CHAPTER EIGHT #2
“Isn’t it? There are countless rumors of your dad bribing officials and cutting corners to build his luxury apartments around the area, even messing up people’s lives when he needs to. And don’t get me started on your mother misusing the funds she receives through her charity.”
He released my chin, and I looked down. I suspected my parents did more than they let on—I had more than enough reason to believe Dad was guilty of skimping, not to mention all the backroom deals and other stuff—but I couldn’t let Zach badmouth my family too.
“That’s all bullshit. We uphold ourselves to the same standards we uphold others.”
He bared his teeth. “Who are you lying to? Me or you? As though you haven’t noticed that nothing you have is real? You, your family, your friends, the public’s opinion of you. If they only knew you were a bully.”
I winced at the word “bully.”
“I’m not a bully anymore.”
He let out a laugh that made my stomach turn. “And that’s supposed to redeem you? You’ll always be a bully. It’s just who you are.” He tilted my chair backward until it was leaning on its back leg, and I gasped, grabbing the armrests for support. “And bullies always deserve to be taught a lesson.”
“Zach? What are you trying to do?”
“What do you think?” He shoved my chair, and I screamed, crashing down.
Pain rushed from my shoulder down through my arm as I tried to stop the fall, my palm taking the worst of it. I cried out, glaring up at him to find him pointing his phone at me. He snapped a photo.
“Another one for the collection.” He winked at me, and I didn’t know what hurt more—the physical pain or the emotional pain he created in me so effortlessly.
“Delete that.” I stood, wincing when the move brought a sudden onset of pain. “Delete that right away.”
He arched his brow. “Or what?”
“What’s going on here?”
I looked over my shoulder, seeing Melody come out of the house.
She gasped. “Oh my God, Blair, you cut your hair?”
I looked at Zach and found his gaze had never left me. “Yeah,” I grit out through my teeth.
“But why?”
I so didn’t want to talk about that in front of Zach.
She frowned, taking in the toppled chair. Her gaze narrowed suspiciously between us. “What’s happened?”
I gave Zach a pointed look. “Will you leave me and my sister to talk?”
“Sure.” He moved to leave, but he leaned in and whispered into my ear so only I could hear, “As long as you keep your mouth shut. Don’t even think about telling her what happened yesterday or now.”
I glared at him as he drew away and stepped off the terrace, unable to mask my expression for Melody’s benefit.
Melody watched him leave, then turned to frown at me. “What was that about?”
“Nothing. Did you go to a spa yesterday? Your skin is glowing.”
“Yeah, but that can wait for a sec. It looked like you two were arguing. Is everything okay?”
I picked the chair up. “Yeah. He was just yapping about some plants and shit, and I told him not to bother me about it.”
She chuckled, despite the small frown that was still on her face. “And the chair?”
“I was rocking in it, and I fell.” I shrugged my shoulders, then suppressed a wince when the movement brought a fresh wave of pain.
My palm had a few scrapes, but nothing that demanded immediate attention.
I didn’t even want to think about how worse it could’ve gone or the absolute nothingness in Zach’s expression as I fell.
She sat down at the table. “You should be more careful.”
And I knew she bought it. I’d always been good at keeping secrets.
Plus, Melody was trusting to a fault. She was the sweetest person I knew, and it was all the more reason for me not to involve her in what was happening between Zach and me.
I would protect her from it, just like I’d always protected her from all the dirt of this world.
“I will.”
Anna came outside with a plate and a glass of juice for Melody.
“Thanks, Anna.”
She smiled at us and retreated into the house.
Melody placed a pancake on her plate. “So what’s with the haircut?”
I shrugged. “I needed a change.”
“But you loved your hair.”
My stomach twisted with a feeling of loss. “Yes, but as I said, I needed a change.”
“Mom will flip out once she sees you.”
“I know. But she’ll get over it.” I looked aside, checking my image reflected in the window, and I thought back to what Zach had said about my haircut.
I shifted my head left and right, checking my haircut from different sides. “Does it look that bad?”
“Not at all. I like it. Why?” She broke into a smile. “Did you maybe change the hairstyle because you want to impress some guy?”
I snorted. “Nope.”
“Oh, come on. There has to be someone. You continue to attend parties and business events. You must’ve met some hottie.”
It was true that I had plenty of opportunities to meet guys, and I did, but in addition to my previous obsession with Zach, preppy, rich assholes weren’t my type.
I’d always preferred the underdogs, those quiet ones the rest of society wrote off.
It was what made me see Zach in the first place, along with how honest he’d been. How real.
I guessed that proved what he’d said just earlier about my world.
“Nope. No hotties on sight.” The image of Zach appeared at the forefront of my mind, but I shoved it away. He didn’t count. He couldn’t.
We talked about her spa day and how she had to switch her skin routine again because of breakouts as we ate together, though I was only half listening.
My mind brought me back to what Zach had said about his mom.
I never would’ve guessed she wasn’t alive, and to hear how she died .
. . Did Dad know? Would he even care about it?
I told myself not to care, to remember how cruel he was to me, but my heart still ached for him. He had to experience losing the only parent he had, and now he had no one.
Or did he?
Once we finished breakfast, I went inside to call Lana, settling myself on the window seat in the living room.
“Yeah?” she answered.
“I need the number for your mom’s private investigator.” It was the same investigator she’d hired to see if Lana’s dad was cheating on her, but I wasn’t going to voice that.
“Sure. What do you need it for?”
“Investigating,” I replied, making it clear I wasn’t going to reveal the real reason.
I could almost see her roll her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll text you the number.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
Zach had promised retribution if I stuck my nose into his business, but I couldn’t just keep waiting for him to do something. Any information I could find on him might help.
And if I got hurt in the process? Well, he would hurt me anyway, so at least I’d go down fighting.