Page 23 of Savage Vicious Heir: Part Two

“Abi, God no. It isn’t that at all. It’s just we’ve all heard the rumours about Elliot. He likes to be in control…”

“I know.” Shame burns my cheeks as I glance away, trying so hard not to remember how good it felt to be with him. To have his hands on my skin.

“Wow, okay. So the two of you… Wow.”

“Forget it,” I rush out, standing. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, it’s me, I’m sorry.” Tally smiles. “Please, don’t go. I want you to talk to me about this. It’s just a lot. But I guess people might have said the same about me and Oak at first.”

“Oakley loves you,” I point out. “He would never hurt you.”

Her expression darkens as she considers my words. “What did he do, Abs? And don’t try and tell me Elliot isn’t the reason you’re hiding out here.”

Inhaling a shuddering breath, I try and figure out how much I want to reveal. How much I can trust her with.

But it’s too late to go back. Tally knows something is going on, and she won’t quit until I tell her.

“Ethan…”

“Yeah.” Her brows furrow. “What about Ethan?”

Panic rises inside me. I don’t want to repeat what he did, what they all did. It feels too embarrassing, too unbelievable. But not telling her will only drive the wedge deeper between us. And the truth is, I need to talk to somebody about this.

I need… I need a friend right now.

“If I tell you all this, you can’t tell anyone, Tally. Swear it.”

Concern masks her expression. “You can trust me.”

“Ethan never wanted to be my friend.” The words hurt more than they should. “He didn’t feel sorry for me, and he wasn’t interested in me.”

“I don’t understand. What are you saying?”

“Elliot paid him.”

“He… what?”

I nod slowly, fighting back the tears. “Elliot paid Ethan to befriend me. He’s been dating Lauren this whole time while we were…” A sob lodges in my throat as I remember the last time we were together, the lies that he whispered to me.

Tally rushes over to me and wraps me in her arms. “I don’t understand. Why would he do that?”

“Elliot texted me the other night to meet him, so I went into town.” The words pour out. “I was so nervous, I thought… I thought he wanted to take me out. Like on a date.” A small, self-deprecating laugh tumbles out of me. “But when I got to the pub he was there with Lauren.”

Tally frowns, holding me at arm’s length. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It was Scott. Scott must have texted me from Elliot’s phone and lured me there. Ethan showed up too. I’ve never felt so stupid as I did standing there, realising that everything that happened between us was a lie.”

“Wait a minute, Scott orchestrated it all?”

“I guess so. You should have seen the smug look on his face, Tally.”

“And what did Elliot do?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” she hisses.

“He was obviously annoyed at Scott for making a scene. But he acted like…” God, I can’t even say it.

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