“Who?”
Silence. I finally drag my eyes from the image still on the floor, no one bending to pick them up.
“Who?” I ask again.
“We don’t know.” It’s Sebastian who answers.
“I have an idea,” Malakai says.
“I don’t understand why you have these.” I swallow, rubbing my eyes to try keep them dry.
It was a long time ago, back when I drank too much, partied too hard and trusted the wrong men.
It took a lot of effort, money and begging to have these buried. Six months of my life was chaos because of these images.
Frantic need to bury them again spurs my moves as I drop to my knees and start to gather all the photos. My eyes are blurry with the tears I can’t keep back now all those feelings that come with this time in my life, rush to the surface. Humiliation. Betrayal. Regret. And deep-rooted sorrow that I let myself trust people who didn’t deserve it.
“Shit,” I hear someone say through the roaring in my ears. “Kitten.”
Hands touch mine and I flinch away, shoving everything in the folder before I get to my feet and I run.
“Olivia!” I hear him roar behind me.
But I need them to be gone.
I feel them chasing me, hear them call my name but I don’t stop, not until I’m back in that grand living room with all the books, a roaring fire right in front of me.
I toss the folder into the flames, the cardstock catching immediately as it begins to eat away at the folder and all the images inside.
“What are you doing!?” Malakai hisses behind me.
“They have to go.” I say quietly.
“What happened?”
I shake my head, back and forth probably too many times it makes me look a little manic.
Only Willow and my sister know the story. They were the ones who helped me bury it, quickly and quietly so my father never found out, so the world didn’t see.
There were people who did see them, a whole room of people but they were dealt with, served legal papers that forced them to keep quiet.
I wanted to hurt Malakai for bringing these up. For finding them and using them against me.
“Olivia,” It’s Sebastian who touches my arm, but I move away from his touch, watching the flames eat at the evidence of my humiliation.
“You’re a fucking prick, Kai.” Sebastian growls at my side.
“I’d like to be alone now,” I say quietly.
But they keep arguing, shouting at each other but I don’t hear them.
So, I just walk away, and they don’t follow.
Chapter Twenty-one
I fucked up.
Sebastian warned me, but I still fucked up.
