“Excuse us,” he barked to the table, his voice filled with humiliation. Good. That was what I wanted: him humiliated, knocked off his high horse.
He dragged me. I let my body go loose for a second, just enough to turn my head to find him—Caspian. He was already staring. He was furious. His jaw was locked so tight I thought his teeth might crack. His eyes moved over me—slow, possessive, taking in the bare skin and the lace. He was jealous, jealous at the fact that I had walked into a room full of men when he thought I belonged to him.
His hand tightened around his glass. Someone said his name. He didn’t answer. His gaze snapped to Arthur’s hand on me, and something ugly twisted across his face.
I smiled then. Kept it soft and vacant. Just enough teeth to look wrong, but enough to make him think everything I’d done was on purpose.
Arthur yanked me harder, my body stumbling forward. “Move,” he hissed.
I went. My bare feet slid against the marble, then lifted as he yanked me down the hallway. My shoulder slammed into the wall once. Twice. I didn’t fight him. I didn’t yell.
Behind us, I heard movement. Chairs shifting. Voices rising. Olivia calling Killian’s name. I heard Killian command something, but I couldn’t make out the words.
Arthur shoved open the attic door and threw me in, slamming it behind him. I stumbled but caught myself before I hit the ground.
Locked.
The room felt smaller with him in it. Hotter.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snapped, turning on me like something finally unchained.
I said nothing. I let my eyes go wide. Let my mouth part slightly. He stepped closer. His face twisted. There was no concern for me. His chest rose and fell. I looked at him. My daddy was handsome, but he was evil and greedy.
“My funny valentine,” I actually sang. “My funny valentine…”
The words slipped out soft. Almost sweet. For a second, Daddy just froze. His eyes went wide. Then something broke. His hand shot out, grabbing me by the arms, fingers digging in as he shook me hard enough to rattle my teeth.
“Shut the hell up!” he roared. “Don’t you ever—don’t you ever sing that damn song!”
I swayed when he let go, but I didn’t stop. I hummed it.
His palm cracked across my face so hard my head snapped to the side. “You sound just like her,” he snarled, breathing heavy. “Crazy. Weak. Always whining, always clinging to things that don’t matter.”
I tasted blood. Kept humming.
“She thought she was better than me,” he went on, pacing now, his voice unraveling. “Walking around this house like she built it. Like that money made her untouchable.”
His laugh was ugly. “She was nothing without me. Nothing.”
I looked at him slowly. Still humming. His eyes dragged over me then. He was disgusted.
“And you—” He stepped closer again. “You stupid girl,” he hissed. “Do you have any idea what you just did? Standing in there like some little whore, showing yourself off like that—what did you think was going to happen?”
I let my shoulders shake, laughing at him on the inside. The weak, spineless man. They were going to eat him up when I put him in prison.
His hand came out of nowhere again.Crack.The sound echoed louder than the pain. I stopped humming. My head snapped to the side. My ears rang. My vision blurred for half a second.
I didn’t fall. I didn’t cry. I just let my body sway.
“You embarrass me in front of my guests?” he continued, his voice rising. “After everything I’ve done for you? After the doctors, the care, the sacrifices.”
Sacrifices.I almost laughed out loud.
“You’re sick,” he said, pointing at me like he needed to convince himself. “You don’t understand consequences. You don’t understand how the world works. That’s why you’re up here. That’s why you stay there.”
He heaved a breath. He’d told these lies about me so many times, I think he believed them now.
“You will not do that again,” he said, quieter now. More dangerous. “Or I swear to God, Chloe, I will put you in the ground next to your crazy mother.”
