The recollection hit me like a bolt of lightning, igniting a deep-seated anger that throbbed in my temples. My fists clenched at my sides, the familiar heat of rage flooding my veins.
Chloe was the first to shatter the tense silence. “Well? Aren’t you going to thank my fiancé for saving your ass?” Her voice was sharp, slicing through the air with a high-pitched edge. “Look at the mess you’ve made, Sav. Dressing and dancing like a stripper, attracting the wrong kind of men. Now Dean’s going to show up to our rehearsal dinner looking like he just survived a bar fight, all because of you. Our wedding is in just four days, and you’ve already managed to ruin it.”
She turned to Dean, sighing dramatically, fussing over his face as if he were a wounded puppy in need of care.
He, however, was engrossed in his phone, completely ignoring her fussing, his attention elsewhere.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Alyssa interjected, her tone firm and unwavering. “This isn’t Savannah’s fault. Dean made the choice to defend her. She didn’t ask for him to get hurt.”
Chloe rolled her eyes, the gesture dripping with disdain. “Mind your own damn business. I wasn’t addressing you.”
“Chloe,” Mom cautioned, her voice low and laced with disappointment. “Don’t use that language with your older sister. That’s not how I raised you.”
Throughout this exchange, Dean’s gaze remained locked on me, and I met his stare with equal intensity.
He was lying. Boldly, brazenly. And he expected me to remain silent? Not a chance in hell.
Clearing my throat, I made sure my voice was loud enough to command attention. My father turned his head toward me, his expression shifting to one of concern.
“So where was my fiancé while you were out there playing the hero?” I asked, crossing my arms tightly over my chest, a barrier against the chaos swirling around us.
Dean scoffed, sliding his phone into his pocket with an air of nonchalance. “How would I know? I’m not his damn babysitter.”
But I caught the flicker in his eyes-the way they dropped momentarily to my neck, right where Roman’s marks were, and the way his expression darkened at the sight.
“You’re unbelievable,” Chloe muttered under her breath, her voice dripping with incredulity. “After everything Dean has done for you, this is how you repay him?”
I shrugged, a small, defiant movement. “Well, maybe he shouldn’t spread lies about me if he doesn’t want me to reveal the truth about him.”
“Savannah,” Dad said, his voice cold and commanding. “If you have something to say, then say it now.”
I turned my focus back to Dean, who was glaring at me, a silent challenge hanging in the air.
“Why don’t you all ask Dean how he really got those bruises?” I said, my tone steady. “Ask him who gave him that black eye.”
Mom’s brows furrowed in concern. “Dean? Is there something you’re not telling us?”
Chloe pulled slightly away from him, her smile faltering as uncertainty crept into her expression. “Babe…?”
Dean let out a derisive scoff. “She’s just talking nonsense. Maybe she hit her head. Got a concussion or something. She was shoved pretty hard.”
Wrong move.
I stepped forward, my body trembling with rage. “Nonsense? A concussion? Really, Dean?”
My voice rang out, slicing through the tension in the room. “Why don’t you tell everyone here that you offered me money for sex last night?”
Gasps erupted like shards of breaking glass, echoing in the room. Mom instinctively covered Emily’s ears, a protective gesture that made me suppress a laugh.
“Oh boy,” Lizzie whispered, her eyes wide with excitement. “This is better than Netflix.”
“Dean!” Chloe shrieked, her voice a mix of disbelief and anger. “What the hell is she talking about?! Say something!”
“I have no idea where this is coming from, baby. Don’t listen to her-“
“Liar.” I shot back, my voice sharp like a blade. “The bruises on him? They didn’t come from some random drunk with a gun. No, Roman gave him those-after he walked in on Dean trying to force himself on me.”
The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically, plunging into an oppressive silence that felt almost tangible.
Aunt Janice instinctively made the sign of the cross, her face a mask of shock. My mother was clutching her pearls so tightly that I feared they might shatter under the pressure of her disbelief.
“You told me to bend over the counter,” I pressed on, my voice unwavering, cutting through the tension like a hot knife through butter. “Ten grand. That’s what I was worth to you. You said it would be our little secret.”
Dean’s expression froze, his bravado crumbling like a sandcastle under a rising tide.
Chloe looked as if she had just been slapped across the face, her eyes wide with disbelief.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t feel small or insignificant. No, I felt like fire-hot, fierce, and ready to consume everything in its path.
Let them grapple with the truth now.
“What did you just say?” my mother whispered, her face draining of color.
“That can’t be true,” Dad interjected, his voice trembling like a leaf caught in a storm.
“Mom, Dad, I’m not lying.” I turned to face Dean directly, my gaze unyielding. “And he knows it. Dean disrespected me. He’s spinning these lies because he’s aware that if he speaks first, he can twist the truth into something unrecognizable.”
Dean had the audacity to laugh, a cruel sound that echoed in the charged atmosphere.
“You’ve truly lost it, Sav. Why don’t you tell everyone here that you flashed me your tits last night? You’re so obsessed with me that you stripped off your costume right in front of me, hoping to grab my attention.”
I gasped, shocked into silence for a moment.
“Dean, you bloody liar!” My anger surged, and I lunged at him, but Chloe was quicker, stepping in front of him and shoving me backward with surprising force.
“Get your hands off my fiancé!” she shouted, her voice a mix of protective fury and indignation.
The shove was so intense that I braced myself for the impact, but it never came. Instead, strong, steely arms caught me effortlessly.
“Are you okay, Sav?” Roman asked, his voice low and filled with concern.
I nodded, still reeling from the confrontation.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.