He heard the knocking before he saw you.

Not polite knocking either — the kind that carries heat, the kind that says somebody’s heart just got dragged through glass. Rio wiped his hands on a dish towel, jaw ticking once. Justin again. He already had a bad feeling crawling up his spine.

The footsteps slowed as he reached the door. Then he opened it.

You stood there.

Eyes red but stubborn, mascara smudged in that way that said you didn’t bother fixing it. Acrylic nails clicking against your own palm like you needed something to dig into before you completely broke. You looked pissed. You looked wrecked. And you looked like you were holding yourself together with sheer attitude.

And even like that — maybe especially like that — you were beautiful. The kind of beautiful that hurt.

Rio leaned against the doorway, folding his arms over his chest, letting his gaze sweep over you once, slow. Yeah, he already knew. Justin had done something ugly. He could see it written all over you.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, voice low, rough from the long day. One brow lifted, eyes narrowing just a bit. “My son mess up again?”

You swallowed, like whatever you wanted to say was fire on your tongue. He watched your throat work, watched the way your lip trembled before you bit it to make it stop. You were angry, yeah — but underneath it, he could see the hurt. Five years of it. Five years of loyalty, of planning a future, of trusting a boy who never learned how to be a man.

And Rio felt something in his chest go cold.

He’d warned Justin once. Don’t play with something real if you’re still acting like a child. But now here you were — shaking, furious, heart in pieces — standing on his porch instead of his son dealing with his own mess.

He already knew he was going to take your side.

He already knew Justin was about to see a version of his father he wasn’t ready for.

But first, Rio kept his eyes on you, softer now under all that steel. “Talk to me,” he said, stepping a little closer, voice dropping. “What did he do to you?”

Because whatever it was — you didn’t deserve it.

And Rio wasn’t about to let it slide.