Page 154 of Obsession

Violet turns when Armand puts his hand on her shoulder. My hand clenches into a fist.

I swallow when she smiles at him, even takes a step toward him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was… flirting with him.

No.

God, no… would she?

“Good move, Vi,” Joe mutters, then zooms in with the camera we’ve secured to Violet’s lapel. “She’s smart, your woman.”

“Fucking stop calling her my woman.”

His brows shoot up infinitesimally, but he quickly trains his features. “Alrighty. Noted.”

“She’s smart, yeah.” I want to change this subject, now. “She’ll know exactly how to play this.”

“Shit.” Armand’s taken another step toward Violet. Violet retreats.

He pushes closer, physically intimidating her. My hand’s on the door.

“Boss, don’t. If you fuck this up, she’ll never forgive you, and she’s damn near there already. You do this, and you’re a fuckinggoner.There’s no coming back from fucking this up. Trust her.”

Trust her.

It’s the very same thing that I told her.Trust me.

Do I trust Violet? Do I have to trust that she’ll do what’s right and what’s best, no matter how deeply it hurts me?

I have no choice.

I can’t swoop in and save her.

I can’t fix this for her.

I have to let her go.

Do I love her enough to let her go? Do I respect her enough to let her do what’s right for her, even if it feels like this decision will kill me?

Can I?

“What are they fucking doing?”

“Looks like they’re just talking. Friendly, even,” Joe says, but he’s scowling, as if he’s seen something that makes him suspicious.

Armand says something to her. Violet stills, then draws her hand back and tucks it against her chest. Her face is drawn, and her eyes are wide. This could be it, when he tells her everything to destroy me, yet the power of the revelation’s lost its punch.

Violet shakes her head from side to side.

“Fucking audio,” I grate.

Joe smacks a button, and the sound of Violet’s beautiful voice fills the car.

“I can’t believe it,” she says, shaking her head from side to side. “This whole time, I’ve had no idea that Cain was following me.”

“I’m so sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” Armand says, the fucking liar. “But I think you deserve to know the truth.”

He’s been waiting for this, we all knew it. We knew he was holding onto this last card to play to get back at me and regain some sense of power. But he’s only a player, a pawn in this game of roulette where no one’s the victor.

“Thank you,” Violet says, her voice hollow. Either she’s a good actress, or she’s channeling the real hurt this revelation gave her. In either circumstance, it makes me feel like utter shit.

---