Page 53 of Unveiled

“Little bird, is everything okay?” He looks concerned, but doesn’t know what to do. He’s as confused as I am. “Mr. Ryker instructed me that no one should come here when he’s not with you.”

He moves to address Christina, presumably to kick her out of the house, but I hold up a hand to stop him.

“Why are you here?” I repeat, my patience wearing thinner the longer she stalls.

With a sigh, she pushes around me and sinks onto the couch where I was sitting only a minute ago.

“Cainy and I are… together,” she finally spits out. Jonah and I look at each other, neither of us believing her.

“Cain,” I correct her again. Her nickname is getting on my last nerve. “I don’t believe you. Why are you really here?”

Again, she sighs and throws her hands in the air. “Look, I didn’t think this would ever happen, okay? Cain and I hooked up a few times when we were younger, and when you left him a few months ago, he sought me out. Did you expect him to wait around for you, when you clearly didn’t want him?”

Her words slap me in the face, and this time, I don’t look at Jonah. I did leave him; who am I to judge if he needed company during our time apart? But, if that’s all it was, why is she here now?

“We started sleeping together, and things sort of… escalated. We’ve been seeing each other more frequently, and he gave me a key to his house so I could come over whenever I want. That’s why I’m here, actually. He texted me and told me he misses me, so I decided I’d come surprise him. I had no idea you were still here.”

Still here? “You knew I was here?”

She looks at me with pity in her eyes, and now I really want to get that wet paper towel. “I didn’t agree with his plan, and I tried to get him to drop it. He just couldn’t let it go.”

“What are you talking about?”

She stands from her spot on the couch and approaches me like I’m a scared animal that might strike if she gets too close.

“You broke him when you left. I put him together, but he never forgave you. He even carved your name into himself so he wouldn’t forget the pain you caused him until he could return it. He wanted to bring you here and make you fall in love with him again, so he could break you the way you broke him,” she explains, still being cautious of me.

None of what she’s saying is true. Cain would never do that to me. He’s worked so hard to bring me back to him. But, is that why? Did he need me to give into him, so he could break me?

She knows about my name between his hips. The only way she’d know that about him is if she saw him with his shirt off, which Cain only does when he’s home.

“I don’t believe you,” I repeat myself. There’s not as much conviction in my voice as my heart and brain try to battle one another.

“He already broke you, didn’t he?” Her eyes are still full of pity, though there’s a glimmer of victory in them now. She’s enjoying all of this. “I wish I could have warned you, but you dug your own grave, honey. Cainy just wanted his revenge.”

My body whirls around as my eyes seek Jonah. He looks just as torn as I feel, though his body language says he’s still prepared to kick her out.

“Is any of this true?” I demand. He clearly doesn’t know this girl. Wouldn’t he have seen her around if she’s been coming here for months?

“I’m sorry, little bird, but I don’t know,” he answers gently. “Since Mr. Ryker hired me, my job has been to watch over you. I spent little time here until this week.”

I whirl back to the girl as I try to process everything. “Why should I believe you? Cain loves me. He would never do anything to hurt me.”

“Oh, honey,” she says again. My palm itches to meet her face, but I keep it glued to my side while I await her answer. “Look, you don’t have to believe me, I’m just trying to be the nice person in this horrible situation.”

“Tell me why I should believe you,” I demand. Tears are welling up in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall in front of her. Did he choose her because she looks like me? Is that how he was able to get over me?

Too much is adding up. The way he pushed me to give into him over the last few days, telling me he wanted me to fall in love with him all over again. He was all too happy to carve his name into my back, knowing it would be a permanent reminder of everything that happened. He even ostracized me from Ethan last night by telling me that our friendship isn’t just a friendship to Ethan. Everything he’s done this week makes sense if I look at it as his revenge.

“Look, I’m going to go,” she announces as she goes to step around me, but she stops right beside me. “Last night, you gave into him at a dinner with your best friend, and he fucked you outside against the house. He told me that right before he told me he misses me.”

That’s the final straw for me. The only way she would know that is if Cain told her. Ethan knew what happened against his house, but he doesn’t know why. Only Cain and I know why, and apparently, this girl does, too.

She walks out of the house, closing the door behind her and leaving me alone with Jonah. I’m too ashamed to look at him.

“Ainsley,” he starts, but I hold up a hand to signal that I don’t want to hear it. Cain has already made a fool of me, I don’t need Jonah to acknowledge it.

I need to get out of here. Panic is setting in, threatening to crush me, and I can’t breathe. Every breath I pull into my lungs reminds me of Cain. The smell of his cologne lingering throughout the house. The smell of our sweat mingling together every time we fucked, even on the couch right in front of me. The way he liked to take my breath away by wrapping his hand around my throat.

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