Chapter 24 Reyna
REYNA
Not to be dramatic or anything, but I really need to see a doctor.
Today, ideally.
Actually, I change my mind. I might push it out for another week. See if it improves on its own before I fork over copious funds to receive basic medical care.
I don’t think it’s normal for anyone’s head to hurt this bad. Maddox owes me Advil, Tylenol, Xanax, and antihistamines (just in case) for the shit I’ve experienced in the past twenty-four hours.
Groaning, I inch onto my side. I think my ribs are broken, bruised, or I possibly slept wrong. Either way, I’m going to be out of action for the foreseeable future.
Peeling my eyes open, I squint against the sliver of light seeping in from beneath the door. It penetrates to the very back of my eyeballs like a damn ice pick. Pain zaps through my body as I attempt to stand. It takes three tries to make it up onto my very unsteady feet.
My lids fall closed to protect me from the light.
I have to head toward the door using nothing but my memory and the will of the gods that I don’t knock into something.
My heavy legs and weak knees almost send me tumbling twice in my mission to get to the room directly across from me, thinking Maddox—or the bathroom—will be there.
I stumble to a stop when the door opens, both because it’s blinding and because I don’t think I should be in here.
It’s an art studio. It feels like an invasion of privacy to step inside, but the sculpture in the center of the room beckons me closer. I can’t bring myself to leave, and just like that, the light is almost bearable, the pounding in my head a distant memory.
That’s one thing I’ve always admired about Maddox—and what critics have been discussing since he entered the art scene. He’s never stuck to one medium. Going from clay, to oil paint, to marble, to photography, to watercolor. He’s a natural at anything related to the arts. Killing included, I guess.
I narrow my eyes on a marble sculpture sitting on a table in the middle of the room. It’s half cloaked in a white sheet that my fingers are itching to pull away.
From what I can see, a two-headed serpent climbs up the staff strapped to a woman’s back. Poison ivy coils around her hand, pointing up to the heavens. A cross between armor and some kind of silken fabric covers her body, only leaving the hole in her chest exposed.
When I step forward to take a closer look at the half-painted canvas on the easel behind the sculpture, another wave of nausea rolls through me. My arms shoot out toward the floating shelves for balance as my joints nearly buckle instead of supporting my weight.
A whole minute passes before my equilibrium falls back in line. I push away from the shelf, and even though I’m certain I’m a fall risk, I grip the banister and ease myself down the stairs. Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other.
At the bottom, the only thing I’m more certain about is that my brain is going to detonate. I need to lie down. Pronto. Sleep. Cry. Sleep again. Water would be great too.
Getting to the very last step takes all my focus. So much so that I don’t hear the voices until I stumble into the kitchen to find three people staring at me.
Swallowing, I lean against the doorframe because if I don’t, I’ll be acquainting myself with the floor. I’m sure I look horrific. Based on how the woman is gawking at me, I can only assume that however bad I think I look, the truth is eight times worse.
Spencer turns to a very pissed-off Maddox. He sticks his bottom lip out in a pout. “You had a slumber party and didn’t invite me?” He ignores his older brother’s death glare to face me. “Well, it appears introductions are in order—”
“Fuck off.” Steam is practically coming out of Maddox’s ears as he crosses the room to him.
Spencer chuckles, swerving around the counter to put the kitchen island between them. He gestures toward the woman. “I don’t believe you’ve met Abi—”
“I mean it,” Maddox growls out, panicked. “Fuck off right—”
“Maddox’s fiancée,” Spencer finishes.
“You fucking cunt.”
His… She can’t be.
I turn my head slowly and pale when my eyes clash with the woman’s—Abi’s. Her cheeks redden as she offers me a tight-lipped smile. “That’s me.”
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
My knuckles bleach around the doorframe. This can’t be happening. Any second now they’re going to say sike. They’re going to confess that this is one big joke and that my serial-killing, fuck-buddy professor is not also a cheating bastard.
But no one denies it.
No one even tries to suggest it’s something it’s not. Tears sting my eyes. I’m still paying for the events of last night. This bombshell is tipping me over the edge. It hurt less to be thrown against the wall.
“Have a seat.” Maddox approaches me cautiously. “It’s not—”
The crack of a slap rings through the air, and his head whips to the side. “You motherfucking piece of shit.”
“Oh, fuck,” Spencer mutters.
I can take grievous bodily harm. Hell, I can even take serial killing. Cheating? That’s where I draw the line.
Tears burn down my cheeks, and I want to throttle Maddox for it. After everything he did—everything he said—it turns out that he’s getting married? How is his relationship status not public knowledge? How didn’t I know? What the hell was the point of last night’s demand if he’s engaged?
He declared his feelings for me a hundred different ways less than twenty-four hours ago.
I was considering being with him knowing he killed people as a hobby.
Now this? It doesn’t matter if I believed a word he said anymore, because the fact of the matter is that he used me.
I would’ve never agreed to do the things we did if I had known he was in love with another woman.
I thought we could never be because of our positions, but it turns out it was the difference in relationship status.
He didn’t choose me. He doesn’t care about me.
I’m the other woman. The second choice.
The one who gets left behind.
“Rey—”
This time, he wraps me in his arms before I can knee him in the balls.
“Fiancée? Are you fucking kidding me? I trusted you,” I hiss, wrestling an arm free from his hold. Why is he trying to touch me when she’s right there? “You lying, two-timing piece of shit. You—”
“Let me explain—”
He doesn’t get the chance to before I throat-punch him. He rears back, sputtering a cough. I’ve bought myself thirty seconds at most since my limbs lacked the power.
I don’t wait for him to recover to bolt for my satchel on the counter. I’m a fucking coward for being too mortified to look her in the eye, thinking a whispered “I’m so sorry” is enough to say to her after the damage I caused.
I’m back in Maddox’s arms before I get the chance to make it to the door.
“Out. Now,” Maddox snarls at his brother and his fiancée while he easily clamps both my arms to my sides. They scramble out, leaving me alone with Maddox. Bile lurches up my throat. My head is screaming from trying so hard to fight him off. “Reyna, calm down.”
Calm down? This motherfucker.
“Let go of me,” I hiss. Dots form in my vision.
“Jesus Christ, woman. Stay still for two minutes so I can exp—”
“No,” I growl, elbowing him weakly in the stomach. “You don’t get to call the shots, asshole. There is nothing you can say because I’m not going to listen to a word that comes out of your lying fucking mouth. I hate—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, or—”
“Or what?” I suck in a sharp breath, and flinch back. “Never mind, don’t answer that one.”
“Bloody hell.” He spins me around, and I just about pass out from the sloshing of my brain. Steady hands gripping the back of my neck to force me to look at him. “I’m going to say this once, and only once: I am willing to hurt everyone around you, but I will never hurt you.”
“And her.” I sound so disgustingly bitter, I don’t recognize myself. Does she know about what he does? Shit, shouldn’t she be here yelling her head off at me—or him—for the things we’ve done?
“It’s an arranged marriage,” he blurts.
That stops me. Only for a second.
“Bullshit,” I seethe.
“It’s the truth. She means nothing to me.”
I scowl, relishing in the pain along my cheek. Maddox doesn’t strike me as the type of man who would sneak around with other women. He especially doesn’t strike me as the type who’d say things without meaning it.
Maybe he’s telling the truth. She didn’t seem to care much that I walked down the steps wearing nothing but his shirt. And she left without saying a word to me.
It still doesn’t change that he lied.
I start struggling in his grip again. “I don’t care if she’s your pretend fiancée. I’m not going to be anyone’s mistress. Least of all yours.”
“I’ve never cared about her—never have and never will.”
“I don’t give a shit! You lied to me. You made me believe that I was the only one and you—”
He slams his lips against mine. It halts my traitorous body from its attack. Warmth curls all the way down to my toes because the kiss is filled with more intimacy than any other time our lips have met.
Maddox pulls away before I can come to my senses. His hoarse breath heats my lips as he presses our foreheads together. “I’ve never had the chance to choose before, and I’m sick of being complacent with the cards I’ve been dealt. It’s you. I’m picking you.”
Lie. Lie. Lie.
“Stop lying,” I croak.
“Only you.”
I wish that were true.
“Always,” he whispers against my lips.
Tears sting my eyes. “I don’t believe you.” How can any of it be real if he kept this from me? I understand hiding that he’s a serial killer, but keeping a fiancée from me?
He grips the back of my neck, making sure he has my full attention. “I see you in every room, even if you’re not there. Everything I’ve told you is true. I’ve killed for you, Reyna. I’ve done things for you that no good man would do. There’s only you for me.”
The butterfly wings flutter and send tendrils of warmth over me. Last night’s events and years of insecurities make it hard to trust in what he’s saying. I wouldn’t pick me, so why would he?
“Please. Stop.” I choke on my tears. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I give you my word, Reyna. I’m going to end the engagement.”
He should have told me he was engaged before revealing his identity. What if I decided that his engagement alone is unforgivable? That this betrayal trumps all of the violence he causes?
I’m tired of all the secrets. They’re the only thing I seem to get.
Maddox holds me tighter when I try to leave. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I demand.
“I was going to last night, but you looked like you were going to faint and I didn’t want to put more on your plate if it was going to make your injuries worse.”
My hands tremble. “Is that why she was here this morning? You were going to come clean?”
“Yes, but my shit-stirring brother tagged along to meddle in my business as payback for looking out for him.” He scowls. “This is the first time she’s stepped foot in my house.”
I shake my head, wiping away my tears. None of this makes any sense. “So what? You’re leaving her? Your fiancée—whatever her name is.”
“Abigail,” he provides, frowning as he massages the back of my neck.
I wish he wouldn’t, though. I wish he’d stand on the other side of the room.
“I was never technically with her. We can barely stand being in the same room as each other. We haven’t been able to since our parents arranged this engagement four years ago to profit their businesses. I never wanted the bloody thing.”
“What is this? The fourteenth century?” Who arranges a marriage for a business deal?
“Of course not. There wasn’t any dowry,” he deadpans.
I usually like this side of him—the angry humor. It’s a part of him that had seemed reserved just for me. But right now I just feel flayed open.
“I mean it, Reyna. I’m ending it,” Maddox promises.
This time when he says it, part of me believes him. The most broken part that wants to trust him. But it makes sense, right? He wouldn’t risk prison or ruining his career if his intention was to make me the other woman. I mean… he wouldn’t, would he?
“Then why did you agree to the engagement?” Convince me that this isn’t an elaborate ruse.
He hardens, and for a second I think he’s going to evade the answer. “It was a question of whether the burden would fall on me or my brother. Back then, the answer was always me.”
That’s chivalrous. I guess.
If it’s a question of choosing me or his brother… I swallow. “And now?”
“I’m putting myself first.”
Tugging at the hem of my shirt, I purse my lips. “Since it was arranged, won’t there be… consequences for breaking the engagement? Won’t your parents be mad? Won’t… What about the business?”
Maddox scoffs. The facade he wears so well glimmers on the surface, threatening to solidify.
“Fuck them. I’ve been their loyal errand boy for as long as I’ve existed. They’ll have to deal with whatever decision I make. I am not asking for permission, nor do I care for their forgiveness. You’re mine, and I will sooner make my bed in the earth than tie myself to anyone who isn’t you.”
I work my jaw, debating whether to demand an explanation of everything he’s mentioned. Like what type of business deal could involve a marriage? What else have his parents forced him to do? What could they have possibly done to make him who he is?
“Does she know about… you know.” I wave my hand in a general direction I’m sure a kill has taken place in. “The whole murder thing.”
“Murder thing? Reyna, love, repeat after me: I’m a serial killer.” His lips twist into a half-hearted smirk. “However, I’ll settle for a bloody artist, as well.”
How he’s making jokes out of the situation is beyond me. Deep down I know he’s trying to stop me from spiraling, but I can’t fucking take it. Everything is crashing around me, and he’s the cause of the destruction. “You know what I’m talking about.”
He tucks my hair behind my ear. “No, she doesn’t know exactly what I’ve done.”
“Do your parents?”
Frowning, I see the exact moment that I lose him. Something switches behind his eyes. A thought or a memory. I’m back to questioning how many secrets he’s hiding from me. I don’t want to keep living in the dark.
“Just give me time to figure out how to end things without causing an explosion in the process. I can’t risk you.” He cups my cheek, changing the subject. “Let me be your monster, love. It’s always been dark around my soul, and you’ve made me hungry for more.”
I swallow, trying to hide my disappointment. “I need time to think.”
“As much time as you need. I’ll be here waiting for you. For as long as it takes.”