Chapter 36
Chapter thirty-six
Jesus. I don’t know if I’ve ever punched someone before, but I didn’t expect it to hurt so damn much.
Sasha barely even winces, taking the blow in stride before immediately reaching for the hand I’m cradling.
He didn’t bleed, which feels like a perfect encapsulation of the past couple of weeks, but two of my knuckles are busted.
I rip my hand from his and take a step back as Jack moves to stand beside me defensively.
Is this what having a family feels like? Damn, this is nice.
“Don’t fucking touch me. You don’t get to waltz in here and act like you care after you treated me the way you did. I don’t care what kind of sick, perverted sense of justice you have to think you could just rescue me and then everything would be okay, but it isn’t.”
“Technically, I rescued you, dear,” Blanche says, waving her gun in the general direction of Lawrence’s body as Ledger snorts a laugh.
Sasha opens his mouth to try to say something to defend himself, but my newfound brother’s gaze narrows.
“What did you do to her?” Jack asks, and Sasha’s eyes widen.
This is actually the perfect way to get my revenge. I can state the facts, and the Sinclair men can dole out my punishment.
“What didn’t he do is the better question,” I begin, enjoying the way Sasha tries to slink back and make himself smaller, only to find the wall of the hotel room at his back.
“The most forgivable sin was simply not believing me, too blinded by your own male ego to listen to what I was telling you.” My voice is low, with everyone hanging on my every word.
I don’t need to yell to get my devastation across.
It’s painfully clear. “I loved you, and you cast me aside at the first sign of trouble instead of giving me any semblance of a chance.”
A pitiful, strangled sound escapes Sasha at my choice of past tense for our love, and a tiny seed of guilt flares in the back of my brain. Not yet. Don’t let him off the hook yet, Lucy.
“Then,” I continue, “instead of leaving me alone, you had me tattooed and my nipples pierced, then roughly fucked in the ass, until you killed the guy—”
“Jesus, did you have a safe word? Did you even want to be pierced?”
“Do you like them? Sloane’s been wondering if—”
“While he was still inside me! His dick fell out of my ass when he dropped dead!”
Jack’s questions about consent and Ledger’s ill-timed curiosity are forgotten as everyone looks at Sasha, who’s still looking guilty but also fighting a smirk. God, this psycho.
“You made my sister fuck a dead guy?”
“Hey, he was fucking me, and there was no fucking once he was dead!” I mean, I guess technically the slide out since he was still hard, but we’re all losing the plot here.
“She had a safe word.” Sasha finally joins the conversation.
“You made me watch another man and woman suck your dick, then you killed them both and made me watch!”
“You cheated on my sister?”
“Listen, man, I know this is some shit, but if we’re talking about things you did to sisters, I’m happy to throw some of your sins out into the open—”
Jack and Ledger square off as Blanche fans herself dramatically. “You all have got to stop talking about all this. I’m getting hot and bothered!”
That shuts everyone up again, and Sasha takes his chance to speak. His eyes are only for me, and the remorse I see makes me hope the man I fell in love with is back. But I know now what he’s capable of, and I’m not sure how I’ll ever get past that.
“I love you, Lucy Sommers. I love you, and I’ve treated you horrendously, and I hope you’ll allow me to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.
There isn’t an apology in the world that can undo the damage I did to our relationship, and I’ll never try to excuse it.
I’ll only say that I allowed my upbringing to cloud my belief in you, and I wish more than anything that I could go back and change how I acted.
I’ll never ask you for a third chance, but I’m begging you for a second one. ”
Crossing my arms, I take in the strong, beautiful man in front of me. His shoulders are slumped, and he’s halfway leaning in my direction, as if he’s desperate for my proximity but afraid I’ll rebuff him. Jack, Ledger, Blanche, and the bevy of Taranov men stand quietly, watching our standoff.
“Beg, then.” I call his bluff, curious about how he’ll react in front of a crowd. My mouth drops open when he falls to his knees immediately, crawling to kneel at my feet. Tears are streaking his cheeks when he finally looks up at me.
“Please,” he whispers, so softly that I wonder if the other occupants of the room can even hear him.
“Please give me a chance to earn your love and your trust again, Lucy. You’re one of the only truly good things I’ve ever had, and even saying that seems wrong because I never had you, I know.
You had me. You ensnared me and gave me hope for a future I had never dreamed of, and I threw it away being the worst kind of person.
But I am begging you, and I’ll beg for as long as you’ll let me.
Please let me have another chance. Please. I love you. I just want to love you.”
Sniffles break the silence, and I turn to see Jack wiping his tears.
He’s being held by a giant, hulking, tattooed Taranov man, who’s crying too.
Seeing everyone staring, waiting for me to reply to Sasha, brings the weight of the moment back.
Minutes ago, I was convinced I was going to die at the hands of Lawrence after finding out I had a half brother I was never going to meet.
Now, there’s another dead body at my feet, and the entire Sinclair family knows way too much about my love life.
Hopefully, they never find out the entire truth of it.
Suddenly, I’m exhausted. I let out a heavy breath.
“I’m exhausted, and I want to go home.” Every pair of eyes blinks at me owlishly.
Jack and Blanche share a loaded look as if trying to decide who I’m talking to, or where I think my home is.
But even though we have a long road ahead, and he’s nowhere near done being on his knees for me, my home is the same as it’s been for a while now.
“Sasha. Take me home.”