I puff out a breath. “Somehow I don’t think that’s the case.”
Samil squints, his eyes searching mine, and he says, “You don’t like me and there is only one explanation for it. What poisonous lies did he fill you with about me?”
“I don’t know what you’re?—”
He cuts me off by pressing me deeper into the wall, almost to the point of pain as my back digs into the stone. “Don’t lie to me,” he snarls, the rest of his polish and finesse gone. “I know he told you something. Don’t think for a second I don’t see the pretty mark he left on your neck. I know what you’re doing with him, and I can see what he’s doing with you, even if he denies it.”
“Samil, please give me my space.”
“You’re a shameful little toy to him. Nothing more. He lies about you to everyone. And yet you give him your body. Why?”
His words slice, but they don’t cut through me. I remain silent, and he holds my unrelenting gaze for another second, only to nod in understanding. He moves back a step even as his hands press into the wall on either side of me, bracketing me in. He’s not letting me escape.
“He told you I loved Nora. Didn’t he?”
“Yes,” I admit.
He bobs his head, his expression broken. “I did love her. I still love her. I’ll always love her. He knew how I felt about Nora, and he took her from me. He was my friend, and he didn’t care about how I felt.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I stand here in silence.
“He owes me, Bella. He owes me greatly.”
“So now you want to take something from him in return?” I surmise.
“Perhaps,” he declares, not bothering to deny it. “Or perhaps I truly care about you and don’t want to see you end up like her.”
“Bullshit. You don’t know me enough to care. Why were you taking photographs of me?”
He smirks, but it’s far from as cocky or arrogant as I expected. It’s wolfish. “Because I knew he wanted you. He could not hide it. I know him too well. I wanted to hurt him as he’s hurt me, so I told him I’d win you. I told him you’d be mine and not his and now look.” He reaches out, his finger swiping at the bruise on my neck. “I can still do that. With him, you have no future. With me, you can have everything.”
I look away.
“You will never be his queen, Bellamy. That is a fact.”
I swallow hard, desperate to stay angry and firm, but his words battle with every soft part of me. He knows nothing of what Sebastian and I spoke about yesterday. He knows nothing of us, of who we are with each other. All he sees is what everyone else will see. A king and a nanny.
He grasps my jaw, turning my face back to his. “Tell me I am not too late to save you.”
I react, taken aback, shirking his touch. “Save me? Save me from what?”
“I do not want you to suffer the same fate as Nora. You have your father to care for and Sebastian only cares for himself.”
“That’s not true.”
He holds up a consolatory hand before pressing it back into the wall. “Fine. He cares for his children. But your father is struggling, and he needs you.”
“How do you know about my father?” I snap, shifting my weight and folding my arms, refusing to back down or look away from him.
“I do my research, Bella. I could help you with him, you know. Get him into a better facility. Something I’m sure Sebastian hasn’t even mentioned.”
I owe Samil no explanations about what Sebastian and Ihave talked about. That’s between us. He thinks Sebastian is selfish and uncaring, but he’s the most caring, giving man I’ve ever met. Samil’s trying to get at me, but he’s barking up the wrong tree. A day late and a dollar short.
“You know nothing about Sebastian, and you know nothing about me. It’s not your business to look into my father or his care facility. Now if you’ll excuse me…” I try to push past him, desperate to get away from him, but he shifts in front of me, edging me back into the corner he’s holding me captive in.
“This doesn’t have to be your life,” he continues. “My offer is a genuine one. Come and work for me. Come andbewith me.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “As what? Your revenge piece? No thanks.”
