Building Her Throne Burying My Heart (Claire) novel Chapter 84

“So, tell me, who’s really the sad one here?”

Garrison looked ready to burst, puffed up and fuming, like a pufferfish with too much venom and not enough bite. He opened his mouth to fire back, but every word I’d said hit too close to home. He just stood there, hands clenched into fists, glaring at me.

“So what?” he snapped. “I’m the one by her side now. I’m the one she needs. And you? You’re nothing. Nobody loves you, you have no family. You can’t even compare to me.”

My face went cold, my eyes sharper than ever. “You’re right, I can’t compare. I don’t steal other people’s families. I don’t need to take someone else’s girlfriend to feel important. Everything you want, you have to rip out of someone else’s hands.”

He was practically shaking with anger. I didn’t want to drag this out or give him another excuse to turn things against me. I grabbed my toolbox, ready to get out of there.

Before I left, I looked him in the eye and said, “You’ve got everything you wanted, so stop wasting your energy on me. Quit obsessing. I don’t care about anything you have. From now on, let’s just stay out of each other’s way. Strangers. I don’t want any part of your lives. Once I’ve finished paying off my debt to Claire, I’m gone. Whatever happens between the two of you isn’t my problem.”

I turned to leave and nearly walked right into Claire. She was standing there, her face tight and unreadable. I had no idea how long she’d been listening, but it was clear she’d heard me say I wanted nothing to do with them.

I glanced at her, then started to head out. Her voice stopped me in my tracks, cold and sharp.

“You sure have a lot of time to talk. I asked you to fix up the garden, not stand around chatting.”

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