried to breathe, tried to force air into my lungs.

She took another step closer. “You don’t have to take my word for it. You saw the way he froze back there. He didn’t defend you. He didn’t defend himself. He just stood there, letting me talk, because deep down, he knows I’m right.”

“The only thing you’re right about is how full of shit you are.”

The words cut through the night like a whip.

I blinked. Turned.

And there she was—Lucy, standing in the glow of the headlights, arms crossed, her expression full of fury.

Mystic’s wife rolled her eyes. “Oh great, here comes the mouthy sidekick.”

Lucy took a step forward, eyes blazing. “Bitch, say another word and see how mouthy I get.”

For the first time, Mystic’s wife looked slightly caught off guard.

Lucy didn’t give her a chance to recover. “You wanna come out here and run your mouth? Fine. But let’s get a few things straight,sweetheart.” She spat the last word like it was toxic.

She pointed at her. “First off, you’re real confident for a woman who just got her ass dumped.”

Mystic’s wife scowled. “We’re still married.”

Lucy snorted. “Yeah? Not for fucking long. Kinda sad, huh? He got tired of your shit a long time ago and found someone better.”

Her lips pulled back in a sneer. “Oh, and don’t think for a second Zeynep’s ‘just another broken little thing’ he’s picking up. That’s projection, bitch. Zeynep is more beautiful than you in every way and that eats at you, doesn’t it? Knowing you can never compare.”

Mystic’s wife’s jaw clenched.

Lucy grinned. “Hit a nerve, didn’t I?”

“You forget I’m not the other woman here am I?” she smirked before turning back to me. “I’ve been his wife since I was eighteen and you’ve been fucking him for what? A month? Don’t let your bitchy friend try and make it sound any different than what it is… he loves me, always has… he just gets an itch now and then.”

Lucy stepped between us, turning her full attention to me. Her expression softened, but her voice stayed firm.

“Zeynep, don’t listen to her. She’s desperate, and she’s trying to hurt you because she has nothing else left. Mystic screwed up, yeah, but that man loves you.” Her voice lowered. “I see it. The whole damn club sees it. And if you walk away from him because of anything she says, you’re letting her win.”

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding.

Mystic’s wife let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, so this is the part where you convince her to stay? That I’m the bad one? I’m his wife, the one he married. I didn’t do anything wrong here.”

Lucy turned back to her with a smile full of teeth.