Page 40 of Tangled in Temptation

Her laughter filled the room. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t a competition. You’ve already lost.”

“I won’t run away like you want me to,” I snapped back, matching her cold stare.

She arched an impeccably penciled eyebrow at me. “Suit yourself. You’re setting yourself up for a miserable letdown. You clearly don’t know him like you think you do. He would do anything for our daughter. He loves her more than he could ever love you. You’re a piece of ass. That’s it. Nothing more. And I promise you, he’ll get tired of whatever it is you have to offer eventually. I’ll be here to pick up the pieces, just as I always have been. Floozies like you come and go. You’re not the woman men like Timothy are ever going to marry. You just don’t have it.”

I clenched my fists at my sides, feeling my blood boil at her audacious claim. The nerve! “You don’t own him,” I growled through gritted teeth.

Regina scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “And you think you do?” she asked with a derisive smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “You’re a fool if you think he’s your Prince Charming. Men like him are never caught; they just occasionally let themselves be tethered for a while.”

I was taken aback for a moment, her words slicing through me like a cold gust of winter wind. I had no words, so I just stood there, my chin up and eyes glaring at her.

“Look at you,” Regina chortled. “You think you’re so courageous standing there in defiance. You’re just scared and pathetic.” She approached me then, her heels clicking ominously on the hardwood floors. Her perfume was nauseatingly sweet, like rotten fruit. She stopped inches from me, looking down her nose at me with sheer disdain. She hated me. I wondered what Timothy had ever seen in her. She was pretty, but looking at her this close, it was clearly a lot of smoke and mirrors. When she opened her mouth, she was the ugliest woman I had ever seen.

“What’s going on here?” Timothy demanded.

Regina shot me a dirty look before plastering on a smile and stepping away from me. “Just having a chat with Betty the Builder here. I wasn’t aware you were bringing your side pieces home.”

“Get out,” he growled.

Regina laughed. “I’ll see you later, Timothy. We have so much to talk about.”

I couldn’t move or breathe as I watched her saunter away. “Catherine,” Timothy said and walked into the kitchen.

I couldn’t stay. I could not be a part of this weird, unhealthy relationship they had going on. I went for my purse, anxious to get the hell away from him.

Timothy moved quickly, stepping in front of me to block my path. “Catherine, wait. Regina is just trying to get under your skin.”

“Move out of my way,” I snapped. “I’m leaving.”

I tried to step to the side to get around him, but he grabbed my arms. I glared up at him, needing to get away from him before I started crying and really embarrassing myself.

Chapter Eighteen

Timothy

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THE AIR IN THE ROOM hung heavy with tension. I was still trying to get my wits about me. Regina was always there to fuck up my life every time I turned around. Catherine’s eyes were clouded with a mix of anger, frustration, and a hint of sadness. I stood there, desperately searching for the right words to untangle the mess that had become our reality.

“Catherine, please, let me explain,” I implored, my voice laced with urgency.

She jerked away from me. “Don’t touch me.”

I held up my hands. I could see the pain in her eyes. Regina had hurt her. I wanted to rip Regina limb from limb for being so horrible to a woman that had done nothing to deserve it. “Fine, but please, let me explain. Just give me a couple of minutes.”

“I don’t know why I should,” she hissed. “You’ve been lying to me from the very moment I met you.”

“I haven’t lied about anything. I can explain.”

She crossed her arms and glared at me. “Explain? Timothy, Regina is using Paisley to manipulate you. Can’t you see that? And you’re letting her!”

I ran my fingers through my hair, a nervous habit that I had not been able to shake. “I’m doing everything I can to protect Paisley, but it’s not that simple. Regina has a way of making things complicated.”

Catherine’s eyes glistened with the tears threatening to spill. “Complicated? Timothy, she’s trying to use your feelings for Paisley against you. She wants you back, and she’s using our connection—whatever it is—to paint me as a threat. I can’t be part of this. She’s made me into the monster. Made me out to be the one that’s a bad influence on Paisley. I have no doubt in my mind she will keep Paisley from you if she thinks I’m anywhere near you. This thing with us is not going to happen.”

I stood there, staring at Catherine as the words slipped from her lips. She was right; Regina was turning my world upside down, the same way she always did. But Catherine wasn’t supposed to be part of it. None of it.

“You’re not the monster here, Catherine,” I finally managed to say, my voice hoarse. “And you’re not a bad influence on Paisley. She adores you.”