Page 19 of Seeds of Sorrow

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In the daysthat followed their little bedroom escapade, Hadina made sure to remain at the house. She felt Peyton’s eyes on her whenever they were in the same room, watching and waiting for their gazes to meet.

Hadina made sure to avoid looking back at her.

It didn’t make her feel good about herself, but Hadina was a master in manipulation. She had spent her twenties learning ways to make men fall in love with her and give up their secrets, how to make women so jealous they wanted to be her friend so they could whisper behind her back. It was exhausting, but always worth it.

Manipulating Peyton was different. It made Hadina’s stomach churn whenever she felt those eyes on her, and instead of looking up, she’d grab her phone and leave the room. Peyton was peculiar and seemed attracted to Hadina’s cold demeanor, which meant a lot of attitude. One-word answers, pretending to be distracted, talking to anyone but her—Hadina had it down to a fine art within the first two days.

But it really, really fucked with her. She ached to taste the littletentadoraagain, even if it was under the guise of business. She found herself more distracted than usual, always aware of where Peyton was and what she was doing. Even Harris had commented on it when he had come to talk to her earlier that morning. It had sobered her up fast enough. Hadina Adis would not show weakness to anyone, least of all one of her employees.

Slumping against the kitchen countertop, Hadina sipped on her coffee and closed her eyes. She was absolutely exhausted but there was a lot of work to be done.

The thing about the family business was that it was never-ending. For every person she killed, anotherbastardoturned up with their sick trafficking rings. Harris had arrived at the house with rumors about a new operation being set up, some of their old informants having heard things through the grapevine. Apparently, the leader was called Regina, a fierceputawho kept herself hidden in the shadows. It was stupid of her, really, to be so brazen as to step into Hadina’s area and expect to do her business.

Hadina wasreina de las sombrasand she would wield her title like a blade. Nobody would dare come intoherdarkness and expect to live.

“Are you okay?”

Opening her eyes slowly, Hadina locked gazes with Peyton, who stared at her like she was a fragile piece of glass about to shatter. That wouldn’t do, not at all.

“That’s not your concern, Miss Dimitra,” she snapped in response.

Peyton’s eyes widened, her nostrils flaring in indignation. Crossing her arms over her chest, which only accentuated her sinful bust in the V-neck tee she was wearing, Peyton glared at Hadina with what looked like an attempt at disgust. “Well, fuck you, then.”

If Hadina didn’t need to stick to her plan, she may have laughed. “I already did that,muñeca. Sex doesn’t give you the right to pry.”

Hadina could see the anger boiling beneath Peyton’s skin as she stepped forward, leaning on the island between them. “Yes, I remember. I’mjust the help, right? Also, I don’t fucking know Spanish. Translate for me if you’re going to call me a name.”

Hadina raised a brow at that, at the dominance and command in Peyton’s voice. It made her want to lean her over the counter and spank the fight right out of her. “Muñecameans doll. I figured it was accurate, since you clearly like to be played with, don’t you?”

Peyton rolled her eyes. “Oh, fuck off. Making me come one time doesn’t mean you get to be a bitch for no reason. You looked stressed so I was asking if you were okay. You know, a very human thing to do.”

Ignoring the jab, Hadina gripped her mug tighter and gulped down the rest of her coffee. She knew Peyton was watching her throat as she swallowed, paying particular attention to the small drop that traveled down her chin in a single drip. With a perfectly manicured hand, Hadina scooped the runaway liquid onto her fingertip, bringing it to her lips slowly as she licked it off. Peyton watched the show attentively, her lower lip pulled between her teeth.

Setting the mug down, Hadina winked. “Be adolland wash that for me, won’t you?”

Peyton’s mouth gaped as Hadina smiled smugly, walking out of the kitchen with a practiced swagger. Being a bitch felt fuckinggreatsometimes.

Chapter15

PEYTON

Peyton hadno idea where Hadina got off thinking she could treat her like that, where she got the fucking audacity from. Her indignation and anger kept her frozen in the spot, staring after Hadina long after the woman left.

It had been almost two weeks of Hadina being around the house, avoiding Peyton like nothing had happened between them. Peyton knew that it should never have happened anyway, but it didn’t stop her pining. People always wanted what was forbidden, and Hadina definitely fell into that category.

She still wanted to find a way out of this mess, to get some sort of leverage over Hadina, so that she could blackmail her way out of this deal. But if she could have fun while she did it, Peyton didn’t mind playing with fire. Though Hadina’s avoidance dampened the likelihood of that ever happening again. Whether or not either of them wanted it.

The thing was… Peyton wasn’t sureifHadina wanted it. The incident in the bedroom was absolutely a manipulation tactic, which meant that she wasn’t sure whether Hadina had been into it, or if the objective was purely meant to get Peyton under control. She could pine for her, but Peyton wouldn’t make a fool of herself by fawning over Hadina like some lovesick puppy. It was pointless anyway. Hadina didn’t show emotion like everyone else.

After cleaning up with maximum grumbling, Peyton went to the living room to find Don. He was seated in a leather recliner, a beautiful hardcover book in hand. He offered a smile as he looked up, sliding a bookmark between the pages to keep his place.

“Hello,cariño,” he said, gesturing for Peyton to take a seat on the sofa.

She sank down with a sigh. “Are you doing okay?”

“Are you?” he fired back with a brow raised, an expression she had seen on Hadina many times before.

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