Chapter 46
Mila
Tears become as easy as breathing. They just happen and continue to flow. My father ’ s calls never stop coming, but I don ’ t answer them.
This was it—the end.
But I ’ ll also have to endure seeing Dash. This would be my life until I found a way to escape it.
Nova joins me on the couch. She ’ s not one for tears, but she knows mine are not stopping anytime soon.
“ A part of me thought it was real when I accepted my fate. That night, Nova…it was like being back with the boy I knew. But it was just a lie so that he would seal the contract with my father.” A lie I begged him to tell me. And he did. He lied so damn well. I wanted that fairytale. I wanted to bind it into a book and hold it tight like a shield that would keep the monsters away as I slept.
I know it ’ s silly, stupid, and emotionally reckless, but I ’ m a girl, and we were taught to believe in fairytales. I ’ m just doing as I was raised. Dash is acting as he was raised, too. Boys are not told that prince charming will save them. They are taught to save themselves, to be their own hero.
Dash did; he sealed his heart off.
If only I were raised like a man was, I ’ d be strong and have thicker skin, and I ’ d always have the confidence to take what I needed. I wouldn't have to beg for respect because I would have been led to believe that it was owed to me.
“ Everything was planned down to the pictures.”I sigh. Dash finally confessed his love for me, over and over again. That was real, but it was tethered to the reality that they would cut the rope soon.
“ This is what it will be like. Dash will come to me, then leave as he wants. Who knows if he isn ’ t leaving me to be with another woman?” A man like him will eventually sleep with another. I know it. “ Dash has all the freedom, and I ’ m locked in the castle.” I throw my hands up. “ Nova, you said you would help me.”
Her lips tug up in a devious smirk, like a kid that was swinging their fork into the entire cake and not just a single slice. “ What exactly do you need help with, Mila?”
Nova has been waiting for this day. It ’ s her nature to corrupt and make men suffer, especially the Kings.
It didn ’ t escape my knowledge that she and Titan hooked up when we were on the island; I noticed her on the plane ride home and how Titan stayed closer to her side. He feared she would run away from him, too.
I think Nova approached Titan because he was the biggest and baddest predator at Empire University; she saw him as the ultimate victory. She wanted to fuck his body and his mind, but I think along the way, she started to feel something for him. Her actions regarding her relationship with Titan were like seismic shifts; some days, she was violent toward him, and others were like small tremors, and she welcomed him into her dorm room.
“ The king ’ s way or the coward ’ s?” Nova questions me. It wasn ’ t the first time she asked me this. I could run and hide, accept my fate, or I could do what a king would do and fight to the death.
“ I could never kill Dash, Nova. I love him. Plus, it ’ s not like we would really kill him. I know you ’ re joking about that.” I bit my lip. Plotting an escape is new, and I have no idea where to start.
“ So what do you want, Mila? Are you happy with this life of yours?”
Something dark takes root in my belly, churning and thrashing till it grabs hold of my mind. Vengeance. That ’ s what I want. I don ’ t just want to escape.
“ I want to make Dash feel as I do,” I admit. There are stages of grief, and right now, I want to hurt Dash. How could he love me so fiercely and then let me go? Why wasn ’ t I enough?
“ And how do you feel?” Nova ’ s voice sounds like a sweet and sour candy. It makes my cheeks pucker, but my tongue salivates for more.
I sit taller, embracing this new me. My eyes now feel dry.
“ Alone. I want Dash to feel alone.”
◆◆◆
A few weeks later.
I was starting to come to terms with the fact that Nova wasn ’ t who she claimed to be. After our conversation, it took her less than sixty seconds to call a friend and have a fake identity made for me. I ’ m not normal—look who I ’ m married to—but I don ’ t have a person on speed dial who can make me an ID that is CIA-level good.
“ Have you ever used a fake ID before?” I ask as I grab a lollipop and watch her flat iron her long black hair. I insisted on going with her to pick up the ID, but she refused. Maybe she needs to keep this person ’ s identity secret.
“ Look at me, at my body. I didn ’ t need a fake ID to get into clubs.”
“ I ’ m talking about more than underage drinking.” I question.
Has she made a new identity before? I think she has. Why else would this be so easy for her?
I think you ran before Nova, which is why you have a clear understanding of all the dirty details I need to stay hidden.
Who did you escape, Nova?
She hesitates, leaving the flat iron on the ends of her hair until smoke appears, her eyes clash with mine in the mirror. “ Don ’ t ask silly questions, Mila.” Her words feel like a knife being sharpened. She will use it, and cut me to pieces if I keep poking her.
“ It ’ s not silly.” I hold her glare. “ I ’ ve poured my heart out to you. You can do the same.” Deep down, Nova craves our friendship, but her past stops her from trusting others.
“ I don ’ t have a heart to pour out.” She finally moves the iron again. “ It was taken from me long ago.”
“ By who?”
She rolls her eyes. “ This is your moment, not mine.”
“ I ’ ll miss you when I escape.” I just want her to know that someone cares about her. Sometimes, just knowing that one person is thinking about you can save a struggling soul.
Her eyes look at her reflection in the mirror. “ That ’ s sweet,” she sarcastically responds.
“ I will.” I nod as I slide off the bed. “ Please be careful tonight.”
“ Careful is boring.”
“ You ’ re crazy.”I exhale and shake my head.
“ I know. It ’ s so much more fun this way.”
◆◆◆
Today, a photo of Dash with a supermodel was leaked, and even though I knew it was fake, it felt real. I saw her straddled on his lap as he sat back with a grin in a club.
It hurts, and that pain feeds the beast inside my heart.
I ’ ll make him hurt when I leave!
I refuse to be shoved aside and kept safe like a prized stag he hangs on his wall. Nova would never allow that, nor would I.
“ Are you ok?” Blaze asks me as he pushes open the door. He insists on walking me back to my dorm, even though Dash ’ s guard stays twenty feet behind me at all times now.
For the first time in my life, I want to hurt Dash—badly.
Dash is a sunken ship I have run adrift on. As the tides in my life change, Dash is dragging me under with him.Trying to bury me under the water like a lost treasure.
I only hope Nova can pull through and help me escape. Running isn ’ t the end game. Dash will rip apart the world to find me. Eventually, he will. The point of running is to make Dash suffer. While he ’ s searching for me, he ’ ll be suffering, questioning everything, and feeling the loss of control.
I refuse to be shoved aside. I will be loved or hated, not both!
“ Mila?”
Shit! I forgot about Blaze.
“ I ’ m fine.” I raise my arms and pull my messy bun tighter.
“ You ’ ve changed ever since your wedding,” Blaze sneers. “ Did Dash force you, Mila?” His eyes watch me with diligence, like a best friend who would avenge my honor. He thinks Dash forced me into his bed.
“ No.”
Blaze steps in front of me, blocking the dorm entrance. “ I know you have feelings for me, Mila, and I know that wedding was a sham. Not once did you ever mention it to me, for fuck ’ s sake it wasn’t suppose to happen until after we graduated!”
Um, what?
Is he insinuating that our relationship is more than a friendship?
What did he think that between now and graduation, I ’ d fall in love with him before I was forced to marry Dash?
I'm so confused! Blaze knows I am contracted to marry Dash. Where is this coming from?
“ Did you want an invitation?” I cross my arms, shielding my heart from being hurt again. Please don ’ t do this, Blaze. Don ’ t cross the line.
He leans closer. “ I would have helped you.”
I look at his stomach, where the scar from Dom was hidden under his shirt. “ You helped enough.”
His eyes darken before they look down at my lips. No, Blaze, don ’ t go there and ruin what we have.
I ’ d never turn a friendship into a relationship, no matter how badly I wanted to hurt Dash.
“ Blaze, just drop it.” I try to take a step toward my dorm. His emerald green eyes boil. Then he grabs my shoulders, spins me around, and slams his lips down on mine.
What the fuck!
I freeze for a moment.Why the hell does this keep happening to me?
The only fact that stops my panic attack from going full-blown is knowing the guard is nearby.
I try to shove Blaze away, but he doesn ’ t budge. He tries pushing his tongue into my mouth, but I pound my fist against his chest. He finally steps back. “ The Kings are not the only ones with power around here, Mila. Remember that.” his words are stern, but his eyes look regretful.
What the hell has come over him? He ’ s going to throw away our friendship for a stolen kiss!
Something isn ’ t right. He would never do this unless…he was ordered to.
Did Dash pay him to do this?
No. Dash ’ s wounds are still too fresh. I ’ d expect this to happen a few months from now, not days after our wedding.
I lift my hand and wipe his kiss off my lips. Why do all the men in my life think they can take so easily from me?
I spot Dash ’ s guard in the distance, phone in hand, as he leaves me to follow Blaze. Then, from the far corner, I see a familiar face. Anders is leaning against the Economics building, eyes trained on me as if distance doesn ’ t disturb his focus. His tattoos contrast against his pale skin in the sunlight. He just stands there, unmoving or blinking, as he watches me.
Why is he here?
I turn away and rush inside. I don ’ t care if Blaze will be punished for this. He just ruined the friendship we had! As the elevator brings me up to the third floor, so does my anger. That all vanishes when I notice blood on the doorknob. I hesitate, noting the front door isn ’ t fully shut. I ’ m about to turn and run when I remember Nova. She never texted me that she got back from getting my fake ID; she also warned me not to text her, leaving me in suspense. I had no idea if she would be back in an hour or a week.
I grab my phone and call Dash. Ring, ring…ring, ring. Pick up! Come on, pick up the phone!
Naturally, he doesn ’ t answer my call. Most likely, he ’ s still on the phone with his guard.
The hallway lights make the blood on the doorknob glisten like a ruby in a jewelry store, calling out for me to come closer and inspect it.
It ’ s all fine. Knowing Nova, she just cut herself and rushed inside to clean the cut. Right? I mean, she ’ s reckless and wild, and she rides that motorbike; maybe she fell. Yes. She fell off her bike, but she ’ s fine; it's just a few cuts and bruises.
I nudge the door open. I keep my phone in my hand in case I need to call for help.Maybe she ’ s hurt, but not hurt enough for me to blow our entire plan to shreds.
An eerie emptiness fills the living room. Nova ’ s door is open; the shower is running.
Nova never leaves her door open. She guards her room like her heart, only allowing others to see what she allows.
I force a swallow down as I step into her room. Years of ballet taught me how to have a dancer ’ s graceful steps that could go unheard if I chose to make them that way.
“ Nova,” I call out. Walking towards the restroom, I call out again, “ Nova, are you ok?”
No answer.
Lord help me! Knowing Nova, this is all a joke to scare me.
A cold steam hits my face, filling my nose as it rushes past me to escape the bathroom. “ Nova, you ’ re scaring me,” I admit when I reach the shower.
Still no response.
I reach my hand out and pull back the curtain.A gasp breaks free from my lips. Blood mixes with the cold water, flowing like a weeping river, begging for help as it sinks down the drain, and there at the bottom of the shower is my strong, confident roommate, only she ’ s all beaten up.