“I’m more than just arm candy, Mathew.” Damn these tears threatening to break.
“You should take it as a compliment.”
“Oh, yes, I feel extremely complimented, having my intelligence, work ethic, life goals, and contribution to society boiled down to having the perfect shade of lipstick.”
“You’re getting exhausting. Maybe you should get some rest.”
The condescension in his voice made me want to throw something. Preferably at his head.
And just like that, I could see my entire future with him laid out like a road map to misery. “This is how it would be between us, isn’t it? You’d want me to be the perfect version of me all the time. The Instagram version. Never the real me.”
“Thatisthe real you.”
I could feel the air leave my lungs. Standing here with Mathew was like getting a preview of my own personal hell.
“It’s over, Mathew.”
“I don’t believe you really want him,” he said flatly.
Damn it. He needed to accept this was over. If he didn’t, he’d keep trying to win me back. Plus, he might blow our cover.
“Let me make this perfectly clear.” I loaded the words into my gun and fired. “It’s over between us. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”
His chest swelled like he was preparing for battle. “You don’t love him,” he accused.
“This isn’t about Axel.”
“This is me you’re talking to, Dakota. Me. I know you.” He pointed a finger toward me like he was casting some kind of spell. “Whatever he’s done to manipulate you?—”
“Being with him is my choice. You need to accept that.”
He cocked his head, studying me like I was a specimen under a microscope. “You know what I think? I think your relationship with him is bullshit. I don’t know why you’re doing it, but I don’t buy it.”
Adrenaline surged through my system like I’d just chugged five energy drinks.Shit, shit, shit.
For Axel’s sake, for my parents’ sake, for Knox’s and everyone’s job at Axel’s company’s sake, I knew what I needed to do. And I hated myself for it.
“I’m. Not. In. Love. With. You.” I kept my tone strong even though, inside, I felt like I was crumbling into a million tiny pieces.
When he huffed, when his face darkened like a storm cloud, I could tell my words finally landed their mark.
“Well,” he said, voice dripping with enough venom to kill a small village, “I don’t believe you. Maybe I should share my suspicions with my new bosses.”
Wow. That wasn’t love. That was punishment, wrapped in a pretty bow. “Threatening me? Really, Mathew? I thought that was beneath you.”
Apparently, I was wrong about a lot of things.
“As you should know, my bosses only want to proceed with Axel’s deal if your relationship with him is real.”
“Well, they’ll get to see it firsthand when they come over for dinner.”Keep it cool, Dakota. Don’t let him see you sweat.
“Yes. This dinner will be very interesting, won’t it?” There it was again, that warning drumming through his words, his glare. How badly I’d misjudged him.
How dare he? How dare he reduce me to makeup and hair spray? How dare he not take no for an answer? That was controlling with a capital C.
“To think, I felt bad for you,” I snarled. “But you’re mean and vindictive. Looks like I dodged a bullet when you left.”
“You dodged a bullet?” His laugh was sharp, cruel, like broken glass. “Some might say you’re a pathetic nobody who uses social media to try to make yourself into something big. But deep down, you know you’re worthless.”
