Platinum (All That Glitters #3)(97)

Trihn whipped around. There was no one else there. She and Preston were alone again.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“So defensive. Can’t I just come out here to chat with my future sister-in-law?”

Trihn nearly gagged at that word. “I’d rather leave here on a high, so I think I’m going to bow out of this conversation.”

She tried to move past him, but he reached out and grabbed her arm. “Not so fast.”

“Let me go.”

“Trihn, come on. Just stay and talk to me for a minute,” he said, his voice soft and encouraging. It had lost all the bite, and for a split second, he’d sounded like the man she had fallen in love with.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, using that voice with me,” she spat, wrenching her arm out of his grasp. She crossed her arms over her chest, conscious of the fact that she was wearing nothing more than a black bandeau bathing suit top and tiny black cutoffs.

“I’m not doing anything,” he said, the edge coming back. “I just want to talk to you.”

“Okay, fine. What do you have to say to me that is so important?”

“I think you’re making a horrible mistake,” Preston said.

She raised her eyebrows. “Me, too. I’m still talking to you.”

“Damon is not the right guy for you.”

“And you think this, why? Because you met him and realized that he was better than you in every possible way? Because you saw everyone swooning over him?” Trihn shook her head and started walking away.

“He’s sleeping with Chloe Avana. You know that, don’t you?” he yelled, running ahead of her to face her.

She stopped in her tracks and glared at him. “You disgust me. I don’t have to defend Damon to you because I know the kind of man he is. He has proven himself to me time and time again. And this is really rich, coming from you, considering you cheated on me the entire time we were together!” she yelled into his face. “You were sleeping with my f*cking sister. Then, you had the audacity to lie and turn her against me.”

“We were together, but we were never exclusive, Trihn,” he said, his own voice rising.

He was clearly pissed about Damon and trying to rile her up. She hated that it was working, but she was also glad that she was having this conversation because this sure as f*ck was the last time it was ever going to happen.

Trihn saw a figure coming down the stairs, as if brought forth from the screaming match. It was Damon. He looked like he wanted to rush out to save her, but when Lydia and her mother joined him, he held them back, as if telling them to just watch.

“We saw each other every day. You took me out on dates. You chased me and pursued me. You assured me that we’d be together come the fall term. You begged me to stay the night at your apartment. How the hell was that not exclusive?”

“Fine. All of those things are true, but you know I had to choose Lydia. I had no other choice. Your mother already knew me as her boyfriend.”

Trihn narrowed her eyes, disgusted. There it was, laid out before her. She had always suspected what it was, but to have him actually admit it…

“So, this was always about the magazine then? Just a stepping-stone in your career? You hurt me, and you’re only with Lydia because it’ll help you climb the corporate ladder. Do you even love her?”

“It doesn’t matter whether or not I love Lydia. That’s not the point of the conversation.”

“Then, what is the point of the conversation?”

“What do you even know about this Damon guy?” Preston asked, changing the subject.

Trihn rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you just admit it? You don’t like that I’m dating someone else. You don’t like that you can’t push me around and flirt with me behind everyone’s backs. You don’t like that you aren’t in control.”

Preston took a step forward and pressed his hand onto her hip. He brushed a loose wisp of hair from her face and leaned forward. To anyone watching, it looked as if he was going to kiss her. She even froze for a moment, horrified that he would even consider it. They were out in the open. He didn’t know that others were watching behind his back, but just the thought should have scared him off of it. He was losing his edge.

Out of the corner of her eye, Trihn saw that Damon and Lydia were both moving forward, as if to stop what was going to happen.

“That was quite the performance you put on last night,” Preston said.

“Is that what this is about?” she snarled.

“I don’t like other men playing with my things,” Preston growled.

“I’m not your thing anymore,” Trihn said, slapping his hand away. “You had me for too long, as it was. I pined over you, broke over you, nearly destroyed a perfectly good relationship over you, but I’m done letting someone as pathetic as you control me.” She took a step back and squared her shoulders. “I am not a puppet, and you no longer control me. I pull my own strings now.”

Trihn brushed past him, rocking into his shoulder, and walked away. Lydia’s mouth was hanging open, and there were unshed tears in her eyes.

“He’s all yours,” Trihn said.

“Wait,” Lydia said. “Wait for me.”

Damon pulled Trihn into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Are you okay?”