“Get in.” Arko opened the car door at the back once we reached, gently pushing me forward with a hand to the small of my back. Behind me, I heard some kind of shouting…maybe from my brothers or their men who must have evaded Arko’s, but the slamming of a door blocked out the sounds.
Arko slid in from the other side and instructed his driver to take us home, then put up the privacy screen between the front and back.
Within seconds, we were speeding away from the venue.
The silence in the car was suffocating. I stared out of the window, still too stunned by what I’d learned, watching the city lights flash by.
“Beatrice?” Arko asked gingerly after a few minutes. “I didn’t know they’d be there tonight.”
That was it. Just hearing him act so concerned sent a hot wave of rage surging through my body, clearing away the fog of shock.
“Was what my brothers said true?” I hissed, turning to face him. “Did you set the fire in the nightclub just so you could kidnap me, Arko?”
He paled, and his eyes slid away from me to where his hands rested in his lap. He took a deep, shuddering breath, then looked back at me.
“I needed a plan to get you alone,” he said softly, like he was afraid of his own voice, flinching as he did.
That was when I saw white, blinding fury.
“How could you?” I roared. “There were innocent people inside. They could have been hurt, killed, or worse. I was inside!”
“I knew that,” he shook his head. “That’s why I made sure it was controlled and had people watching the exits to make sure everyone got out. It was never my intention to hurt anyone, Beatrice. Please, you have to believe me!”
I saw the pain in his eyes, the agony in his voice, but none of it registered.
“I have no reason to believe you!” I said, the tears stinging in my eyes. “You’ve lied to me all this time. Did you know about my past when you did it? Did you know what fire does to me?”
“What? No!” he said, as soon as the question left my lips. “I had no idea.”
“But you did later!” I twisted in my seat to face him fully. “You just held me when I told you how fire triggers me. I told you everything about being left to die in that warehouse, and you said nothing. My voice cracked. “You let me kiss you, all while knowing you were the one who triggered my worst nightmare…how could you?”
“I wanted to tell you.” He extended a hand like he was about to touch me, but recoiled when I reeled back. His voicesoftened as he moved back a bit in his seat, his face full of anguish.
“So why didn’t you?” I scoffed bitterly.
“There just didn’t seem to be the right time.” He hung his head, not meeting my glare.
I felt my eyebrows hit the roof of my head. “Is there ever a right time to admit that you’re a monster who likes watching people be terrified?”
He looked like I’d struck him across the cheek. Just then, I heard the tires slow down on the gravel before the car came to a stop. I hadn’t even noticed we had reached home.
“I deserve that,” he said softly, not making a move to step out. “But I’m not a monster and I never knew, Beatrice.”
“You knew eventually, but never apologized. What am I to make of that?” I choked on my own voice as the lump in my throat forced me to swallow my voice.
“I’m so sorry, Beatrice…” he whispered, and I shook my head, planting out a hand to stop him from talking. “I messed up.” His voice faded into uncertainty.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I said, shaking my head as I turned away from him and reached for the car door. “In fact, I don’t want to talk at all. The worst part is that I actually started to believe there might be something real between us.”
The last thing I saw as I turned to step out was how pale he looked, like I’d shattered all hope with my icy words.
I slammed the door shut, running to make way up the stairs with tears streaming down my face because I meant what I said at the end. It could have stayed real had he not lied to me. I didn’t turn back even once to check if he followed.
All I wanted was to lock myself in my room and hopefully never see his face again.
***
I didn’t leave my room the next morning, and when I missed breakfast in the dining room, the maid brought it up.
