“How does the marriage part work?”
She eyes me suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
I inhale deeply, burning my lungs, and exhale, blowing a cloudy breath into the harsh air.
“I know that it’s arranged, but does someone have to be part of the American Billionaire Club to marry a person?”
She taps her Converse on the floor. “Do you want to marry Irvin?”
I shake my head. “No. Marriage isn’t in the cards for me. He’s the one who won’t leave me alone. He keeps telling everyone I’mhis girlfriend, which doesn’t make sense because he knows we can’t be together.”
“Our parents are the ones who set up the arranged marriage, but his has to go through the board for approval since Irvin will be running the club with Snow after graduation.”
The thought of Irvin marrying someone else makes my heart twist. If he’s assigned to someone else, then why does he think we can be together? Maybe he’s using me as a plaything. I don’t mind us sleeping together, but he has to stop telling people we’re together.
There’s something I want to run by her—something she can help me understand.
“Do the American Gods kill people?”
Her eyes widen, and her nose turns red. “I can’t answer that.”
“I’m pretty sure Snow does. That’s why Savannah went missing and vanished into thin air, and no one talks about it.”
She gets up from the bench and straps her book bag over her shoulder. “I can’t discuss with you the things that go on in the club, but since we’re close friends, I’m going to tell you something. But you can’t repeat a word to anyone. Not a single soul.”
“I won’t.”
She watches me cautiously, nibbling on her bottom lip. “I’m serious, Lilac. If Snow finds out that I told you, I can get into trouble.”
My eyebrows rise. “What will happen?”
She looks around the campus. “The members of the board can kill me because the women aren’t supposed to know what goes on at the club.”
The cold air bites at my skin, making the muscles in my face numb.
I swallow thickly. “Okay.”
“You remember when Savannah attacked me last year? Snow killed her. I watched him do it. They have their own justice system. They kill anyone who is a threat to them. I’m telling you this because you’re dating Irvin.”
“I’m no—”
“Once a God wants you, there isn’t anything you can do about it. You don’t have any control over the situation, Lilac. Once he gets married, you’ll become his mistress, and from what I’ve heard about Irvin, he’s never going to let you go.”
I don’t want the type of love where he’s holding on tight to me. I don’t want him obsessed with me. I’m not about to be his mistress either.
“Is that why you never mention anything about having direct ties to them and you didn’t want us around the guys?”
She nods.
I grab my own bag and we stroll across the cobblestone. Someone bumps into me, but I don’t bother acknowledging them.
Stopping at a food truck that sells breakfast burritos, we order our food then slowly walk to our classes.
“Irvin was diagnosed as a psychopath, from what Snow told me. He likes to use people like pawns. Sometimes, he kills people for the hell of it. He volunteers to do it when they go on an assignment. It’s something they all have to do before they can be in charge of the gentleman’s club.”
My face pales. My lips tremble.
The last time I was caught up with a psychopath, he ended up… hurting me.
