He Said It Was A Bet, I Made It His Last One Chapter 02

He Said It Was A Bet, I Made It His Last One Chapter 02

Tamsin only laughed harder.

Callum took one look at my pale face and finally snapped at her.

“Enough.”

Tamsin jerked her arm away from him.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

“You yelled at me?”

Her voice cracked.

“You actually yelled at me because of Maren?”

“Even Brennan never talked to me like that!”

She turned and ran.

“Fine! Go be with her! I don’t need you anymore!”

Callum didn’t spare me a glance.

He rushed after her.

“Where are you going? There are cars everywhere. What if you get hit?”

Tamsin looked away.

“Then let one hit me.”

Her voice shook.

“Brennan’s already gone. Now you don’t want me either.”

Callum’s face softened instantly.

He wrapped his arms around her.

“I never said I didn’t want you.”

His voice was gentle.

“You’ll always come first with me.”

Over his shoulder, Tamsin shot me a smug look.

When she saw that I wasn’t reacting, she seemed disappointed.

Callum led her back toward me.

“Sorry.”

He sighed.

“Tamsin was spoiled growing up. She says whatever comes into her head and blows up easily. Don’t take it personally.”

I looked up at him.

“So everything she just said was true?”

His face stiffened.

“The jeweler called me today. Your ring is finally ready.”

“I’ll propose again.”

I almost laughed.

“You’re already married. What exactly would another proposal mean?”

I looked him straight in the eye.

“Callum, even if you divorced her tomorrow, I still wouldn’t want you.”

He went silent.

Then, for once, he actually explained himself.

“Brennan died saving my life.”

His voice dropped.

“Tamsin lost the only family she had.”

“I promised she’d never be alone again.”

“The marriage certificate was the only thing that made her feel secure.”

He looked at me like I was the unreasonable one.

“Once we’re married, you’ll be family too. You need to stop treating everything with her like a battle.”

That was exactly what he’d told me the first time Tamsin showed up at my workplace.

Tamsin had no family.

I had to be understanding.

Tamsin was terrified of losing him.

I had to be patient.

I had pitied her.

But who had ever pitied me?

“I promise this is the last time,” Callum said. “I won’t let her pull another stunt at your workplace.”

Tamsin looped her arm through his again.

“Fine, fine. I swear I’ll never pull something like that again . Happy?”

Then she pouted.

“Can we eat now? I skipped breakfast. I’m starving.”

Callum immediately sobered.

“Why did you leave home without eating?”

“Did you forget what happened last time your blood sugar dropped?”

He lectured her for several minutes, then glanced at me.

“Tamsin already promised she won’t do it again. Stop dragging this out.”

“You go home. I’m taking her to eat.”

They walked away arm in arm.

A notification popped up on my phone.

Northwick Analytics had officially withdrawn the offer.

No promise Callum made could give me back what I’d lost.

I hesitated for only a few seconds before reopening an old email thread.

A month earlier, I’d turned down an overseas offer from Vesper & Rowe’s headquarters in Alderhaven.

I contacted them again.

Their reply came almost immediately.

[Maren, we’ve been reviewing several other candidates, but we were actually about to reach out to you again.]

[If you’re still interested, can you start tomorrow at nine?]

I booked a flight leaving after midnight.

Only then did I reply.

[Yes.]

This time, I was going somewhere he couldn’t easily follow.

If Tamsin wanted to keep playing her little games, she could find someone else.

I was done.