Page 399 of Beautiful Villain

“He tried to, but he couldn’t finish. It made me wonder if he had been with… another woman while he was out. It was the only threesome we had, and he didn’t start to go out like that every night. Just that one time… I went and made sure I didn’t have an STD afterward, paranoid he might’ve gotten something, but no. I was clean. I am clean.”

“Are you on the pill?”

I shake my head. “There was no need for me to be on it except for birth control. My periods aren’t too bad, thank God, and Derrick didn’t want me to be on it anyhow because he thought it would make me gain weight.”

Leo’s scowl is vicious. There’s no other word for it. If Derrick was still alive, I don’t have to wonder if Leo would’ve killed him.

I know he would’ve.

But Leo doesn’t have to worry about that. I took care of Derrick myself.

If I hadn’t, Leo and I never would’ve met.

“I’m due for my period tomorrow,” I say. “Chances are very slim that I’ll become pregnant.”

“If you want birth control…”

I hesitate. “Please don’t be mad at me,” I whisper.

Leo lifts his eyebrows.

“I… I’m infertile. I would’ve gone on the pill secretly if… I paid out of pocket for the doctor to determine if I was fertile or not. Once I realized… Once Derrick started to become abusive and cruel, I knew I couldn’t dare have a child with him. I didn’t want to bring a baby into the world… If I was fertile, I planned on secretly taking the pill, but I’m infertile. I didn’t have to worry, so there’s no need for me to be on the pill. I… I never told anyone this before.”

Leo just stares at me, his expression unreadable.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur. “You didn’t want to know all of that. I dumped my baggage at your feet, and that’s not fair?—”

“What’s not fair,” he says, his words rumbling from his chest, “is that you feel the need to apologize and hide. Your past is horrific. There’s no denying that. My own past… Let’s just say my past is checkered. There’s nothing you can say that will cause me to look at you differently, but if you were to learn everything I’ve done…”

“My opinion of you wouldn’t change.”

He grunts. “You’re naïve, Olivia.”

“Maybe so, but I like to think that I am growing and changing.”

“You are,” he agrees. “Since you’ve come here, you’ve been changing, yes.”

“For the better.”

He wrinkles his nose and glances away. “My darkness… my shadows are poisoning you.”

“I’ve known darkness for a long time. Maybe the shadows are where I’m meant to be.”

I wish Leo would wrap his strong arms around me, but he doesn’t. He does help me dress, though, and I leave his room feeling a bit at a loss.

Vulnerable. That’s what I am, and I don’t like it. I also feel like I’m not doing enough for the Obsidian Shadows, and yet, I don’t know much about them and what they want.

Or what the Scarlet Vipers want.

Or why the two mobs are heading toward war.

Maybe I’m better off not knowing.

twenty-one

Desperate to find a way to prove myself, in the silent sanctum of encrypted conversations, I engage once again with Cipher, the digital oracle guiding me through the labyrinth of shadows. With each keystroke, the clandestine dance unfolds, revealing fragments of a truth hidden within the intricate web of secrets.

“Cipher, there's something I need to know. Tell me about the Scarlet Vipers and their connection with the government.”

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