Chapter 64: Chapter 64
Theresa sat back, swirling the last of her wine. "He should’ve fought for me. Instead, he made me invisible."
There was a flicker of something more in her. She sounded so raw, with a proof of what she still felt. She felt something, yet she was so ashamed of it
Landon noted it. "Do you still love him?"
She didn’t answer. Instead, she glanced toward the dusty mirror behind the bar, where her reflection looked back at her, older, and lonelier.
"I don’t know. Maybe I just want to be the one he can’t forget. The one that ruins every other woman who walks into his life," she said honestly.
Landon leaned back in his chair and looked at her for a long moment. "Well, good news. You’re already ruining one."
Theresa didn’t smile, but her lips quirked slightly, in a way that told him she knew she was dangerous and liked it.
Landon leaned back in his chair and looked at her for a long moment. "Well, good news. You’re already ruining one."
Theresa didn’t smile, but her lips quirked slightly, in a way that told him she knew she was dangerous and liked it.
"Celeste is not like me," she murmured. "She’s warm. She still believes in good things. In the beginning, that kind of woman makes you feel like you’re being forgiven by the universe itself. But eventually, it eats at a man. That softness makes you feel like a fraud. Like love is something borrowed. She’ll ruin him in a different way."
"You’re underestimating her," Landon said, not because he disagreed, but because he liked watching Theresa show her teeth.
"No," she said. "I’ve just seen her kind before. Girls who think love is enough. Girls who don’t understand what kind of man Dominic really is. Who doesn’t realize that loving someone like him costs something permanent." She tsked.
"You talk like you weren’t one." he mused.
"I never got the refund," she replied bitterly. "I wanted to be chased. I don’t want to be without him. Not for anything."
Landon chuckled under his breath. "Well, sweetheart, you might just get your exchange policy now. What do you want? Say it clearly."
She took her time answering. She picked up her sunglasses and slid them back on. "I want him to look at her one day," she said, voice still, "and see me."
"Then I want him to realize I was the only story that ever mattered. The only real thing." She leaned in again, eyes hidden behind glass. "And I want him to hate himself for ever thinking he could replace me."
Landon didn’t speak immediately. His tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek. There was something almost admirable in her madness. It wasn’t desperate — it was curated. Cold, almost surgical in the way she dissected emotion.
"You want his ruin," he said. "Yet you want him back," he chuckled, not being able to add her madness together.
All he wanted was the company. The one his father would leave under his name won’t be enough. He wanted all of the Cross’ names under him.
He had been jealous of Dominic from a younger age. He was grateful for the hate that grew. If it hadn’t grown, he wouldn’t have known he had this much potential to not mess things up.
And for Celeste... she’d pay for the whole humiliation.
"I want my closure," she corrected.
"But you’ll settle for his ruin."
She didn’t respond. She didn’t deny it either.
"And Celeste?" he asked.
Theresa exhaled. "Let her find out who he is the hard way. Let her be the one to walk away."
"She might not," Landon warned. "He’s already deep in her. You can see it. The way he looks at her, and all he does."
Silence stretched between them.
Theresa spoke again, this time her voice quieter. "You know what it’s like to be invisible to someone you loved?"
Landon didn’t answer.
"Of course you do," she said, watching him. "Dominic raised you. Or tried. And now you hate him for existing more powerfully than you."
He smiled slowly. "You should really quit therapy and start a podcast."
Her tone stayed mild. "I’m serious, Landon. You think I’m here because I want revenge. And you’re right. But I’m also here because someone needs to remind him that not everyone he discards stays quiet."
She paused. Then leaned forward slightly, her voice now a notch lower.
"You want power. I want to be unforgettable. We’re not the same. But we’re useful to each other. And in the end, we’ll both get what we want. If we don’t destroy each other first."
Landon smiled, sharp as a paper cut. "Deal."
Theresa stood, brushing imaginary dust off her coat. Landon remained seated, studying the sway of her hips. She carried herself like someone who didn’t beg for attention, yet provoked it.
Theresa was halfway to the door when his voice stopped her.
"Wait."
She turned slowly, lifting one brow.
Landon leaned forward now. His fingers steepled beneath his chin, and a shadow of a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"There’s something you should know," he said.
She didn’t move closer, nor speak.
He took his time, dragging out the moment. He knew how much she hated suspense, and that was why he did it.
"I saw Celeste alone," he said finally. "I invited her out, and she came."
That caught her attention. A flicker of something passed behind her glasses. This sounded like hope to her.
"Where?" she asked.
Landon leaned back again. "I won’t share that information but I did ask her to tell Dominic you said hi,"
That did it. She stepped forward again, slow and calculated. Her heels were a whisper against the polished floor.
"Tell me something, Landon," she said, her voice softer now, "Why didn’t you give me head up first?"
He shrugged.
Landon’s eyes flickered, just once. "And Dominic?"
Theresa turned her head slightly.
"I only want her to be the reminder that he gambled real love for a quiet life," she said. "I might decide we kill her but not now."
Landon gave a low whistle, shaking his head. "You really are something else."
Landon’s smirk curved slow and sharp. "I never expect the pretty ones to be deadly."
"And that’s your first mistake," she said.
Saying that, she left.