Drayton
“She doesn’t look much different. Her hair is mostly blonde now. But… maybe… less emotion—cold? Or… angry? Maybe she’s nervous. If you ask me—”
“I’m not. Stop talking, Quinton.”
“I thought you said they were getting married?”
“They are.”
My eyes narrowed through the binoculars.
We were in the hotel across the street from Marian’s, watching her every move.
Or had been until she’d gone to the room next door.
We had cameras installed days before her arrival, but little good it did when she wasn’t inside.
She was with him. Bastian. He wasn’t supposed to be here.
From the short conversation she’d had with her friend as she stripped off her business clothes for a white sundress, she hadn’t been expecting him anymore than I had.
It didn’t even sound like she wanted Bastian here.
“His feelings look genuine. I think he really loves her. Don’t you think? It looks like it. But Marian. Why doesn’t she sit or… stop pacing?”
I lowered my hands, giving Quinton a look.
“I have no idea. I can’t even think with you talking so damn much.”
“Oh, fuck.”
My head snapped back to the front, and I jerked up the binoculars.
What I saw had my jaw clenching and immediate anger surfacing.
Had I thought taking her would be easy? Had I thought despite everything I knew to be true, somehow Marian would hold out for me?
That she would look… destroyed, like I felt?
Ha! She ruined me. She didn’t feel anything.
She probably reveled in how she destroyed my entire family.
Why would she be sad? Why would I think she felt guilty?
Because she hadn’t married since she left?
That wasn’t because of me; that was because of money.
Because of status. I wasn’t good enough.
I wasn’t rich enough. I wasn’t… French enough.
“I take my previous statement back. She’s not distant towards him anymore.
” Quinton paused as a small growl left me.
“She’s warming to him. Are you sure you want to take her?
Dray, you can’t still have feelings for her after seeing the way she’s looking at him right now.
I mean, sure, she’s fucking gorgeous. I am really digging the mostly blonde hair with red highlights. And that ass. Those curves—”
Quinton’s shoulders drew up, and his body locked as I clamped to the back of his neck in a death grip. The surprise was evident as he jerked to face me. His wide green eyes blinked, full of shock when it shouldn’t have been. I’d killed men for a lot less.
“You’re my cousin, but if you say one more word about her body or her looks, I’ll take out your tongue.” I squeezed harder. “Got it?”
“I got it. Wow… you still have feelings for her. Unbelievable. At least now I know how you really feel.”
“You did that on purpose.”
“I had to know. Now I do. Okay. I’m done testing you. I’ll help you take her. She’s yours.”
“She always has been.”
I brought the lenses back up to my eyes, watching as she peered up at Bastian while he talked.
The way he was gazing down at her. It made the heat that seethed inside me increase.
“Mine,” I repeated under my breath. “But you misunderstand my true intentions, Quinn. You think this is a cover, and that I’ll fall for her again.
I’ve always belonged to Marian, and she will always be mine.
I’ll always love her just as much as I hate her.
And that’s the issue. Love doesn’t always manifest in a positive way.
Sometimes love becomes tainted and dark.
It warps into something deadly. Marian is mine, but she’s mine to pay back.
Mine to hurt, however I want. Mine to… keep.
And I will make her pay. She owes me that. ”
“But… it’s okay to love her too. To forgive her, if that’s what you decide.”
I swallowed hard, staying silent as I watched Bastian move in to nuzzle her nose.
The vulnerability. The expression Marian had was laced with uncertainty.
I always could read her like a book. But why was she hesitant with his affection?
They’d been engaged for a while. Dating, half the time she’d been gone.
The press painted them as the perfect couple.
The pictures, the videos I’d seen over the years, they were nothing like what I was seeing now.
I knew not to trust the media, but there had to be some sort of chemistry.
My mind went over the flashes of the stories.
The clips. Bastian with his arm around Marian, leaning in smiling, so close to kissing her.
Them holding hands as they walked to different stores or events.
Marian with her arms looped around Bastian’s neck, gazing up at him as if she’d never done the same thing to me.
It didn’t look like an arranged marriage at all.
Love. It looked like love. Were they just having an argument?
What I was witnessing made my head spin.
Laughter came from the fiancé, and happiness flashed on her face, but it didn’t last. Bastian broke away, heading to the bar on the far side of the living room.
And my girl… the woman who tore my heart clean from my chest with her lies, fled right for me.
Right to the balcony where I could have a better view.
“Hey.” Quinton brought his binoculars down.
It was almost impossible for me to lower mine to face him with how the wind was blowing Marian’s hair.
Strands were wrapping around her face, only to go wild and suspend around her.
It was hypnotic. She was hypnotic. How had she gotten more beautiful?
Seeing her in person after all this time took my breath away, and I didn’t like that.
It only made me want to make her pay even more.
And maybe I would have thought more on that if her wiping a tear away hadn’t sidetracked me from my thoughts.
“Hey what?” I mumbled.
“The guys that are in the room next door, the ones you hired, didn’t they put devices on her balcony too? Do you think we could hear her?”
I took in the small size of each balcony and how close the two were, but I couldn’t wait for an answer to come. I was already moving to hit the button on my laptop. To hear her speak—to try to decipher what was truly on her mind. I needed that to better understand what the hell was going on.
Hitting the button, I turned up the volume, straining to hear something. Anything. Wherever the small microphone was, it wasn’t picking up wind. Just… traffic in the distance.
A sniffle.
Quinton’s gaze shot to me.
“Got it. They’re fucking good. Where did you find them?”
My mouth twisted. “We’ll talk about that later.”
I brought the binoculars back up, not taking my stare from Marian. Bastian was headed through the living room, getting closer to the door. His glass was still in his hand, and he quickly took a sip before opening the door to join her.
“This isn’t a good sign. Fresh air. Is it so hard for you to try to love me? You said you would be willing to give this a try but… Marian, you have to talk to me. Honesty. You said it earlier. I’d like to understand your aversion to love.”
“It’s not aversion,” she rushed out. “When I accepted your proposal, we agreed that we’d live separate lives. I said I’d give you heirs. That we’d spend holidays together, and you’d… you’d just keep the mistresses.”
“And I told you that you deserve better than that. Marian, I don’t want mistresses.
I’ve thought about it, trust me. What I want is real happiness.
I want a wife as devoted and strong and loving,” he said, turning her to face him, “as you. You took in Penny when she had no one. I’ve seen how much you can love.
I want that from you, but you’re hesitant.
I deserve to know why. Are you not attracted to me? ”
“Bastian.” Her head lowered towards his chest, only to come back up as he sat the glass on the edge of the balcony and pulled her in closer. “I’m very attracted to you.”
“Then, what is it? You’re not in love with anyone else. I know that to be a fact. You haven’t dated anyone since you got to London, before college. There haven’t been any lovers. Did Drayton Pennington hurt you so badly that you’re too afraid to try?”
“No one? For that long? But I thought—Surely, they must have—” Quinn’s voice was aghast.
“Shut up, Quinton.”
My heart was in my throat. Their relationship was a lie. The entire narrative was for show. And maybe Quinton was seeing that too. His breaths had all but stopped as we waited. But the truth changed nothing.
“Bastian, what you’ve heard—”
“You’re not comfortable speaking about it, and I’m not forcing you to relive the trauma he put you through.”
“Stop. Just.” Marian wiggled in his arms, but he appeared to only hold her tighter.
“What happened between me and Drayton… it’s not like what my mother probably told you.
” Her tone shifted, sounding lower with the anger that surfaced.
“Because of who my mother is, she sometimes thinks that the only story that is plausible or right is the one she invents in her mind. She psychoanalyzes everything. It’s her job.
It’s expected. But if I tell her something happened, she twists it into what she believes. ”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
Marian made an aggravated sound. “Drayton wasn’t a bad guy. Not back then. I… I loved him. I—”
“And he raped you. He dishonorably took your virginity. I wasn’t there, but I know the story.”
Again, Marian seemed to push back against him. I was gripping so tightly to the binoculars. I was sure they’d break at any moment under my grasp. Couldn’t he see she wanted him to let her go? Or did he not care?
“No one listens to me. You know my mother’s story. I’m trying to tell you mine, and I’m saying things didn’t happen like my mother told everyone.”
“Your mother said you may try to take this route and deny it.”
Marian’s fingers drew down on Bastian’s chest, gripping to his suit as she held on. With how her hair was blowing, it was impossible to see her face.
“I had some alcohol. I was not drunk, nor was I incapable of making a decision. My mother disagrees. She believes that because I was under the influence that it was impossible for me to give consent. Do you hear what I’m telling you? I did not say no.”
The slap against my bicep had me swallowing hard.
“I knew you didn’t fucking rape her. Even she knows that.”
“Little good that does me now. She said I did. She said the words to my parents. Everyone believed her lies. And she let them think that. She ruined me.”
Quinton got silent, and my anger only grew. Anger, yet I couldn’t deny that I was surprised by her admission. Why change her story now? Why tell the truth to him when she’d spent years keeping it quiet? She’d done nothing to set the record straight.
“I’m sorry, Marian, but—” Bastian cleared his throat.
“You were young. Very young, and your mother has told me about the intoxication. Your blood alcohol level that night was far beyond inebriated. She showed me the hospital lab report. What he did was no different than someone drugging your drink and taking advantage of you. That was exactly his plan from the beginning. Drayton Pennington raped you, whether you want to view it as assault or not. Had your parents not stepped in, I’m sure you would have never heard from him again after that night.
He used you, Marian. He took your virginity because that’s all he ever wanted. ”
I stiffened, glaring through the lenses.
“That’s not true.”
“It is. Drayton thrives from winning. And that’s all you were, Marian. A conquest. A number. He got what he wanted, and he moved on.”
“No. You don’t understand—”
“I do. You loved him. You just said so. It’s hard for you, if not impossible, to see the truth.
He’s a man. He’s a Pennington. They’re all the same.
Cowards. Lowlifes. I know, I’ve studied his family extensively.
I had to know what I was up against. You were only good for one thing in his eyes, and he got it. You meant nothing to him after that.”
“Bastian, you’re wrong about all of it. Drayton didn’t rape me. He loved me. We were going to get married. He was destroyed by what happened.”
“No. He was upset he got caught and his reputation was tarnished. What happened to him, he brought on himself.” He nuzzled his forehead to hers.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. You’re upset.
I’m sorry. I’ll make this better. You can trust me, Mon amour.
We’ll take this slow. Love will come once I can heal you.
Then you’ll see what we all do. You’ll understand how wrong his actions truly were. ”
“But—”
“Not another word,” he said, cutting her off in a clipped tone.
“Listen to me and listen well. You’re making excuses for him.
You have to see that you never knew him at all.
You only have to look at the man’s life now to realize his mindset.
You were lucky your parents found out when they did.
They saved you from what could have been a disaster.
Yes, he proposed. That’s only because he was trying to take your virginity.
He was willing to go as far as it took to get what he wanted.
Besides, who would he have turned you into had he convinced your parents to say yes?
How miserable would you be right now? I know it’s hard to think back to your past, but what happened was a blessing.
Give me time. I’m going to show you what real love is all about.
” A sob left her as he continued. “I’ll make you happier than he ever did. ”
“I hate that son of a bitch.” Quinton’s breaths were heavy. He turned to me, but I refused to look away from the couple. “We can’t let him get away with saying that, Dray. He didn’t just insult you. That motherfucker insulted us all.”
A shuddering breath left Marian, and she managed to turn right back to me.
But my focus wasn’t on her or the tears that continued down her face.
My attention was stuck to the man who was already curling in from behind, wrapping himself around her.
The way his eyes were closed, how he was breathing her in, what he’d said…
it almost made it impossible not to act.
“There are many things I’ve tolerated in my life.
Allowing someone to talk shit about me or my family has never been one of them.
” I brought down my arms, meeting my cousin’s glare.
“Bastian Allard was never making it out of this alive, Quinn. No one touches what’s mine and gets away with it.
What he’s doing now is showing me how much he’ll suffer.
The more he digs his own grave, the longer it’ll take him to find it. ”