Chapter 40 Sloane
Sloane
I am unable to blink or breathe as I stare down into the beautifully distinct eyes of Riven Reilly.
My mind is warped in rivalry, attempting to decipher the very man kneeling before me.
I internally struggle between knowing what I’m seeing and what I want so badly to be untrue.
Realization surfaces as I search his eyes for answers, for anything to tell me otherwise.
I come up short. Those devastating eyes give away his betrayal as he stares up at me in shame.
As his eyes search mine, my mind replays all of the moments that we shared before this one.
I shuffle through them to find the one that would explain this deception.
My heart breaks over and over again at the memories, and whether any of it was as true as it felt.
What part do I play in his game of torment?
He averts my gaze and lowers his head, allowing his dark hair to create a barrier between us. Coward.
He reaches out a hand in my direction, and I instinctively move away from his touch. He looks hurt by it, and it threatens to break the wall that I’m quickly building between us.
“Tell me it isn’t true. Tell me you haven’t been lying to me about who you are this entire time!” I yell, needing to expel the anger bubbling up inside of me. He flinches, but doesn’t lift his head or meet my gaze.
“Look at me, you fucking coward!” I scream, spit flying from my mouth as I lose the little bit of control that I have left.
He peers up at me from beneath his loose strands of hair, and for a second, I think that I see a hint of amusement in his traitorous eyes.
I lock onto them, giving him my best impression of someone who is not the one.
Sabel’s maniacal laughter severs the electrical current whirring between us.
“Oh, come on, you two. Don’t you have anything to say for yourself, Riv?
” Sabel’s eyes dart back and forth between us as the bile rises in my throat at her use of a nickname for him.
I press my molars together, seething at what it could mean.
I burn holes through Sabel’s head as an emotion that I’m not so familiar with consumes me. Jealousy.
“You haven’t even told her the best part,” Sabel purrs, kneeling until she’s face-to-face with Riven. She places a long fingernail under his chin and attempts to lift his head. He shakes her off, turning in the opposite direction.
“Don’t fucking touch me, Sabel,” Riven growls. Perhaps they aren’t working together, then? I want so badly to believe it, but I can’t decipher the truth anymore.
“What haven’t you told me, Riven? Or is that even your real name?” I snap my head in his direction, willing him to meet my gaze and face this. He lifts his head slowly until our eyes connect.
“Sloane. I—” He pauses, threatening to avert his gaze from mine again. I interrupt him before he can say another word.
“Don’t you dare do that. Look at me, Riven. Please,” I cry out, my mind and my heart battling for control.
Something inside of him seems to break as I do, speaking to me without words and begging me to hold on for a little longer. He speaks again, his words nearly a whisper above the pounding in my ears.
“I wanted to tell you, I did. I was going to tell you everything.” His eyes are pleading, full of regret and sorrow. His words don’t provide the reassurance I need, and it’s unraveling the remaining thread that’s struggling to hold us together. This time, it’s me who’s averting my gaze.
“Sloane,” he implores, voice cracking. I turn to look down at him. Sabel scoffs and walks back over to me. She stops behind me, her laughter sending a shiver down my spine. I squeeze my eyes shut to stifle the sensation.
“Did you think that he reciprocated your feelings for him, dear? You’re nothing more than another listener caught in his web of seduction.” My eyes shoot open, finding Riven’s wide ones on Sabel. The shock within his eyes quickly transforms into panic, and then fury.
“What the fuck do you want, Sabel?” Riven snarls. I stare at him, trying to understand what Sabel is getting at. She knows that I’m not affected by the frequency without headphones. Why is she insinuating that I’m under his spell?
His spell.
My eyes widen, panic now consuming me. I look down at my lap, unable to hold the gaze of the man who’s breaking me. I should run now. I should expose him and the whole operation where it stands. The story has found a conclusion. A conclusion with me wrapped up right in the middle of it.
“No… Sloane. No. Darling, look at me,” he pleads, warning laced in his tone.
“Sabel,” Riven growls, looking over my head and to the woman standing behind me. “What do you fucking want?” he screams.
I peer at him through my lashes, catching a glimpse of his impending spiral.
His control wavers, and the energy shifts.
Sabel’s guards move in closer to Riven, both drawing pistols and pointing them at his head.
I hear the simultaneous clicks, telling me that Sabel is done playing games.
If Riven makes one wrong move, the guards will end his life.
My breathing accelerates, the words leaving my mouth before I can stop them.
“NO!” I scream at the guards. “No. Don’t hurt him. Please.” Riven’s eyes find mine as he inhales a sharp breath. I see the relief flicker behind them, and it cools a fraction of the fury that sought to burn me alive moments ago. I hear Sabel’s wicked laughter behind me once more.
“Love. What a pathetic little human emotion, isn’t it?
” Sabel croons. I feel my cheeks heat, a sudden reminder of the personal feelings that I was forced to share not once, but twice.
I fight the urge to avert Riven’s burning gaze and instead match his intensity.
I’m not backing down from my truth, no matter how consequential it may be.
I fight the overwhelming revelation of my feelings as the three words dig their claws into me and hold on for dear life.
A small voice in my mind is begging to know if he feels it, too.
“Aw, how adorable. Your feelings remain the same for him, even now,” Sabel starts.
“Even as he kneels before you as a liar.” Riven’s eyes search mine, as if he’s pleading with me not to believe a word she’s saying.
Tears fill my eyes, leaving a trail of them down my cheeks.
His eyes track the descent, turning his questioning glare into one of anguish and desperation.
Sabel walks around to my side, her hand finding my left shoulder and causing me to flinch. I look up at her.
“And to answer your question, Riven, I want what I’ve always wanted.
I want the world to bend to my will,” Sabel says.
“That all starts with your girlfriend here, the perfect little outlier for me to experiment on.” She brushes strands of hair over my shoulder.
I yank at the wrist restraints to escape her touch.
“Sloane made it so easy for me to drag her in here. Imagine what else I could do to her with the right … persuasion.” I tense, knowing she means to use the frequency on me.
The Eden Frequency. No, no, no. I cannot let her mind control me into permanent sublimation. I avert Sabel’s gaze, finding Riven’s instead.
“Don’t fucking touch her, Sabel,” Riven roars. Despite the situation we find ourselves in, the possessiveness piques my curiosity in more ways than one. “I’ll fucking rip your throat out, you psychotic bitch!” he spits out.
I’ve never seen the rage that’s currently burning in his eyes. It’s both unnerving and intriguing. He’s … unhinged. His fists are tightened and pressed firmly against his side. His chest rises and falls rapidly. He’s losing control because of me.
Sabel chuckles, and the guards on either side of Riven inch closer, daring him to make a move against their leader. Riven retreats only slightly, sensing that he doesn’t have the upper hand.
“Down, dog,” Sabel says disdainfully. Riven pants, playing the part, before kneeling back on his heels and surrendering his fury. It looks like it takes an insurmountable effort for him not to follow through on his promise to rip her to shreds.
Sabel leaves my side, walking over to the two-way mirror in front of us.
She taps on it twice and then strides back over to stand beside me.
I glance up to see that she’s sneering down at me.
I can’t help the panic that works its way through my body.
I look to Riven. His worried eyes flick between Sabel and me.
I’m contemplating my next move, my next words, as I hear music filter in through the headphones.
I panic, knowing that this may be the last time I have any sort of free will.
I quickly try to block it out and run from it, only to stumble and fall right into the trap.
The feeling consumes me faster this time, and before I know it …
I’m falling. The last thing that I see is Riven’s face, furious and broken.
His mouth moves, and it looks like he’s screaming, but I can’t hear the words over the sound of the frequency.
My eyes shudder, threatening to close. I force them open one last time, long enough to barely read the words on his lips.
I love you, Sloane.