“Fucked,” I snap, cutting him off, the words burning my throat as they escape.
Damn, this truth shit. It’s going to ruin me.
Levi’s hands stop me mid-motion. “Are you prostituting yourself?”
His tone is harsh, but it’s Koen’s voice that cuts through me as he asks at the same time, “Who made you believe that?”
I bite my lip, struggling against the truth that wants out. It wasn’t someone else. It was me.It’s always been me.My actions, my consequences.
So, I decide to answer Levi’s question and sidestep Koens.
“I’m not a prostitute.”
“You never wanted more than this?” Levi gives me an out while his hands stay firm on my hips, and his thumbs start to trace slow circles again. “A different life?”
I hesitate, the words barely making it past my lips. “A long time ago.”
“What changed?” Koen’s gaze sharpens, refusing to let me off that easily.
The chasm that opens up in my chest at his question makes me flinch.
I can’t seem to refuse to answer him altogether, so I stick to vague, to what’s safe.
“Everything.”
“Why are you even here?” Koen is so close now I can feel his warmth. “When you don’t want anything?”
“Because I have nowhere else to go.” A bitter laugh escapes me before I can stop it, the sound harsh even to my ears. I shift my weight, trying to put some space between us, but it’s useless.They’re everywhere. “What doyouwant? Leverage? Something to hold over me?”
“Yes.” His answer is sharp and steady as is the look in his eyes.
My pulse hammers against my ribs.Fuck.
I’m so fucking done with this.With them.
“Just call the fucking police,” I snap, my body tensing as if ready for a fight.
Koen doesn’t flinch, keeping his eyes locked on mine like he’s peeling away my layers one by one.
Fucking mentalists.
“What are you living for,Glitter?”
The truth slips out raw, unfiltered. “Nothing.”
It feels as if the word echoes back at me, and I see something shift in Koen’s expression, a crack in that cold exterior. “What does that mean? Do you want to die?”
I shrug, forcing myself to hold his gaze even though every part of me wants to look away. “It’s not that I want to die.” The fight leaves me as I exhale. “I’m just not keen on living.”
Levi’s hands on my hips tighten, his fingers pressing into my skin, not enough to hurt, but enough to still me. “How about you keep living in case something good happens? At least that’s what I do.”
My body stills beneath his touch, the warmth of his fingers so different from the cold feeling creeping up inside me. I glance at him. His playful demeanor has faded, replaced with something more serious. It almost makes me want to laugh—almost—but instead, I stare at him, wondering how I ended up here, tangled between these two men who seem to read me better than I can read myself.
This is fucking ridiculous.TheyaretheLane brothers, celebrities. Here because I stole shit from them, not for a fucking therapy session. I was afraid of them getting me locked in jail,but it seems, thanks to Koen’s little hypnosis act, the possibility of getting locked up in a mental health facility is getting higher by the second.
“What was your dream once?” Koen asks when I don’t say anything.
I take a breath, memories creeping in before I can block them out, and I hate Koen for the fact that he pulls me back to when I was happy, or at least the happiest I’ve ever been. “A villa in Tuscany. Driving a Mustang.”
