Chapter 41 #2
I barely managed to mumble a confirmation as my eyes once again met hers. So close. I could probably count her eyelashes. But my attention shifted to our breaths mingling.
Only Yann’s clearing his throat saved me from doing something stupid.
“Maybe you need some alone time?”
I frowned, yet once again didn’t manage to say a word as Sophie’s response surprised me.
“If it’s not too rude.” A shy smile touched her lips.
Yann chuckled. “Then let’s meet for dinner again. Maybe at seven?” He took Nessa’s hand to help her stand. “We have news to share.”
I raised a brow, yet judging by Sophie’s enthusiastic expression, it seemed I was the only one in the dark. Nessa winked at me as they passed toward the exit with Yann muttering about how she’d told Sophie first.
“What was that?” I asked when they’d left.
“Well… if I tell you now, I am afraid Yann would take his approval on Atlas expansion back… So…”
“I am great at keeping secrets!”
“While true… at faking amusement you are horrible.”
“Oh. So it is an amusing secret?”
Her face told me exactly what she thought of my deductive skills. She scoffed.
“Nessa told me something… And perhaps I am looking too much into it…” She played with her engagement ring, as her eyes traced the grapevines woven through the pergola above. “Did Sebastian die from an overdose?”
“Unfortunately,” I said the word slowly, tilting my head to the right. “The overdose part was true.”
“Sebastian’s mother mentioned enjoying a show of his torture. That seemed strange, and I thought she was mad-talking. But he was in Kosvenia when news of him dying of an overdose came. And your cousin basically rules here for as long as I’ve known. I thought…” She shrugged.
Was that disappointment in her voice?
“The overdose part was true,” I repeated. “Didn’t calculate the dose I gave him.” I poked my cheek from the inside. “Though maybe it was better. There wasn’t much left of him by that time.”
She froze. “You… what?”
“He… was initially hiding in another country. Yann got him here. We framed everything,” I said as I tried to stand. My neck and back ached from sitting so long.
“Viik,” she called, her voice tight with worry.
When I glanced at her to let her know I was fine, she pulled me back, her nails nearly digging into my skin.
“You said there wasn’t much left of him by the time he got overdosed. What did you mean?”
I looked down where her fingers dug into my arm. “That he was barely functioning?”
“Viktor!”
She grabbed me tighter. And the way she snarled my name… I liked it.
“What did you do to him?” she asked again, her full attention on my face.
But I couldn’t face her, my gaze shifting to everything but her.
“If you really want, I can tell you. But I don’t think you need the details.”
“I want to!” She shifted in her place.
My hand shook, but before I could reach for her, I put it in my trouser pocket. “Hm… Would you forgive me if I sugarcoated it a bit?”
“Was it that violent?” Her voice shook, but she didn’t seem scared.
I bit my lower lip, unsure how to answer. One would say violent enough. In reality, I wished he’d stayed alive longer. So I could put him through another circle of hell. For each time he’d bragged about what he’d done to her.
I closed my eyes as a sardonic laugh escaped me.
What had he been thinking, bragging to my face about how he’d enjoyed her? Mocked her… Called her names…
Had he been enjoying poking my wounds? Wanted to see how much I could take before I snapped? Because I did. And I enjoyed every second of each scream, each plea for mercy. All of it in between the other things.
“I only made sure he felt on his own skin what it’s like to be… taken advantage of.” My jaw muscles moved.
There were times I felt like a monster remembering his broken face. Even now. Was I better than him after all of that?
I made the images go away, opened my eyes but still couldn’t make myself look at her. “Let’s say there was no shortage of eager hands.”
Yann didn’t approve of my enthusiasm when I suggested we send his cut parts to the Moreaus. So I was left with only a copy of the recording of our work. Control over the Durets, in case they decided to pursue a lawsuit or revenge.
That recording of their son’s disgrace was the last thing they’d wish to see circulated in our circles.
“You didn’t…?”
“I think his mother referred to that when she mentioned the spectacle. Yann sent a copy to them as well.”
“What? Why?”
“They were spreading rumors that you were the one who’d taunted their son. That recording was supposed to shut them up. He was drugged too, so…” I shrugged.
She froze for a few seconds before saying quietly, “It seemed like he was happy. Yes? And was he laughing?”
My heart seized at the comment. She remembered some of it, didn’t she?
“Yes,” I rasped.
“Did Durets know it was you?”
“They may have guessed. Or thought it was your family.” I couldn’t be sure. “They were warned. One wrong move and the recording becomes public domain, along with other material.”
“Like?”
“More on the business side.”
“Oh. So was it you… or Yann who blocked their business?”
“Not only. Your father played the main part. I just pushed where he didn’t reach.”
She nodded, finally lightening her grasp, but her hand stayed on my forearm. “And this last time…”
“Still angry that I blocked it?”
“We nearly lost a fortune!”
“We didn’t,” I said, facing her unimpressed stare. “Okay, perhaps a fraction. But you’re not angry because of that, are you?”
She scoffed. “I guess. I was more angry that you didn’t talk to me about it.”
“I promise I will. From now on.”
Not that I would have another option once our marriage contract was rewritten and she had legal authority to reverse any of my decisions. I would keep my promise, even without a legal binding. And all of this, if she decided to give me another chance.
“Good.” She let out another breath. “Anything else?”
My eyes narrowed. “Like?”
She crossed her arms. “Like something else you did for me that I didn’t figure out on my own? Yet.”
I blinked. Not like I’d done something for her. Only tried to fix my own mistakes.
As much as that was possible.
“Okay then.” She looked toward the garden, then stood. “I think we should return. You’d be thrilled once you get the news.” A smile appeared on her lips with said words.