“Did he hold a knife to your neck?”
“No, but—”
“Did he tie you down and rape you?” He arches a brow.
Everyone in that cathedral knew I was going to be having sex later that day. It wouldn’t have mattered if it was Tyson or Luke. At least Tyson didn’t pay for my virginity like Luke has been doing over the last three years. He just took it. “You act like I had a choice,” I snap at him.
“Jesus Christ, sis. Didn’t you learn anything from Whitney? She may have been dumb enough to fall in love with him, but she was smart enough to know nothing would ever come from it.”
He’s not making any sense.“I don’t remember you stopping it.” I punch my finger into his chest. “You were the one who gave me over to him.”
His jaw sharpens, and he looks away from me. Sighing, he runs his hands through his hair. “I did what I had to do.”
I cross my arms over my chest and immediately drop them when it pushes against my banded nipples. I all but whimper and feel my face heat up with embarrassment. “Well, I’m doing the same thing.”
He throws his head back, giving a rough laugh. “You coming all over his cock is nothing that youhadto do.”
“Excuse me?” I take a step closer to him, closing the small space. “What did you just say?”
“You know, I thought you were smarter than all the other whores who drop to their knees and beg him to fuck them, but as always, you’re just another disappointment. No wonder Dad didn’t try harder to stop it.” He turns his back to me to walk off, but I reach out, gripping the back of his tux, yanking as hard as I can to pull him back to me. He spins around. “What the fuck—”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I bark out so loud that I hope no one on the other side hears me.
“Think about it, Lake. There’s a reason why Dad did everything he could to make sure Whitney didn’t end up with Tyson, but he had no problem letting me hand you over to him.”
What does he meaneverything he could to stop Whitney from ending up with Tyson?“No.” I shake my head. “Dad told me he had no choice. That the Lords let Tyson pick who he wanted, and Ihadto go through with it.”’
He snorts. “Dad has a plan, and you won’t fuck it up.”
“A plan? What do you mean? What kind of plan?” I mean, I know my father has something up his sleeve by the way he showed up at Blackout after our dinner and the fact that he has Bethany working for him. But what could it possibly be? To keep an eye on me? “Is this revenge for killing Whitney?” I ask softly.
He snorts. “You really think he killed her? Fuck, Lake. You’re so goddamn stupid.”
I wrap my arms around myself, feeling exactly that. “Why would Dad hate him so much, then?” After Whitney died, you couldn’t even mention her name in my father’s presence. It was as if she just disappeared. Never existed. Her social media pages were taken down. Pictures of her gone. All those memories we shared seemed more like I dreamed them. She just … vanished. Butmy family knew the truth. No matter how much the Lords tried to cover it up, Tyson had killed her.
“Just don’t get knocked up like Whitney did.” He ignores my question.
My heart stops. “What?” I whisper. “Whitney was pregnant?” I never knew that.
“Why do you think Tysonwantedyou?” He snorts, ignoring my questions. “He doesn’t love you, Lake. And he sure as fuck doesn’t care what happens to you. And what I just saw out there … you hanging all over him, just proves how much of a worthless slut he’s turning you into.” He exits the bathroom, and I try to catch my breath. Bile starts to rise, and I rush into one of the stalls where I slam the lid up and bend over, unable to completely fall to my knees in this tight, form-fitting dress.
I start to dry heave, but thankfully, I don’t actually vomit. After a few seconds, I shut the lid and exit the stall. I come to a stop when I see two women now standing in the bathroom. Blakely Archer and Ellington Sinnett. Ryat’s and Sin’s wives.
“Are you okay?” Blakely asks me. Her hands on her growing belly.
Did they follow me in here? Did Tyson send them after me? Or their husbands? I’m not sure how close Sin is to Tyson, but I know that Ryat would throw me under the bus without thought. The fact that he stood next to him at the altar proves that.
I nod. “Yeah.” Walking over to the sink, I turn on the faucet and cup the water in my hand to take a sip. Swishing it around, I spit it out and turn it off, trying to get the sour taste out of my mouth. I still feel like I’m about to get sick. “Did Tyson send you two to fetch me?” I’m sure my time away from him has expired.
“No.” They both frown.
Ellington’s eyes drop to my stomach, and I know what she’s thinking. They just walked in on me about to get sick. I’m married to a Lord. It’s not their fault they think the way they do; it’s just how we’re raised.
“I’m not pregnant,” I state, and they look at one another. I hate that this is how I’m meeting them. I’d love to have friends. Like real friends. Ones that I can talk to about my day-to-day life, no matter how boring it is. But then again, they’re married to Lords, so the odds of ever getting close to them are pretty impossible.
An awkward silence lingers, and I take in a deep sigh. I want to punch Tyson in the face right now but also beg him to fuck me. Shit, I need another drink.
“I’m sorry about your sister,” Blakely says softly, probably overhearing my brother talking about her before they walked in.
