Cold washed over me from the words. It suffocated every ounce of warmth I’d started to feel because of her. I welcomed it because it was the protection I’d sought all my life. As long as I was cold, no one could hurt me.
Laikyn pointed at the door. “I don’t want you here. Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
I was no longer in the mood to justify my actions. She’d made it clear that I was expendable. Irrelevant.
She stepped forward, getting right up in my face. Her voice became softer, more lethal. “I never want to see you again, Rule. Go back to the rock you crawled out from and leave me the hell alone.”
I glanced at Jinx. He still looked out of it. As though he was having a difficult time processing what I’d said. Not a good thing since he knew the reason I’d married her. He knew I’d done it so she could meet the stipulations to get the money. I didn’t want it for myself, but she refused to let me explain.
“Out!” Laikyn screamed at the top of her lungs.
I left.
Not only the room but also the hotel and then the state.
I didn’t look back.
Not once.
I couldn’t.
I didn’t want to see the remnants of my heart now that she’d ripped it clean from my chest.
* * *
Laikyn
After Rule left, I started to tearinto Jinx but couldn’t come up with the words I wanted to say, so I locked myself in the bedroom and passed out. Between the adrenaline dump and the alcohol, I’d drifted into a state of nothingness.
When I woke up, it was dark out, the curtains drawn back to reveal the glittering lights of the strip. I glanced at my phone screen to check the time. It was after eight, which meant I’d missed dinner with Knox. I would apologize to him at some point, but for now, I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone.
I was no longer drunk, but now I had another problem. Without the alcohol dulling my senses, I felt a void in my chest. One that had taken up residence after Rule admitted he’d only married me for money.
How was I so blind? I mean, I knew he had a motive. He hadn’t denied it from the beginning. He also hadn’t told me what it was, but never once had it crossed my mind that money might be involved. And that was saying something since this all came about because of money—a three million dollar supposed debt, right? I’d played right into his hands. Everything had worked out like it was a movie he’d written the script for.
My mother needing his services, convincing me to call him. Monica not being able to pay.
Rule must’ve jumped at the opportunity because it couldn’t have been more perfect, could it? My mother would’ve gone to jail if I hadn’t agreed to marry him. Or, at the very least, I would’ve been stuck living with a woman who’d staged my kidnapping for financial gain.
I’d opted for the lesser of two evils. At least, that was what I’d thought at the time.
And for the past two and a half months, I’d fallen little by little until I could barely breathe for how much I loved him. Both of them. I’d gone headfirst in love with two men, and now I wasn’t sure I could look at either of them.
I never intended to fall in love. I wasn’t looking for love. Never had been. Not with one man, much less two. I’d intended to keep it about sex, but somewhere along the way, I’d given in to their pull.
Damn, they really did have a pull, too. Even now, as I stared at the glittering lights, I could see their faces in my mind, those crooked grins, and the gleam in their eyes. How could they do this to me?
A tear dripped down my cheek, and I rushed to wipe it away. I would not cry for Rule. I wouldn’t give him so much as a second thought. How fucking selfish was he that he married me to get his hands on a trust fund? God, it was probably three million dollars, the exact amount he had charged my mother. Another perfectly-timed coincidence?
Jesus.
A knock sounded in the other room, and I stilled, listening for Jinx to open it. Another knock came a minute later. I peeked out the door and found the sitting room empty. The only thing in there was the one suitcase I’d brought. All the others were gone.
I swallowed past the painful lump that clogged my throat and fought the burn of tears in my sinuses.
When the knock sounded again, I jumped.
“I don’t need room service,” I said to whoever was on the other side, but my voice came out whisper-soft.
