My mouth dropped open. “Xander, I can barely stand! And I’m not apologizing to Nadia. She gave me shrimp on purpose, she knew I was allergic—”
He rolled his eyes so dramatically it made my blood boil. “There you go again, always blaming someone else. You’re so stubborn, Lauren. This is exactly why you’ve never been at her level. She’s everything you’re not — useful, graceful, wanted. You? You should’ve died instead of our child.”
His words punched the air out of my lungs. But before I could find something — anything — to throw back at him, the door swung open.
Nadia drifted in, her soft fake smile plastered onto her perfect lips. She carried a bouquet of lilies, my least favorite flower, and cooed, “How are you feeling, sister? Do you need anything? We were so worried.”
I stared right through her, the rage in my chest a furnace. I was done pretending.
Xander’s hand pressed down hard on my shoulder. “Apologize to her, Lauren. Right now.”
“No.”
His grip tightened, nails digging into my skin. “Apologize.”
Nadia tilted her head, pouting. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Just say sorry, Lauren. I forgive you.”