Chapter Fifteen #2
Dressed, I left my room again, brow furrowed and lips pressed in a hard line, determined not to let him see a single crack in my armor, no matter how much I ached to know what he thought when he saw me in that dress.
His eyes traveled over me, unwrapping the fabric with a hunger that left me feeling exposed, as if I were a gift he couldn’t wait to open, piece by piece.
“You’re breathtaking,” he murmured.
My heart leapt so hard I almost hated him for it, but I shut it down, locking my face even tighter. “I know I look incredible, thanks,” I said, brushing past him.
His hand closed around mine the moment I tried to slip away, desperate to put distance between us before I lost whatever edge I had left.
I turned, a violent urge to pull away burning through me, but the sensation of his touch disarmed me so thoroughly I had to fight for every ounce of coldness I could muster.
“I don’t know who you think you are lately, but I don’t like it when you touch me like this. Let go, Konflict.”
He didn’t smile, didn’t blink, just stared at me with unreadable intensity. “I have something for you,” he said, leading me toward one of the tables in the sitting room.
I dragged my feet but let myself be pulled along.
He released me, reached for a small jewelry box on the table, and my brows snapped together in suspicion.
When he opened the box and let me see what was inside, tears stung my eyes before I could stop them.
My breath caught in my chest, hands dampening and shaking as I struggled not to show anything.
He saw it anyway. Thankfully, he didn’t dwell on it, I would have fallen apart if he had.
“My mother loved this set. She wore it every time she went out,” he said, taking out the ruby necklace I knew as well as my own name.
God, I’d never imagined Konflict could be like this, not in a hundred years. I didn’t know why he was doing it, and I knew he’d never understand what it meant to me, but wearing that necklace and those earrings—Kate’s jewelry—filled me with joy, as if I carried a piece of her with me.
“I’m sure she would have wanted you to wear them,” he added softly.
For once, I didn’t fight him. I turned and let him fasten the necklace at my throat.
He stepped in close, the heat of his body humming against my skin.
His fingers brushed the back of my neck, lingering a moment longer than necessary as he clasped the necklace, then repeated the same for the earrings.
The beauty of the gems, the gentle way he touched me, the way his breath sent shivers over my skin—I had to summon every bit of strength not to melt for him, not to let myself fall for an enemy who could freeze and burn me in the same breath.
“Thank you,” I whispered, my words thick with too many feelings.
I closed my eyes and tried to steady my pulse, pushing back the tears and forcing myself not to read into the tenderness in his gaze.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked at me like he loved me.
But that was just my stupid heart, projecting what it wanted onto a man who would never want the same, so I forced myself to break the spell.
“Now let’s go. I’d rather get this farce over with. I have more important things to do.”
“What’s more important? Fucking an escort?” he shot back.
I turned, holding his gaze. “Does it bother you to know I’m getting fucked by a real man every night, Konflict?” I let the words hang there.
“You really want to know if your husband cares that you fuck another man, Serenity? Is that a real question?”
I arched a brow, refusing to flinch. “It is, because I don’t remember you ever acting like my husband in this marriage,” I said, striding toward the car.
“It’s not too late for that,” he murmured, just loud enough for me to hear.
A cold shiver ran through my body, but I refused to turn around, refused to ask what he meant and let myself hope for something impossible, with only two days left before our marriage—and my life—ended.
I made it to the Rolls, ready to get in, when Konflict rushed ahead and opened the door for me. I stopped, face blank. “What are you doing?”
“I’m opening the door for you. Get in the car, Serenity.”
“Yeah, I can see that. But why? You look ridiculous.”
He smirked, and every nerve in my body screamed. “Get in.”
I refused to let him run the show, so I circled the car, opened the opposite door, and climbed in on my own. Arms folded, I let anger fill me. He didn’t see it coming, but when he joined me, sliding in by the door he’d held, he wore that smug smile that made me want to both slap him and kiss him.
“You’re not used to princess treatment eh?” he asked with mockery lacing his voice.
“I’m not used to pieces of shit acting like gentlemen. What’s this new behavior for? Don’t tell me you don’t want to kill me anymore, Konflict,” I snapped, too tired to care.
“Maybe I don’t. Maybe I do. I guess we’ll find out in two days,” he replied, keeping that mocking smile that infuriated me even more.
My heart pounded too fast. He was playing with me, and it was the cruelest thing he’d ever done. That hurt more than all the coldness he had ever thrown my way.
I locked down my expression, refusing to give him anything.
“Is this a game to you? You enjoy pushing all my buttons, teasing me as we get closer to the moment you’ve been waiting for.
Does it get you off, messing with my feelings?
Giving me hope just so you can crush it with a bullet to my head?
I’ll never fall for your trap and if, by some insane chance, you’re thinking about not killing me in two days, I won’t hesitate to take you out instead, Konflict.
This world isn’t big enough for both of us.
Either you put a bullet in my head, or I put one in yours. ”
My words struck him. I saw his jaw clench, a flicker of sorrow in his eyes, but I looked away. He wasn’t capable of feeling anything for me. I wouldn’t give in, not now, not with so little time left.
The rest of the drive, I kept my distance, refusing to look at him, but my mind spun with fear. Maybe he cared about me sleeping with an escort more than I thought. Fear he would do something to Knox wound tight inside me.
“You’re not going to kill him, are you?” I asked, my voice trembling.
He looked at me, feigning confusion. “Who?”
“Don’t play dumb. You know who I’m talking about,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Hmmm, your precious escort? Knox, right?”
My whole body trembled at the mention of his name.
I should have known he knew, but hearing him say it out loud, knowing he was aware of who I spent my nights with, terrified me.
What would happen to Knox when I was gone?
I was the one who got him into this mess.
I needed to find a way to get him out, maybe help him escape Emberwick before the worst happened.
“I’m still debating whether I cut his dick off or put a bullet in his skull for fucking my wife,” he said, staring straight at me.
A wave of horror crashed through me. “Don’t touch him, Konflict.”
He leaned in close, his gaze locking onto mine, reading the panic I tried to drown beneath a layer of courage. My pulse thudded so loud I wondered if he could hear it. Even in death, I would hate myself if something happened to Knox because of me.
“Why are you protecting him? Is he that good in bed?” he asked, his tone menacing. “Or… don’t tell me you’re in love with him?”
“Not at all,” I shot back, too fast, refusing to confirm anything, because admitting it would put Knox in even more danger.
Besides, I wasn’t sure what to call what I felt.
When I was with Knox, the feelings ran so deep I sometimes thought I was falling for him.
But that terrified me, because Knox was only ever the version of Konflict I always wished for.
Loving him meant I was in love with my husband, this different side of him I’d invented, and I couldn’t accept that.
Konflict kept staring at me, then unleashed that ridiculous smile that crawled under my skin.
“You’re cute when you’re like this,” he murmured, straightening up.
He opened the door, and only then did I realize the car had stopped at the Marquette estate. Konflict stepped out and offered me his hand.
“Set your hatred aside, just for tonight. Let me escort you, Serenity. Take my hand, please.”
He said it so gently, so softly, and with a warmth that stole my resistance. My hand found his before I could stop it, and I let him help me out of the car.
God, what was happening to me? I hated him, but something about him tonight left me craving his touch.
The party was packed, bodies pressed wall to wall, but the second we stepped inside, every head turned.
That was the first time anyone had ever seen us hand in hand, and I could feel the shock rolling through the room.
Hell, I was shocked myself. Something in me refused to accept how right it felt in that moment.
But a secret part of me whispered this was all I’d ever wanted and maybe I should just let myself have it, even if it would be gone in a breath.
I stayed focused, eyes locked on Maureen Marquette as she glided over with a smile that was all teeth and pretense.
“Well, isn’t this refreshing. Took you two a whole year to finally figure out how to show up together in public.” Her tone was bright.
I forced a tight smile that felt brittle on my face.
Respect for Maureen kept me civil—she was hosting, after all—but nothing about her words were true.
There was no romance here. Konflict and I were nothing but two actors, putting on a show for a crowd who would never know how much venom lingered between us.
“Thank you for having us, Mrs. Marquette,” Konflict replied before I could get a word out.