Chapter 13
Love is typed in bold letters on my heart. In such a short time, I feel as if I can’t breathe on my own without him.
We walk together to our dorm, and he stops at the top of the stairs. “Stay the night with me.”
“Not tonight.”
He pouts, looking so adorably cute that it makes me wanna give in on the spot.
“I know I’m intense.”
“You’re the best kind of intense.”
“If you say so, princess.”
A sense of lightness washes over me, bathing me in happiness. I wave from my door and slip inside. All three of my friends are eating in front of the TV.
“That grin is like a light bulb,” Blake says, chuckling.
“How was it?” Bailey asks, excitement flickering in her eyes.
Walking to them, I plop on the couch between her and Kaden, sighing dreamingly.
“It was spectacular. We went to the race track, and then we went to dinner. Yes, I ate a bit more this time. Thank you very much.”
“Abi—” Kaden says.
“Not tonight. Tonight, I’m just a regular girl coming back home from the best date ever to my family, who is happy that I am happy.”
“So, we’re taking the stupid route. Terrific,” Kaden says.
“What’s your problem?”
“What’s my problem? Really?” Kaden jerks his chin to Blake. “Come on, man, help me out here. It’s as if his dick pulverized her rationality.”
“It’s not that… I… I love him.”
The air gets sucked from the room, and panic transforms the guys’ faces. I squeeze my eyes shut, and Bailey hugs me. “We’re going to find a way.”
“There is no fucking way. Not now,” Kaden insists.
“Kaden, please…”
Blake looks at me and says, “He’s right, though.”
“So, what am I supposed to do? I will only have him for a while.”
“Dane doesn’t strike me as the guy who would let go just like that,” Blake retorts.
It is another reason why I am so drawn to him. Knowing that he would stick around and do reckless things just to be with me assures me. Maybe that’s another reason I behave so stupidly.
“Love is more about being selfless,” Kaden says.
“And what did that bring you? Ever since Celine was sent away, you grieve as if she died.”
“Abi.”
“You all stop Abi-ing me. I know, okay? But this might be the only time in my life that I feel like this. Do you think I willingly invited him into my heart, into my life? You should know this never works like that. It simply happens—two people connecting on a visceral level.”
Done with the worried looks they cast my way, I go to my bedroom.
My sour mood vanishes when I receive a message from Dane.
Thinking of you. You’re always on my mind. Good night, princess.
My heart melts, and my fears back down, allowing me to enjoy these moments.
I shower the day off, and heat pinches at my skin when I think about being on Dane’s hood with him between my legs, owning my body. Those images are so vivid, they turn me into a wanton mess. So I wash myself quickly, and after toweling off, I change into a pair of silk shorts and a top.
As I lie in bed, his words hit me. His brain is not screwed up, it just functions differently. I hope that whatever direction life pulls us in, we’ll find each other again when I am free.
All traces of happiness vanish when the first tear rolls down my cheek.
A knock raps on my door, but I ignore it. Kaden peeks his head inside and approaches my bed.
“I don’t deserve comfort when I was a bitch.”
“What are we, Abi, if not best friends? You’re the sister I would die to protect. It’s funny because Bailey is the baby of our family, yet I will always look after you first.”
I hug him, taking solace from his embrace. “I understand now. Kaden, I don’t want to lose him.”
“I’m trying my best…”
“I know.”
“But what I can promise you is we’re going to be free. I’d rather take a good few days with Celine and you guys than stay here and pretend I even care about their legacy.”
“I’d take them too.”
“Just don’t do anything stupid now, okay? We still got options. We have started funneling money.”
“Kaden…”
“I know, but money will get us out quicker.”
***
The next day, my phone rings, and I pat the nightstand in search of it. I answer without looking.
“My dear.” Felix’s gruff voice chills me. Every baby hair on my body stands up, and I scoot into a sitting position. My pulse skyrockets, making me want to run as fast and as far away as I can. Sweat gathers at my nape. My brain goes into overdrive.
Felix knows. No, he can’t.
I take tiny breaths out and force cheer into my voice. “Uncle Felix, good morning.”
“I’m going to send my driver to pick you up.”
“We’ll be there.”
“Just you and me, Abigail.”
I gulp and try to sound nonchalant while I am shivering on the inside.
“When?”
“That is the response you should have given me from the start. Lunch at my office.”
“I’m sorry.” Apologizing sends a wave of disgust through me.
When Felix hangs up, alarms blare in my head, activating a panic attack that has me gasping for air. Breathing in and out in a soothing rhythm, I try to control my anguish. With trembling hands, I change into my uniform, telling myself it’s just paranoia, but it does little to calm me.
I walk into the kitchen where all three of my friends congregate around the kitchen table. I plop down on the empty chair like a ball of nerves. Kaden asks. “What happened?”
“I have a lunch ‘date’ with your father.”
Blake’s fork clanks on his plate, and Bailey’s eyes fill with panic.
“What if he knows about Dane?”
I shake my head, hoping it’s not that. “I think it has to do with that test I took. I’m one lucky girl. Yay.” I force a smile on my face.
“I’m coming with you,” Kaden says.
My palms turn clammy, and I rub them on my thighs. “No, he said just me.”
“Fuck.”
“It’s going to be okay.” My voice doesn’t quiver, and I count it as a small win.
I’m not afraid of Felix, but of what he is capable of.
“We’re going to be late for classes,” I say, needing to change the topic to ease my frayed nerves.
“Only you could think of classes now,” Blake grumbles and resumes scarfing down his omelet.
I’m the first to leave and go to class.
All my thoughts vanish when I see Dane sitting at his desk, legs spread. He cocks his head, his eyes getting hungrier with every step I take in his direction.
He shoots up, and my heart trips over a few beats as I reach him. One hand cups the back of my neck, dragging me closer to him. His lips linger above mine, and tingles dance on my hungry lips. And when he dips his face one inch before our mouths meet, my need has me yanking at his jacket, demanding and wanting more. I live for his kisses. I love them because he kisses with his entire body.
He nips and nibbles my lips in a tantalizing rhythm. Lifting me by my ass, he places me on the desk, caging me between his arms as he kisses down my neck, sucking on the sensitive skin that makes me ache for more. His teeth rake over my vein, making me a mess filled with want.
We fly apart when the door flies open, and students fill the room. Feeling flushed, I avoid their inquisitive glances. I straighten my skirt, saying to no one in particular, “What’s the problem? Go to your seats.”
They scurry to their places, and Dane says, “That bossy voice is actually hot.”
“I hate the stares.”
This day started awful, so why did I think it would get better? And not even Dane’s hungry kisses helped to keep up my cheerful mood.
The meeting with Felix looms, chilling my bones.
When the bell rings, I rush to the door before Dane can stop me and walk out of the school building. With nerves eating at my composure, I take the cobblestone path and press call on my phone.
“Hi, Mother.”
“Hello, Abigail, why are you calling?”
I don’t know, maybe because you’re my mother.
“How are you?”
“Busy.”
Doing what? I groan, and she catches that. No child should feel this inept when talking to the one who gave them life.
“Abigail, I am not in the mood for your childish behavior. I am so disappointed in you, going behind our backs like that. You should be ashamed.”
Ashamed? Of what? Of wanting to test myself, to know I could make it on my own without the name I have, the family I was born into, and the legacy shackled around my ankles? I’m a glorified prisoner.
“I’ve reached the jetway. I have to go.”
She hangs up, and my hand drops to my side like my spirit. I scroll through my contacts, dialing my father next. I must be in a particularly masochistic mood, but maybe it will numb me by the time I face Felix.
“Abigail, I don’t know why you can’t behave.”
“But, Father, it was innocent. I didn’t think much of the test.”
“You will go to Eagleton College, marry Kaden, and produce an heir. That’s your duty.”
All I can do is scream on the inside. Pain suffocates me, but I have to do damage control, so I call Grandmother next to apologize in advance.
The butler picks up. Thomas has so many roles in Grandmother’s life that I’m pretty sure he’s indispensable to her.
“Ms. Voss, a pleasure.”
“Hi, Thomas. Can I talk to Grandmother really quick?”
“She asks if it’s important.”
“I wanted to apologize.”
The small grunt makes me doubt whether she even knows, which is absurd; Felix is an extension of her.
“Yes, Abigail, what is it?”
I tell her everything and the silence on the other end persists. I hold a breath, awaiting my judgment.
“Grandmother?”
“My dear, people will always fear smart people because they make the average person feel insecure. Now, add that to you being a woman, and it becomes clear that men are such insecure creatures. Humans are indeed a pathetic race. I’ll see you soon.”
I stare at my phone, dumbfounded. Was that a compliment? Her voice always sounds so flat and controlled. I can’t tell the difference.
When I turn around, I see Dane leaning against the wall. His presence obliterates any other thought, completely owning my attention.
He has that cancer stick between his lips, and it’s time for a better strategy.
I sashay my way over to him, and confusion digs between his eyebrows. In a swift move, I yank the smoke from his lips, and the corners of his sinful lips curl up until I put it between mine. Dragging in a lungful, my chest rocks with a fit of coughing.
The taste is disgusting. Char sticks to my gums, but I have a point to make. He grabs my hand, but I take another hit and another one, dizzying myself. Then I smile when he throws the package in the bin.
I stomp on the one I almost killed myself with.
“Happy?”
“I would have been if I didn’t have to use such a drastic method. I haven’t seen you smoking in a while.”
“I just felt like it…”
It hits me strongly how capable we are of wrecking each other. I take a step back. We have so much power over each other, it’s thrilling yet also scary.
“Princess, whatever you’re thinking right now, ban it.”
“What if we’re not good for each other?”
“Where did this fucking come from? Please, stop the nonsense right now.”
“I’m sorry. I…”
I put my face in my hands, and he drags me to him. “Don’t you get it? I just want you, okay? Everything else I can handle.”
“Abigail. Dane.”
My blood freezes when I see the principal eyeing us. I stumble backward, and Dane pierces her with a hard look, which she ignores.
“The car is here,” she says.
A hundred pleas are on the tip of my tongue, not to say how she found me in Dane’s arms. Stupid. So stupid and even more reckless.
I follow her without a second glance, and she says, “It’s quite unfortunate to throw away your future for a troubled boy.”
I’ll take her indignation if she keeps it to herself.
“And on school grounds.”
The driver opens the door for me, and I slip into the back of the black Mercedes.
My emotions are all over the place as we drive toward downtown, where the financial building towers over everything else—a true statement of power.
Felix leads the Family’s financial sector. He controls various companies, from money management to credit unions, making him the most influential senior Family member.
Once I get out, I straighten my uniform as I walk through the rotating doors. Inside, the building’s grandeur shines with marble floors, gold steel columns, and impressive lighting.
Passing by the reception, I step inside the elevator. At the top level, I approach Felix’s assistant’s desk. She stands up and gestures for me to follow her into his office.
I can’t help but notice she’s very young.
With every step, my heart shrinks. The house of cards I have constructed crumbles. I take in a lungful of air, readying myself to face him and step inside. Kaden is a younger looking version of him, but their hearts are nothing alike.
“That is all, Alina.”
She retreats, and Felix gestures to a leather chair in front of his massive desk. Behind him is a floor-to-ceiling window, offering a spectacular view over downtown. Under his scrutiny, I take the seat.
“You know why you’re here.”
My response will paint me as guilty one way or another.
“I suppose, but it was a misunderstanding.”
He gathers the papers from his desk and throws them at my feet. I watch the test papers scatter around. Just like my dreams. This man has always had a say in my destiny. What a cruel joke.
He reaches me in three steps, towering over me. He lifts my chin, his fingertips digging into my cheeks until I twitch from the discomfort.
“All you need to be is a pretty little thing for my son.”
I grip the armchair as his eyes zoom in on my neck. He tilts my head to the side.
“Kaden would have never done something this barbaric.”
“What?”
I hate how my voice raises an octave, choked with pure panic. I didn’t realize Dane left a mark on my neck.
Felix talks about inexcusable actions, yet look at what he did to his own son.
Hypocrite.
Our standoff ends when the door opens, and his eyes bulge when Grandmother walks inside.
“What is Abigail doing here, Felix?”
He gulps, taking a step back. “She did something minor. You shouldn’t be concerned with it, ma’am.”
“Go back to school, Abigail.”
I rush out, but not before Grandmother says, “You don’t decide Family matters behind my back. An attitude can be shaped. I didn’t raise Kaden and Blake to be intimidated by her intelligence, and I won’t allow you to make decisions regarding the next generation. They are equals. Do you hear me?”
A vein in his neck threatens to burst.
With a smile on my face and a pep in my step, I walk outside.
For every bully out there, there is someone who scares them even worse.