“Your holiday, Vin. Where did you go?”
“Up North. I went to see family.” He flicks his eyes between me in the mirror and the road, and his fists clench against the steering wheel.
“The day after my studio sold, right?”
“Right.”
After being at the estate, I feel like I’ve lived through Scarlet’s nostalgia. So many emotions that are not mine to have, yet I have become so deeply rooted into this family in such a short space of time.
I haven’t felt that since becoming a part of Lucy’s family, and to think Mason has kept something from me—after everything we have been through—it scares me.
I’m afraid of what my gut tells me.
I find him in the home gym. He’s screwing the lid back onto his water bottle, and I watch as his bare chest glistens with a layer of sweat.
His body is phenomenal. His vigorous routine since his father’s death is only making him fitter.
“Hi,” I say, leaning my hip against the doorframe and making myself known.
“Angel.” He makes his way towards me, bending down to kiss me, but my instincts have me pulling away.
He frowns down at me. “What’s wrong?”
I swallow thickly, not knowing where to start.
The elevator door pings, and we both bristle. Mason moves past me and out into the foyer.
“Vin, what are you doing here?”
He’s here because he knows that I know.
I know what he’s done. Or at least, IthinkI do. And it hurts so much.
Mason turns to me as realisation sinks in, his face awash of panic and guilt, only confirming my thoughts. Has his guilt been there this whole time? Because all of a sudden, I feel like I’m seeing him in technicolour.
“Nina.”
I put my hand up to stop him, my mind racing as I cover my mouth with my other hand.
I don’t want it to be true.
His features tighten, and he tilts his head, his anger starting to pull him under. “Say it,” he grits out.
My eyes fill with tears. Do I even need to say it? “You promised me?—”
“Say it!” his voice booms, cutting me off as he steps toward me.
My nostrils flare, and I hold his eyes, unable to look away. “Did you have a hand in selling my studio?” I ask, my voice strong and clear.
Silence fills the penthouse. My heartbeat the only sound.
“No.” He tightens his jaw. Sharp. Deadly.I don’t want to hate him. “I had theonlyhand.Isold it.”But I do.
“Why?” my voice betrays me, cracking as I utter the word.
Lifting my chin, I don’t allow the hurt to show nor my tears to fall. He’s already taken too much of me.
I won’t give him another inch.
