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I don’t want to be this way but the men in my world are infuriating to the max. Machoing around and always dick measuring. For fuck’s sake.
Steel arms wrap around my waist and I’m hauled out of the room over a beefy shoulder. A curtain of hair falls around my face and blocks the view of the other men’s expressions from view. But I see my step-father. That scowl he levels in my direction needs smacking off.
Large hands shove me into my room. The second my feet hit the ground, I whirl only to find a slab of oak closing in my face. I raise a fist and beat on the door, but Con isn’t giving in.
“Damn it, Con. Let me out of here!” I grab the doorknob and give it a violent tug.
Nada.
My heart beats wildly. Blood whirls through my veins and rushes in my ears. Tiny white dots fill my vision. But I don’t back down. “Con! Let me out of here or so help me or I will never speak to you again.” Given where I am going it’s a promise that won’t take effort to keep. I have a deep-seated feeling the Accandis men will keep me locked in their basement the second the wedding vows are over.
“You gotta calm down, Ms. Irons. Please. For me.”
“It’s Ms. Bellemore, Con. You know that. And don’t you talk sweet to me when you’re okay with handling me over to the devil.” No matter how much I wish I could seduce my way into my step-father’s bed and heart, after tonight I know that is no longer on the table. As mad as I am right now, I might kill him if he ever let his guard down long enough to let me close enough.
“Ms. Bellemore, c’mon. You gotta let this play out. You are helping a lot of people. Please. Just think of the peace this union will give.”
The anger leaves me in a whoosh. “Your brother’s death.” I didn’t mean to make friends with my step-father’s enforcers but they all liked my homemade lasagna and I guess the way to win over killers is through their stomachs. It hurt to learn of Maddox’s death. They never found out who was responsible but everyone runs on the assumption it was the Accandis behind Maddox showing up dead in the middle of an abandoned warehouse.
“Yeah. Maddox.” Con’s strangled voice hits me in the chest despite the closed door between us. Con has been a friend since I came to live with Bastian almost two years ago to the day. My mother left after she got a taste for drugs and the power that came with Bastian’s wealth. She abandoned me and took a nice chunk of money on her way out.
But Bastian didn’t. If anything, he pulled me in closer. Or it’s what I wanted to see, anyway. I don’t know. I stab my fingers into my hair and rub at my scalp. My brain hurts as much as my heart. I can’t wrap either around why I’m so disposable to Bastian. But it’s clear he has no qualms about betraying me.
“Listen, I hear you. But this can’t rest entirely on my shoulders, Con. I can’t bring your brother back by going along with this crazy plan. Besides, what if the theories are correct? What if the Accandis killed your brother? You would help Bastian hand me over to those animals?”
“With no proof, we can’t live our lives on an assumption, Ms. Bellemore. If you do what your step-father wants, you could save the life of someone else’s brother. James and me. Arthur. Please, Lili.”
Some days I wish I could kill people and not feel a thing. I would start with my so-called friends and work my way up the ladder to their traitorous boss. “That’s not fair, Con and you know it. Is he telling you to say these things?” My heart cracks open a little wider.
There’s a long pause, and for a minute I think he’s considering my words. “Open the door, Con. Let me walk and you will never see me again.” I try the doorknob to find it won’t turn. I guess I can keep talking until I’m blue in the face. He’s not listening.
“No. This is me talking. Life is unfair, Lili. I’m truly sorry.”
Heavy footfalls fade. My entire body shivers from the blow of his words.
I have to get out of here. I cross the room, shedding the dress I wore home for Bastian on the way. I thought he would love the low cut V neck and the whimsical way the casual spring dress flows around my thighs. He didn’t give it a second glance tonight.
Fuck him.
I kick off the sexy heels I paired it with and grab my hair up into a high ponytail. I need shoes I can move quickly in, a pair of jeans, a shirt and a hoodie. I pull each of the items out of my suitcase still packed by the door. The second I got here I was told to shut up and look pretty. Bastards.
The heavy thumping of my heart makes it hard to hear and the tears in my eyes makes the room look blurry.
Fuck him twice.
I dash away the falling tears. How many times am I going to let other people hurt me before I learn to stop trusting people? God, I am so stupid. I thought Bastian had my back.
Over Christmas vacation we shared a moment. He kissed me and I kissed him back. It was magical until an incoming call pulled him away. He left, and I had to leave for school the next morning.
For a moment I thought maybe there could be something between us.
But no. It doesn’t matter what I thought anyway. I was obviously wrong. And stupid to think he would want someone like me. I’m simply some girl playing make-believe house with her step-daddy. A broke girl with no mom, no other family and nowhere else to go.
I pop off the strapless bra and slide out of my panties. Lace and silk is the last thing on my mind. I reach for a cotton C cup and a pair of comfy low-cut boxer panties I like to pair with jeans.
“Where are you going?”
Bastian’s deep voice growls menacingly into the large space of my suite and my body takes it as a personal invite to tingle with anticipation. I turn on the ball of my heel, not in the least bit surprised the maniac has let himself into my room.
