Chapter 6
Coraline reached for Garrett again.
This time, he stepped back before her fingers touched his sleeve.
The rejection was small.
Public.
Devastating.
Her face flushed beneath perfect bridal makeup.
“Garrett, think about what you’re doing.”
He looked at Posie.
“I am.”
“Your mother will handle this.”
The sentence landed wrong.
Garrett turned slowly.
“Why would my mother need to handle a woman you claim is nobody?”
Coraline’s mouth opened.
No answer came.
Behind her, the older man in black shifted.
Garrett saw it again.
Fear.
Not confusion.
Fear.
Mave saw Garrett notice him and whispered, “Don’t ask me here.”
That was not a refusal.
It was warning.
Garrett understood the difference.
There were five hundred witnesses, several cameras, half the families in New York society, and a child standing in the middle of a crime-family secret disguised as a wedding interruption.
He lowered himself slightly, not kneeling, not crowding.
Just enough for Posie to see his face without fear.
“Hi,” he said softly.
Posie pressed closer to Mave.
But she did not look away.
May you like
That was enough to break him further.
Read the full story 👉 Coraline’s mention of Garrett’s mother confirmed the secret was larger than one vanished woman.
