Regina forced a smile.
It felt like her face might crack under the weight of it.
Her fingers were still curled around her mother’s frail hand when the ward door burst open without a knock, without warning, without respect.
Bret Lawson stood there.
Perfect suit. Perfect hair. That familiar smug confidence plastered across his face like a disease that never went into remission.
“I knew it,” he said, smiling wider, eyes gleaming with self-satisfaction. “I overheard what your mother said. I knew it.”
Regina’s stomach dropped.
“I knew you still wanted me,” Bret continued, stepping into the room like he owned the f*****g place. “You’re just playing hard to get. Always have.”
Her skin crawled.
Regina stood up so fast the chair scraped loudly against the floor. She put distance between th
