Page 117 of Deathless & Divided

“Exactly for the reason I already told you when you asked that day. To let him know we were leaving and I would be bringing you home.”

“So I could be there, but not actually be there, right?” Lily asked, hatred swelling up in her heart.

“Yes,” Damian said softly.

“I was your pawn. Dino’s, too. That’s all this ever was. And that night. You knew how heartbroken and hurt I was for Eve and over what happened, and I let you fuck me. You used the place I was in to get me into bed, you asshole.”

“Absolutely not,” Damian growled.

“Liar,” she said, waving a hand at him. “You’re just like Dino. You’re aiming for one place and you’re going to use everybody else’s backs to step on while you get there. Mine will not be one you break in the process, Damian Rossi.”

“Stop!” Damian shouted.

The word slammed Lily straight in the chest, threatening to send her emotions spilling over again. She couldn’t handle this.

“I did not know it was going to be this bad but yes, I knew Dino had plans,” Damian continued, not giving her the chance to breathe or think. “Certain people—he wanted them gone. I did that, yes. I helped, yes. But shit happened. Instead of only looking at the men inside the Outfit when the restaurant mess happened like Dino wanted, Riley focused outside. Nobody planned for that. Nobody thought of that. It just kept getting bigger.

“I owed your brother my life and he asked for that payment in the form of a marriage to you. He wanted your safety and your happiness to be my payment. That meant I needed to do anything—everything—I could to get you to that place.”

“I am not happy!” Lily cried. “I am heartbroken. I am … disgusted.”

Damian recoiled, pain flickering in his blue eyes. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true. After everything, all the bullshit you’ve fed to me, I hate you.”

“It is not true. You can’t hate the things you love, Lily.”

Lily’s felt her entire body flinch inward, reacting to his words and the truth hidden inside them. It only made everything so much worse that she had somehow fallen in love with this dangerous, dark man. Because she hadn’t known anything about him at all. She’d taken the bits and pieces he gave for what they were, she trusted him in his actions and words … she thought he cared.

He clearly hadn’t cared about her. Not at all.

But her heart still swelled and pounded, wanting Damian. Lily hated that she couldn’t control that reaction because he didn’t deserve it from her. None of it.

“Too much,” Lily managed to force out. “This is too much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not. All you did was lie to me. You made me think you gave a damn; you made me believe you wanted me. The only thing you wanted was to use me.”

“That’s not true,” Damian said, anger heating his tone. “I agreed—”

“To marry me because of my brother! You never would have looked twice at me otherwise,” Lily said, practically screaming at him. “God, Damian, just admit it. For once, tell me the truth!”

“I have never lied to you. I omitted facts because you didn’t ask.”

“I never asked the right questions; that’s what you’re dancing around,” Lily said, scoffing. “All that means is you’re nothing more than a fucking liar, Damian. Is the marriage arrangement even real or was that another one of Dino’s distractions?”

The look on Damian’s face said it all.

The marriage was real.

Lily couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t stand there looking at the man who had done nothing but lie to her over and over; a man who had used her for his own gain and who she was still expected to marry.

“I hate you,” Lily said, needing to hurt Damian like he hurt her. “I hate you so much.”

“Lily—”

Lily spun on her heel before Damian could get another word in edgewise. She heard him move toward her as she bolted for the back steps again. Why he couldn’t just leave her alone, she didn’t know.