Page 6 of Say You're Mine

And there, sitting behind a massive mahogany desk, is Elaine Deveaux herself.

She looks up as I enter, her ice-blue eyes narrowing in a calculating stare. "Well, well. If it isn't the little artist. To what do I owe this...pleasure?"

The word drips with disdain, a verbal sneer that sets my teeth on edge. But I refuse to be intimidated, refuse to let her see how much her mere presence unnerves me.

"Where is he, Elaine?" I demand, my voice shaking with barely contained fury. "Where's June?"

She leans back in her chair, a cruel smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Why, I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, my dear. Juniper is exactly where he needs to be."

I stalk forward, slamming my hands down on the desk with enough force to rattle the expensive knick-knacks that litter its surface. "Don't play games with me. I know you did something to him! I bet you have him locked away somewhere. Tell me where he is, or I swear to God, I'll..."

"You'll what?" she asks, her voice dripping with icy amusement. "Call the police? Go to the press? Please, child. Don't embarrass yourself."

She rises from her chair, circling the desk until she's standing mere inches from me. Up close, I can see the fine lines around her eyes, the hardness etched into every plane of her face.

"June is receiving the help he so desperately needs," she says, her tone as smooth and cold as a serpent's scales. "Help that you, with your little artist's salary that I generously gave you, and your...questionable background, could never hope to provide."

I feel a flare of white-hot rage surge through me, my vision blurring at the edges. "You don't know anything about me, or about June. He doesn't need your kind of help. He needs to be with me, with his family."

Elaine laughs, a harsh, grating sound that sets my nerves on edge. "Family? Is that what you think you are to him? Oh, you poor, deluded girl."

She leans in, her face mere inches from mine. I can smell her perfume, a cloying mix of gardenias and something darker, more insidious.

"Juniper is a Deveaux," she hisses, her eyes glittering with malice. "He has a legacy to uphold, a dynasty to maintain. And you? You're nothing more than a distraction, a cheap little thrill he's already grown tired of."

I reel back as if she's slapped me, my heart constricting in my chest. "No," I whisper, my voice trembling. "No, that's not true. June loves me. He wants to be with me, with our..."

I trail off, horror dawning as I realize what I've let slip. But it's too late. Elaine's eyes widen, her mouth curling into a vicious snarl.

"Your what?" she demands, her voice as sharp as a razor's edge. "Don't tell me you're pregnant, and calling that bastard a Deveaux?"

I flinch at the venom in her thrilling laughter and bitter words, my arms instinctively wrapping around my still-flat stomach. "It's not a bastard," I say, my voice low and fierce. "It's our baby. Mine and June's baby."

Elaine's face contorts into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage. "You little whore," she spits, her hand lashing out to grip my arm in a bruising hold. "You think you can trap my son with your...your spawn? You think you can force your way into this family?"

I try to wrench away, but her grip is like iron, her nails digging into my skin hard enough to draw blood. "Let go of me," I hiss, my voice shaking with fear and fury. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where the father of my child is."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," a new voice interjects, smooth and cultured. I look up to see a man stepping out of the shadows, his salt-and-pepper hair and tailored suit practically screaming wealth and influence. "You see, Amethyst is already pregnant with June's child. The next Deveaux heir."

My blood turns to ice in my veins, my stomach churning as nausea melds with a sickening anvil of pure horror. "What? No, that's...that's not possible."

The man smiles, a cold, cruel thing that doesn't reach his eyes. "I assure you, it is. Juniper and Amethyst have been...together for some time now. The pregnancy was planned, of course. A way to ensure the Deveaux line continues, no matter what...distractions may arise."

He says the word "distractions" with a pointed look in my direction, his lip curling in a sneer. I feel like I'm going to be sick, bile rising in my throat as the full weight of his words sinks in.

June and Amethyst. Together. Expecting a child.

It's like a nightmare come to life, a twisted, funhouse mirror version of the future I'd dared to dream of. The future where June and I were a family, where our love was strong enough to overcome any obstacle.

But it was all a lie.

A beautiful, terrible lie that I'd been foolish enough to believe.

Elaine releases her grip on my arm, stepping back with a triumphant smile. "You see, my dear? You never stood a chance. Juniper is a Deveaux man, they have a tendency to play these silly little games. Can't you see he was simply using you—a temporary amusement to pass the time until his real future could begin."

I shake my head, tears blurring my vision. "No. No, I don't believe you. June wouldn't do that to me. He's my best friend, he wouldn't..."

But even as I say the words, doubt creeps in like a poison, insidious and all-consuming. How well do I really know June, after all? How much of what we had was real, and how much was just a pretty facade?

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