“I like your confidence, darling.”
Turns out, people who say “be careful what you wish for” are right, because I would have preferred never to know any of his other secrets.
“At least we know where Grant gets his stupidity from,” Orion says as he walks past my father, kicking him in the stomach. He yelps and falls to his side. “Your biggest mistake was hurting my wife her whole life, so I’ll make sure you are hurt for the remainder of yours.”
Marta and Martin rush out of the house, their jaws dropping at the sight, while my husband addresses Timothy, who stands behind him. “Take him to the nearest police station. Call Rafael and tell him to release all the files. Also, give them our footage. No plea deals. I want the case highly publicized. Let the whole world know what he did to Diana and her mother. And I don’twant anyone bothering us in the next twenty-four hours.” He shifts his attention to the people behind me. “You can live here for as long as you wish. I’ll pay your salary and for your yearly vacation. I give you my word on this.” They nod. “Now, please leave me alone with my wife. We have a thing or two to discuss.”
“No.” No one listens to me, Martin and Timothy picking up my groaning father and dragging him to the car, where they carelessly throw him inside, and then all of them hop in the vehicle, giving me a wave.
So much for the shotgun. This whole situation is surreal! Who in their right mind leaves a woman with an angry man who almost killed her father?
To be fair, Martin and Marta never liked my family. I think they only tolerated Grandma because they loved the land so much, and they always had a soft spot for me, as they don’t have their own children.
Regardless, shouldn’t they show a little more concern instead of deserting me?
“You ran from me,” Orion says as he removes his suit jacket. He throws it away before toeing off his shoes and socks. “You shouldn’t have done that, my beautiful rose.”
“You lied to me.” I step back, and my stomach flips several times when he picks up an arrow from the table, his bow still hanging on his shoulder. “You’re a monster.” I say the words that are true to the world, but not to me. In my opinion, the true monsters are men like Conrad, Grant, and my father. Hideous and heinous individuals who seek to bend everyone to their selfish wishes and exploit innocents to their hearts’ desire. Vile men who can never be killed by goodness because they don’t understand or fear it.
No.
Only an evil with a similar nature can extinguish them, leaving nothing but ashes in their wake.
Does understanding that force me to accept Orion and his morals, though? What would that make me?
An accomplice in his crimes?
The muscle on his cheek twitches, and his eyes glisten with a fire so strong that I can almost feel it burning my skin. “No, darling. I’m a hunter.”
Another tentative step back, and I lick my dry lips, asking, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He has his own question for me. “Why did you run from me, Diana?”
“Because you lied to me,” I repeat.
A sinister smile shapes his mouth, and he hisses through his teeth, thousands of goose bumps breaking all over my body while sizzling sensations skim along my flesh. “No, darling. You wanted me to chase you.”
Oh God.
That statement uttered in his hushed, seductive voice doesn’t let me hide behind my facade and forces me to face the truth.
I did want that, didn’t I?
All my life, everyone has accepted my presence as a cross they had to bear.
My mother loved me in the only way she knew how, but still, she would have given up on me in a heartbeat if it meant my father would have stayed by her side.
My grandmother accepted me because her son’s blood ran through my veins. However, she never made an effort to truly get to know me, and once she got sick, she forgot all about me. She has flashes of recognition when it comes to Grant or Father, but never any of me.
My father and brother…well, I have no words where they are concerned.
I have never had someone need me enough to fight for me, where my absence brought joy and not pain.
Was this all a test for Orion?
Because if I didn’t agree with his lifestyle, I would have called the police rather than run away and expose myself to his potential anger.
No.
