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This feels like a seduction, or what I’ve always imagined a seduction must be like. Doing anything Tyrant wants is a mistake, but in this darkened boathouse with him standing over me, speaking so coaxingly, I feel dangerously tempted.
“I’m not showing you anything,” I whisper.
“Are you so sure about that?” Tyrant dips his head so close that I feel his lips ghost over mine as he murmurs, “I believe you, angel.”
I believe you.
The tears that have gathered on my lashes spill down my cheeks. Tyrant brushes his mouth over mine again, and I breathe unsteadily. I’ve never been kissed before, but my lips seem to know what to do, and they part for him. He seems surprised by my surrender. Then he smiles, looks at me through half-lidded eyes, and slants his mouth hungrily over mine. He kisses me slowly, and it’s not an innocent kiss. He parts my lips and sweeps his tongue into my mouth, caressing me.
This is dangerous.
I’m too far gone.
I don’t care what he does next if only he keeps believing me.
When he breaks the kiss, he runs his teeth over his lower lip as if enjoying the way I taste.
Then he waits.
“You thought I was perfect because I wanted to save my brother, and that annoyed you so much that you went and found my diary. Now you know I’m so far from perfect. I’m completely broken, and I’ll never, ever be put back together. No one’s going to find out about these scars for the rest of my life, but seeing as you already know, fine. Let me look into your eyes as you see something that no one else ever will.”
Before I can change my mind, I grasp the hem of my dress, pull it up over my head with my T-shirt, and throw it aside. Terrified by what I’ve just done, I stare straight ahead at the bloody fingernail marks I scored into Tyrant’s collarbone. Cold night air touches my flesh and I shiver. I’m standing in front of the most dangerous man in Henson, if not the whole state, in a triangle lace bra and tiny little briefs, every single one of my scars on display.
But I’ve done it now.
It’s too late to take it back.
Slowly, I raise my chin and look into his face.
Instantly, I know I’ve made a huge mistake. Tyrant’s eyes are filled with the horror of what I’ve done to myself. Things I’ll never be able to undo. Things I’ll probably do again and again because I’m too weak to stop. There aren’t a handful of scars. There are dozens and dozens of them, all over my abdomen, from beneath my breasts all the way down to my pubic bone.
Anger sweeps over Tyrant’s face and he seizes my upper arms. “Vivienne, what the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper, my voice shaking with tears. He’s right in my face, and I try to pull away from him, but he’s holding me too tightly. I condemn myself for this every day. I don’t need his revulsion as well. “Let go of me, please. I want to leave.”
Tyrant gives me a shake, and now he’s shouting at me. “Why did you do it? What possessed you?”
Fresh tears spill down my cheeks, and I start to sob. “I know I’m disgusting. You don’t have to look at me.”
“I don’t mean your scars.” His jaw pulses in anger and his blue eyes are burning. “Those people. Your father. Your stepmother. They did this to you, and you’re here killing yourself trying to save their child. Are you completely insane?”
16
Tyrant
“When you saw me standing in your home, why didn’t you step out of your hiding place and tell me to kill them?” I demand of Vivienne.
“Tyrant, you’re hurting me,” she whimpers, struggling in my grip.
I realize I’m squeezing Vivienne’s upper arms so hard that I’m leaving bruises on her tender flesh. I don’t know what I expected to see when Vivienne took off her dress, but I wasn’t ready for the pure rage that swept over me at the sight of her scars. Now I’m unloading all my anger onto a naked, crying, scared girl.
I take a deep breath and make myself loosen my grip, but I don’t let go of her. I shouldn’t have said,What the fuck is wrong with you, because it’s obviously something she’s asked herself again and again.
I try again and lower my voice so I’m no longer shouting at her. “Why are you helping them get their child back? Why are you suffering even more for those people?”
Vivienne takes a few moments to compose herself while she wipes the tears from her cheeks. “Because I had to save Barlow. Dad and Samantha must be losing their minds with worry.”
“You should have been jumping for joy that someone was finally hurting them like they deserve.”
