CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Blair
Last night had been on repeat in my mind the whole morning, making it almost impossible for me to focus on anything. I didn’t know what had me reeling more—what Zach had done, or me revealing my true feelings to him.
I ran my fingers across my neck, the echo of his choking hands still lingering there.
The way he’d lost it . . . It was like pure darkness had completely consumed him, and it felt like he was capable of anything .
. . even killing me. Even now, it sent a chill through me, and I couldn’t tell what I could expect from him.
And then, there was his reaction when I told him how I really felt.
I didn’t regret confessing that to him, but I wished I could’ve said it under different circumstances.
He didn’t trust me and considered me the worst, so I didn’t see how I could change his image of me.
I’d shown him zero proof that I wasn’t as emotionless as he thought, and that I’d just hidden my real feelings well.
Not that it would make a difference if he believed me.
What I’d done was unforgivable . . . and I was beginning to think he was my karma for what I’d done.
Not that karma existed if you asked my dad.
He would tell me my feelings were the only ones that mattered, not the other people’s feelings.
We walked all over others and never thought twice about it because everyone would do the same to us.
It was either us or them. As simple as that. I used to believe 100% in that.
Now? Now I felt like the bubble I’d created to protect myself was starting to disperse, and it was like Zach’s very presence reminded me of how it didn’t feel right.
Zach calling me and my family out for being fake certainly called to the deepest parts of me, reminding me all the prestige and power weren’t as seductive as they were before.
It only made me more ashamed of myself.
The noon rolled in before long. I sat down on the window seat in the living room, and just as I started to listen to music, trying to take my mind off last night, Aurora called.
I answered.
Her sobs filled my ear. “It’s your fault.”
I sat up straighter. “What?”
“It’s your fault Zach set me up!”
“Are you for real? How is that my fault? I didn’t force you to go with him and suck his dick.”
“But you could’ve warned me about him!”
“I did warn you. I told both you and Lana he changed and was here to get revenge, but you didn’t listen. No, you had to go and drop on your knees for him.”
“Don’t put this on me! I was drunk. Besides, he’s doing this because of you. Because of what you did to him! So this is your fault.”
What the fuck? She acted just like Lana, as though she had no part in bullying him whatsoever, not regretting it even remotely.
“My parents went nuts over this,” she continued. “Dad is going to send me away, saying something about starting my studies at some university abroad. I don’t want that! My life is ruined!”
“Wait, why is your dad punishing you? He should take it up with Zach.”
“Because he thinks I did it all to myself to get his attention.” While it was true that Aurora had daddy issues and liked to cause trouble so he’d pay more attention to her, it was ridiculous for him to believe she would go that far.
“And the worst of all, I can’t prove Zach’s behind all of that.
He posted the video using my phone. There’s no proof of anyone else accessing my account but me. ”
That was fucked up. “There’s surely something—”
“There’s nothing. They would never believe I didn’t do it because I didn’t protest him filming.”
“Why didn’t you protest?” That was what had bugged me since I’d seen it. Was she so hot for him she would’ve let him do anything?
A short beat of silence told me everything I needed to know, even before she said, “What does it matter? The damage was done.”
“I’m sorry, Aurora.”
“No, you’re not. This is exactly what you hoped would happen. I always knew you couldn’t stand me, but guess what? I can’t stand you either, you cunt. And I’ll never forgive you for this. Whatever he does to you, you deserve it.” She hung up.
I gaped at my phone. She was such a bitch!
Maybe I couldn’t stand her, but I never wanted something like this to happen to her. If I were the old Blair, then perhaps. But it was different now.
Gritting my teeth, I went to my TikTok to check for any messages.
A few of Aurora and my mutual acquaintances had texted to ask me about her, and I replied something neutral to them.
I was sure Ruby, my mom’s assistant, would tell me to keep quiet about it and never engage so the spotlight wouldn’t shift on me—per Mom’s usual orders—but they would all find out sooner or later that she was moving abroad, and there was no harm in letting them know that now.
The sounds of splashing and talking came from the outside, and I stepped out through the French doors to check it out.
Melody was doing laps in the pool, and Dad sat at the patio table by the pool under a sunshade.
He was leaning over his tablet on the table as he talked to someone on his phone, dressed in khaki pants and a baby-blue summer shirt, his brows pulled into a concentrated frown.
I wasn’t surprised he found work more important than leisure.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen him use the pool. Or my mom, for that matter.
“Good morning, Dad,” I mouthed to him.
“Wait a second,” he said to the person on the other side of the line and moved his phone away from his face. “We need to talk later.” His tone was serious.
“Okay.” So he’d probably found out about Aurora.
He returned to his phone call, glancing at Melody as she moved to pull herself up the ladder. Two lines formed between his brows.
I thought about asking him if he was aware Zach’s mom had died, but something told me not to. I didn’t know if it was because I didn’t want him to become suspicious of me digging up the past, or because I didn’t want to potentially hear he’d always known about it but just didn’t care.
A movement in the corner of my eye had me look behind Dad, and I found Zach trimming the ivy in the gazebo, his face hidden from me beneath the brim of his cap.
My heart constricted in my chest, and my gaze lingered on him for a moment too long as I thought back to last night in his room. I desperately wanted to know what he’d been thinking when I revealed my feelings to him.
“Hey, Sis,” Melody said, stepping next to me.
“Hey, yourself.” I raised my brows when I saw what she had on. She was wearing a black bikini, but it could hardly be called swimwear. It was just two tiny patches barely keeping her breasts together and a sorry excuse for a thong.
Melody never wore revealing clothes, and when she wore swimwear, they always covered most of her curves. So why was she wearing this now?
Or better yet—who was she wearing it for?
She glanced in Zach’s direction, and my blood froze.
No. No, she couldn’t be wearing it for Zach. She couldn’t want him.
Zach raised his gaze just then and met mine briefly before he looked at Melody, and my hands flexed. Son of a bitch.
I marched off toward him. He couldn’t be targeting my sister. I wouldn’t allow it.
I entered the gazebo, stopping behind a wall of ivy that hid us from my family. “She’s off-limits.”
He turned to look at me, taking off his gloves. He eyed Melody, then smiled viciously. “What exactly are you referring to?”
“You know what. If you intend to play her like Aurora, think again. I won’t let you hurt her.”
He tossed his gloves on the bench behind him, never taking his eyes off me. His gaze traveled down to my breasts, then my exposed navel in my crop top, and finally to my legs. I almost curled my toes in my flip-flops, my skin tingling.
He took a slow step toward me then another, and I stopped breathing. “And what are you going to do to stop me?”
I drew myself up to full height, holding his gaze. “Whatever it takes.” The moment I said it, I realized it was a wrong answer.
He smiled, his eyes shining with a predatory glint. “Really? Let’s see it, then. Lie down on the bench.” He motioned at the bench next to me.
My heart stuttered in my chest. “What?”
“You heard me. Lie down on the bench. You’re ready to do anything to protect yourself, even fake your feelings about me.”
I sucked in a breath. So that was what he thought about my confession. He thought I was faking it out of fear of him.
“I didn’t fake them. I really—”
He pressed his hand on my mouth. Something akin to pain crossed his eyes, but it was gone in a split second.
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear a word come out of your mouth.
Now do what I told you. Let’s see if you’re as ready to do everything for someone else as you are for yourself for a change.
If you’re really loyal. Lie down, place one leg over the back of the bench, and keep the other on the ground. ”
My core pulsed at that, betraying me. I didn’t know what he was referring to when he said “loyal,” but I wasn’t going to play his games.
“No.”
He tilted his head, hovering over me. “No? Are you sure? Or do you want me to go take that deliberately sexy bikini off your sister before I film everything she does to me and show it to the whole world?”
I glared at him, my chest caving in. “She would never be with you or allow you to film her. She’s smarter than that.”
“Then why are you here warning me off her if you’re so sure she would resist me?”
Damn him, I fell right into that. The truth was, I didn’t know if Melody would resist him. Zach could be right up her alley. She’d said herself she found him hot. She’d also said she wasn’t interested in working-class guys, but did that rule out hooking up with them as well?
I could warn her. I could talk to her and tell her Zach could use her to hurt me, but what if Zach released that CCTV video then?
Shit.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt anyone else but me.”