Chapter 13 " We need to talk : " [ ] He stood in front of me , voice disturbingly calm - like he was announcing the fridge had broken , not that I had thrown him onto a bed the night before . Talk ? My brain instantly began filtering keywords . Talk about what ? A debrier ? A review ? Or was he proposing some sort of … " Tong - term sexual partnership Definitely not a proposal . That only happens in soap operas written by people with chronic romance brain . ]] Was he worried I'd cling to him ? After all - it was me who started this . [ ] I was the one who dragged him out of the bar . 1 was the one who opened the hotel door . I was the one who pinned him down without a second thought . [ ] " Look , " I said , adopting the most adult , accountable tone I could muster , last night was a mistake . A reckless , impulsive , but undeniably enjoyable mistake . " I tried not to look at his shoulders . Not at his chest . Not at the water droplets sliding down his clavicle , tracing the path over sculpted muscle . 7m not going to ask you to take responsibility . I won't call you crying about emotional trauma . I'm not that kind of girl . " He didn't say anything Seeing no reaction , I turned to the door - cue graceful exit , complete with closure monologue . [] But just as my hand reached the doorknob , a warm , wet palm landed on the back of mine . I frate Slowly turned around He was looking at me with an expression I couldn't place - somewhere between surprise and seriousness You don't remember me ?" he asked softly Ilked , drown I answered quickly , almost defensive . " Of course I do . You're my new neighbor . Helped me find my keys the other Terkourally true . Totally accurate tay - and never would - was that even without those rivial interactions , I reptembered him . [ ] The tark was endorse at face , standing in front of me in just a white towel , with water dripping down those abs … yeah Not from memory ik directly at him . Like an eclipse ] had completely failed . ugh I was fully dressed and he was practically naked , somehow under his gaze , I felt like the one completely y something , anything to shift the attention . ] again . He just stood there , watching me , as if waiting for the mon enthed thed ] t's fine . Doesn't matter . " I asked , my voice dry . His hand still hadn't moved . Looked at me again , then - unhurriedly - said : Will you marry me ? " moment my real reaction would finally arrive . ut not serious " I finally found my voice mpletely serious , " he replied , like he was announcing a quarterly investment plan . "I just returned to the country . My parents to get married as soon as possible . In their eyes , a married man means stability . And only a stable man can inherit the faly business days ago , I swore I'd bring home someone better than Rhys impressive enough to shut my parents universe had delivered an answer - just with a thick layer of irony Marriage stonůdn't Le like that ]] dianacy that fi and a slow , brutal erosion of my sell respect || But at that moment , my phone rang The sharp ringtone sliced through the quiet like a knife . I glanced at the screen - and felt like a bomb had gone off in my chest Caroline Vance . My mother . Katherine was back . She must've called to announce the beginning of something . [ ] 1 looked at that face - familiar yet foreign - then back down at my phone And finally , I said the words : I can't accept I walked out of the hotel suite , the ringtone still shrieking behind me . I answered not because I wanted to , but because I needed - desperately - to sever this umbilical cord that kept dragging me back into the past . "Why didn't you answer your phone ? Were you trying to give me a stroke ? " My mother's voice came rapid - fire , like a machine gun thought you were dead in a ditch or kidnapped by some maniac ! Get home . Now . We need to talk . " ] I'm already on my way . " I said coldly , and hung up before she could launch into round two . [ ] I gave the driver my parents address and collapsed into the backseat , like someone bracing for a colonoscopy without anesthesia . [ ] Okay . Ler's get us over with My neighbor - aka my one night stand - was probably insane . [ ] But while I still had a drop of alcohol - induced courage left in my bloodstream - while the old Mira , desperate for love , hadn't crawled back in and taken over - I had to move fast I had to throw thus shattered mess back in their perfect little faces [ The Vence family estate sat in the kind of suburban enclave that didn't welcome anyone who couldn't afford a BMW . No subway stop No bus routes . Just an elegantly phrased " keep out , poor people . wrought iron gate , I inhaled deeply . I felt like a boxer walking into the ring Shoulders squared . Chin lifted . Emotional armor lothed and loaded . ] The dutenent I stepped into the living room , I could smell the ambosh . My Feder - Franklin Vance - set aluse in his leather clair , wearing the same expression he probably used to fire underperforming fadge fund managers Chaprer ( 1 Beside him , my mother , Caroline , with her flawless hair and perfectly aligned pearl necklace , smiled the way a doctor does when saying . The cancer's spread . " ] To their left , Rhys sat on the sofa , all solemn and brooding , as if waiting for a divorce lawyer to direct his next pose . ] And on the right ? Katherine , obviously . All we were missing was a gavel and a court reporter . [ ] This was a trial . [ ] I was the defendant And the verdict had already been written . Mother struck first " What took you so long ? I called you hours ago She crossed her arms , her tone colder than the AC " Traffic , " I lied . [ ] If I told them I'd just escaped from a man in a towel , they'd have me institutionalized . [ ] " So ? Why am I here ? " My tone was sharp , iced over e answered No one Not until Rhys stood , bandage still across his forehead . [ ] The sight of him looking vaguely wounded brought me the tiniest flicker of grim satisfaction . mur " You left this at my place , " he said slowly , holding something in his hand " Your bear alarm clock . " ] I stared at it A cheap , scuffed electronic clock shaped like a cartoon bear , its plastic face scratched and faded from over a decade of use . [ ] And now , this relic was their opening move ? Rage crawled up my throat , but I forced it down . " Thanks , " I said flatly . " That's thoughtful ." I snatched the ridiculous little clock and turned to leave . [ ] Come on No one calls a full blown family meeting just to return a damn alarm clock . I knew better . This was about humiliation . About putting me in my place They were the real family I was always the outsider - invited in only when they needed a benchwarmer " Wait , " my mother said , her voice even colder than before . I paused . Didn't turn around She folded her arms again and smiled - that tight , poisonous kind of smile you only see when a doctor says " Stage four . " " Now that Katherine's back , " she said , " and since you and Rhys have broken up , we believe it's time - he and Katherine should be engaged . " I gave a short , humorless laugh . Turned around slowly , letting the sarcasm drip from my mouth . ] " By all means . Plan whatever you want . Not like you've ever asked for my opinion before . " " We used to ask , " she said , voice turning sharp , " back when you were still the sensible daughter . The one with potential She stepped closer . You're too emotional , Mira . Your insecurity made you paranoid - accusing Rhys , trying to control him . You didn't trust him , and that's what destroyed the relationship . " Her words were blades . [ ] Featherlight in tone . Ruthless in effect " So this is on you And you'll make that clear in the press . Tell them you fell for someone else . That's why you ended the engagement . " Something tore inside my chest - like they'd ripped it open with their bare hands I looked at them , all of them - my parents , Rhys , Katherine . ] So calm . So calculated || Like a sc a script they'd rehearsed for weeks What had I done to deserve this ? Where had I gone so wrong ? turmoil . I was ready to explode . To storm out But thars when my father finally stood . Like a judge preparing to read the sentence " You don't have to worry about finding someone new , " he said with absolute finality " We've already made arrangements- "