“You heard me,” I swallow thickly, stepping back. “I wanted to fuck you, and I did. You let me. I told you I was going to ruin you, didn’t I? And I just happened to get bored with you quicker than I thought I would. Sorry.”
“Sorry,” she repeats slowly. “You’re sorry?”
“Look, Sloane—”
Sophia cuts me off with a deep, bitter laugh. Her eyes swell with tears, and she glances down at her hand. She’s wearing the sapphire ring I got for her, and she twists it so the gem is facing the inside of her palm. Then, without a warning, her hand connects with my cheek.
The sharp gem pierces through my skin, blood dripping down my cheek. The sound of her palm connecting with my skin echoes around us, my head turning to the side.
Good. I fucking deserve this, and so much more.
When I look back at Sophia, she takes the ring off and throws it away. I don’t even care where it lands, and she’s looking at me with so much fucking hatred, and so much pain that her body starts trembling.
“You’re a fucking bastard,” she grits out, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, but I went against my better judgment and allowed myself to fall for your trap.”
“No one forced you,” I scoff. “You did everything willingly, Princess.”
The sarcasm in the nickname only ticks her off further, and I’m glad. She should hate me, and she should continue to hate me so fucking much. I never deserved her, and I’ll make sure she gets the chance to let go of all the anger toward me eventually.
“You’re right,” she steps back a little. The tears never stop falling, and my heart sinks to my feet. God, I hate seeing her like this. And it’s all my fault. “But I promise you, Ford, I’ll make sure you regret it all. I’ll fucking ruin you, and you won’t see it coming.”
“Go ahead, Princess,” I snap. “Do your fucking worst because let’s be real, this has to be one of your poorest attempts at attention seeking, just like always. God forbid someone plays with the almighty Sophia Sloane the same way she toys with people, right?”
“What?”
“You heard me,” I take a small step forward. Her sweet scent hits my nose, and my resolve almost falters. But when I remember that her entire future is at stake, I shake it all off. “You’re a hypocrite, Sloane. The worst of them all. And I played you like a fucking fiddle. How does it feel, hm? To be used like a toy?”
“I hate you,” she says, but the pain on her face only intensifies.
“Good, you should fucking hate me.”
Something flicks in her eyes, but it’s gone before I can figure out what it is. She looks me up and down a handful of times, then takes another step back.
“No wonder your family sees you as a disappointment, Soren. After all, if your own mother can’t love you, how could I?”
The words sting, and I know she fucking means them. She’s looking at me like she just took off her rose-colored glasses and is finally able to see through me. She doesn’t say anything else, and there’s no need to. Everything’s been said already, and we went from being so close to a proper couple back to enemies.
Just like we once were.
And that’s good. Because the longer she focuses on all the reasons to hate me, she’ll hurt less.
Sophia enters the car again and starts driving off. I suck in asharp breath, my entire body trembling from pure fucking rage, and I can barely see clearly. Then, the cunt decides it’s the perfect time to message me, and it’s the clearest confirmation I’ve ever had.
“You handled that well.”
However, what I don’t expect is to get an email notification from Sinners and Saints, and my entire body goes rigid, blood running cold in my veins. Because for a brief moment, I underestimated Cassia’s deprived brain, and when I see that she leaked one image of Sophia, all I see is fucking red.
FORTY
Ifucking hate the bastard. My mind’s still reeling, even hours later. Avalon’s asleep, her soft snores the only thing I can hear over the rapid beating of my heart. It all hurts so fucking much, and I don’t know how to handle all of the emotions that are swirling inside of me.
It’s pain, it’s anger, and most of all, it’s disappointment. I’m disappointed in myself for believing the sweet lies that he told me, all the promises that now sound so unreachable.
I put my hands over my face, trembling and trying my best not to cry my soul out. I don’t want to wake Avalon up, but I need an outlet. I can’t continue holding all of this inside of me; it’s getting too difficult to breathe properly.
I suck in a sharp intake of breath, trying to calm myself down. My cheeks are damp, and even the pillow has some wetness to it that wasn’t there before. I slowly sit up, flip the pillow over, and as I’m about to lay back down, my phone starts ringing.
I quickly take the call so Avalon doesn’t wake up. It’s just after midnight, and I’m not sure why Grace’s calling me. The phone is to my ear, and I keep my voice as low as possible.
