Page 101 of When We Fall: Part One

“E was upset that Celeste was there. It was business as usual, though. He used too much as a way to cope. Fox took him home,” Enzo murmured.

Rosalie stared us both down. I swear she had ice running through her veins and not blood because her next words twisted my guts.

“If you’re going to lie to me, at least make a fucking effort,” she said, sitting forward. Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears.

I glanced at Fox and then Enzo before I cleared my throat.

“Fox pushed Celeste. She fell,” I filled in. “It pissed her off, so she came back to us to complain.”

“Cole, man. Tell her everything,” Fox said. “Or I’ll fill in the blanks.”

I swallowed thickly and glanced to Enzo. This was definitely fucked.

“Vander Veer brought women for us,” Enzo finally said, breaking the silence.

I looked from him to Rosalie.

She hadn’t moved an inch. Instead, she simply continued to stare us down.

“Nothing happened,” Enzo said. “Nothing.I swear to you. E got up and ran. Fox went after him. Fox pushed Celeste. She came back. Because it made me feel uncomfortable, I got up and took her aside since I thought her seeing her dad get his dick sucked under a table was something a daughter shouldn’t see. We went into the office space. I talked to her. I explained that she wasn’t welcome at our meetings and asked her to keep her distance. She agreed. That’s it. We came home soon after.”

Rosalie looked at me. “What about you, Cole? What were you doing while all this was happening?”

I blinked quickly. “Uh, I got up, went to the balcony, and then just people-watched. Waited for Enzo. That’s it.”

She nodded for a moment before reaching out to Enzo and tilting his chin up so he was looking at her.

“There’s a problem with your story,” she said, her voice soft.

He crinkled his brows. “What?”

“The discomfort should have happened before Vander Veer was getting his dick sucked. Celeste should never have been the focus of you finally getting off your ass from that table. It should have been Ethan. Your priorities are fucked, Enzo.”

And with those words, she got to her feet and stepped past us. Enzo and I turned to stare after her. She stopped and shook her head before stepping back.

I watched with my heart in my throat as she took Enzo’s hand in hers and put something into it.

“Get your shit together,” she said. “Get your priorities sorted. Then, we’ll talk.”

She walked away and went upstairs. None of us moved until the click of her bedroom door echoed through the downstairs.

I finally looked at Enzo and saw him open his hand to display her engagement ring.

Stunned, I looked from his hand to Fox, whose eyes were wide, then back to Enzo.

“Fix this,” I snarled at Enzo. “I don’t care what you have to do, fucking fix it. She’s going to leave us.”

Enzo’s bottom lip wobbled for a moment before he nodded his head tightly and got to his feet. Without a word, he left the room, the office door slamming closed behind him.

I finally got up and slid onto the couch before scrubbing my hand down my face while sighing with frustration.

“She’s going to leave. I’ll never be able to have my garden,” I whispered to Fox.

“I think maybe it’s time you start planning for her departure, not your future with her,” he answered softly. “Rosie will only take so much before she stops giving a shit. You saw it tonight. She’s starting to get fed up. Once she is, it’ll be over. I know her,” he finished.

I looked over at him, my heart aching at the possibility. “What will that mean to you? Should I prepare to lose you, too, Fox?”

He focused his blue eyes on me and let out a soft, humorless laugh. “I’m already gone, brother.”