“You’re lying.” My throat muscles clench and warm tears drench my cheeks. I’m a snowflake for crying, but she’s my soulmate. I can’t lose her.
“Please don’t cry, Sam,” Zilphia pleads, emotion spilling out with every word.
I gently cradle her oval face in my large hands. “I love you.”
“Sam—”
I swallow her words, closing my lips around hers, pouring my desperation into her. Telling her without words that she is my North Star, brightening my path across the murky, treacherous sea of my life. I need her to understand the sincere depth of my feelings.
With a gasp, Zilphia twists her fingers into my shirt, responding to my urgency.
Thank God.
She said yes.
To me. To us.
My hands travel the length of her spine and skate under her dress. I finger the waistband of her tiny thong before gripping her velvet-smooth bottom and lifting her onto a desk.
“I love you, Zilphia,” I rasp against her lips. “I love you so fucking much—”
The door slams open and light floods the room. “What the fuck are you doing with my sister?”
Zilphia scrambles off the desk, stark terror transforming herfeatures. I face down Nolan, Redmond, and three other guys. Satisfaction puffs my chest at the sight of Redmond’s swollen nose.
“Nolan, I—”
“Save your excuses,” Nolan barks, jabbing an accusing finger in her direction. “You’re nothing but a fucking whore.”
“Call her another name and stars will be the next thing you see,” I growl, taking a threatening step toward him.
“Enough yapping,” Redmond snarls. “This hillbilly needs to be taught a lesson.”
“Wait till Momma hears about this,” Nolan crows, rolling up his sleeves. “She’s going to beat your ass good, but first I’m going to crack your boyfriend’s skull.”
“I-I h-have no idea w-who this guy is,” Zilphia stammers. “I-I s-swear.”
“Liar,” he accuses, his mouth twisting into an ugly sneer. “You were all over each other. From here on out, your life is going to be a fucking nightmare.”
She shakes her head, panic flickering in her wide eyes. “He forced me in here… and just started kissing me. But I’m fine, really.”
“Zilphia,” I whisper, her words hitting like a bullet to the chest.
This isn’t the girl I fell in love with.
Her betrayal is more crippling than the deadliest poison on Earth. We could’ve stood together in unity, but she chose to throw me to the wolves to save her own skin. Like mother, like daughter after all.
“Motherfucker!” Nolan shouts and rushes me, clocking me in the jaw.
I quickly recover and retaliate, landing a two-piece combo to his grill. The group converges on me and wrestles me to the floor. Five to one—the odds aren’t in my favor. Fists and expensive shoes fly, pummeling my body. I nestle my knees to my stomach to protect my vital organs and curve my forearms over my head. Luckily, adrenaline numbs me against the brutal beating.
“Stop!” Zilphia cries, hurling herself between me and my attackers.
Too little, too late.
She sealed my fate the moment she falsely accused me of sexual assault. No point in pretending to care now.
Nolan pushes her, and she crashes into the whiteboard. “Stay out of this!”
