vulnerable

78.

a/n: hey everyone! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! If you guys wouldn't mind sending best wishes or prayers, my car is getting looked at this week after being hit and either it'll be totaled or they'll fix it 😂 but if it's totaled I hope the check they give us isn't slim 🥴 thank you guys so much for commenting and voting on this book! I hope you all are still here for the drama haha.

—

The room was starting to grow with voices. All of the dinner party sat in their seats, awaiting Hannah's return. Luckily, Guy started to distract everyone by telling them the history of Vegas and why he chose the location for one of his restaurants. Not everyone understood why Hannah darted away during Christian's speech. They might have guessed it was just because he was the first one to speak- with their history and all.

But those that were paying attention... and those who knew Hannah's love for roses... connected two and two together. And those who knew Christian and Hannah as a couple, know that he'd always buy her the favorite flower. To Stella's knowledge, Hunter had never gotten her any roses.

She still stood outside the bathroom, waiting for that knock from her best friend. She listened to her cry- the sobs quivering with each breath. Devyn paced around in a circle with hands on her hips. Stella knew the big sister in her was breaking at the sound of Hannah hurting.

Hunter hadn't come over to check on his fiancé.

But Christian also had not.

He was sitting in his chair, shoulders slumped, with his shirt still unbuttoned. Gio had traded seats with Mark to sit beside the U.S. Forward. Gio was whispering in Christian's ear, but whatever he was saying, didn't look very pleasant.

"I can't believe he got that tattoo." Devyn chewed the inside of her cheek as she finished another circle. She started walking again, keeping her feet close together like she was on a tightrope. Stella had slid to the floor, bringing her knees all the way to her chest. Devyn gritted her teeth, staring hard at the back of their brother's head. "He planned this out. He planned this to win her over."

"No shit." Stella murmured without thinking. She raised her hands above her head to try and block the swings, but it was too late. As soon as the words had left her lips, Devyn was smacking her upside the head. She backed away after a moment, grimacing at her sister. Stella reached out and hit her on the thigh. "Sorry. It slipped."

"You're gonna slip..." Devyn tried to respond with a good comeback but failed. She barely whispered the words anyway, leaving Stella to strain her ears. "When Hannah lets us in, we need to ask her what she's feeling first."

"I think we know what she's feeling." Stella rolled her eyes. "She's inside the bathroom crying on the night of her rehearsal dinner. And I could make a bet that she's not crying about her fiancé."

Devyn bit the side of her pointer finger, a habit passed down to Stella. "Christian could've shown her any other time. He could've shown her back in California, but he chose to be dramatic on her night?"

"He's trying to get her back. You said it yourself." Stella pressed her chin against her knee. She could feel some grease and grime forming. She always got like that when she was anxious. And she definitely felt anxious. "What are we going to do? I told you how Hannah felt... that she feels like she has to marry Hunter. But I don't think she wants too anymore."

"It's hard to say no sometimes, Stell. I told you."

"I know." Stella lowered her eyes. "But I don't think Hunter is Mister Perfect like everyone thinks. Yes, Chris could've handled this better, but he has to be over the top because nothing else has worked."