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No, not “kidnapped.”I brought her there myself. I might as well have tied her up in a large satin bow and added a gift tag.For Raizo. Love, Demyen.
The thing is, I didn’t bring her there to sell her. Not really. I made Clara dress up to dangle the carrot in front of Raizo so his hunger and greed would blind him to my own ambitions.
No, that’s not true, either.
Be honest with yourself for once, asshole.
I brought her with me to that stupid auction to test myself. Was I really so pissed at her to sell her as a sex slave? Or would I pull my head out of my own ass and finally acknowledge what she’s come to mean to me?
I’mthe one who I dangled the carrot in front of.
And as soon as thatmudakcalled her a slave, I knew she was mine, now and always. I knew I couldn’t go through with it. I knew I needed to become the man that Clara and Willow needed me to be.
I tried to get her out. I did.
But I failed.
Maybe I’m the one who deserves to wear cement shoes.
The soft sound of little feet pitter-patters across the cool pavement toward me. In an instant, my heart leaps into my throat and I don’t need to look up to know who it is.
“Mister… Mister Zak-zakrem?—”
I clear my throat to choke back the anguish. “Willow, you can call me Demmy. It’s okay.”
This is the first time she’s actually spoken to me since Fiji. There’s no escapingthatguilt.
“Mommy said I shouldn’t.” Willow is staring at the ground. “In case you get mad again.”
Fucking hell.I am officially the worst fucking human being on this goddamned planet.
She wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know.”
I sit up straighter to get a better look at her. It’s past ten; she’s in her nightgown and clutching one of her stuffed animals in her hand. “Willow,” I gently ask, “what’s going on?”
Tears brim in her long lashes and she still avoids looking at me. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry for whatever I did! I’m sorry I made you mad! I don’t—I don’t know what I did but I promise I won’t do it again!” She hiccups, then bursts into tears.
The pieces fall together in the worst way.
Fiji.
The plane ride back.
The way I coldly shoved her aside and acted like she was just extra baggage.
How I forced her into that tiny closet of a room without a second thought.
I’ve been a monster to a girl who was raised in a world full of them. I was the knight she needed—and I’ve failed her, too.
“God, Wills… come here.” I hold out my hand to her. When she doesn’t move, I hold out my other hand until I’m basically begging her for a hug. Because… well, I am. “Dorogaya, please. Just come here.”
She dares a quick peek up at me.
Then she sprints into my arms to cry some more, her little face buried in my chest.
