Page 10 of Twisted Empire

“Good girl,” I said, putting my hand on her left shoulder. “Now you’re going to listen.”

“Okay,” she whispered raggedly.

I cleared my throat. “That recording is real. I admit that. But you don’t know the circumstances it was made under.”

Tatum opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but then she obviously thought better of it and stayed silent.

“Do you remember when we were on the island, and I told you how I felt about you? That I knew I was supposed to hate you because of Ben, but I just couldn’t?”

She nodded. “Yes,” she murmured. “I remember.”

“Before that, things were different. I’ve told you this before, that all I felt for you back then was…” I trailed off for a second, clenching my free hand into a fist at the memory. “All I felt was this pure burning hatred. I wanted to destroy you for what you’d done. Somewhere along the line, that changed, but it took a long time. So at the beginning, I really did want to ruin you. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. You already know that from the last time we discussed this.”

“Right,” she murmured, casting her eyes down.

“No, look at me,” I said, tilting her chin upward. “I’m not done.” She didn’t fight me on it, so I kept going. “My plan back then was to make you fall for me. Do you remember how I suddenly started being nicer to you after the ball?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I was really confused.”

“Well, that was why. I was trying to make you fall in love with me so I could destroy you. I know it sounds fucked up. But that’s what was going on in my head at the time.”

Tears glistened in her eyes again. “Right.”

“Then it all changed. I started having these other feelings for you. I couldn’t think of anyone or anything else. Just you. It all came to a head when you almost fell off that cliff.” I rubbed the back of my neck, a frown pulling at my brows. “I couldn’t fucking deny it after that. I knew I’d fallen for you, plain and simple. So that was it for my stupid fucked up game. It was over. I didn’t want to play it—or you—anymore.”

“But the recording was made after that day,” she said softly. “Wasn’t it?”

“Yes. I was lying to the council.”

She shook her head. “I’m confused,” she said, her brows puckering.

“You’ll understand soon.” I paused for a breath. “I started having suspicions about the society a few months ago. Nothing I could prove, but still… they were there. So many things that didn’t add up. I figured there was an innocent explanation for it all, but I’d only know the whole truth if I made it to the third level. So back then, getting in was mostly a peace of mind thing. Not like in the last few weeks when I knew for sure that there was shady shit going down.”

“Uh-huh.” Tatum’s brows were pinched together. She still looked confused.

“I did everything I could to gain consideration from the council. Everything. I think I actually told you that’s what I was doing at some point, right? Trying to get to third so I could figure out what they were hiding and what the fuck to do?”

She nodded. “Yes, you mentioned it,” she said stiffly.

“Well, I knew what they wanted to hear. At least I guessed. But during one of my first interviews, it started to go really fucking badly. They were mad at me for not sharing you at the party and for actually treating you with a modicum of respect. So it looked like I wasn’t going to make it in. That meant I’d never know the truth.”

“Oh.” Comprehension finally dawned in her eyes. “So… you told them your old plan? That you were trying to make me fall for you, and that was the only reason you were being nice to me?”

“Yeah. Exactly. Even though it wasn’t even true by that point.” I rubbed my jaw. “I knew it was probably what they’d want to hear, and I was right. I passed the interview and I was allowed to continue with the rest of the trials. After that, they finally let me in all the way. It happened today. That’s when I heard about the hunt and all the other fucked up shit.”

Uncertainty flashed in her eyes. I could tell she wanted to believe me, but she was too frightened to let her guard down around me again.

I leaned down to her level. “I swear to you, I didn’t know about any of it until today, and I wasn’t lying to you the other week. I really do love you, Tatum. I’d do fucking anything for you.”

She swallowed hard. “I just… I can’t…”

“I know. You can’t trust me yet. Not after all this. But you can still listen, right?”

“Yes,” she murmured.

I took her hand and squeezed it. “Good. Because there’s more, and when I heard about it, all I wanted to do was come up here and tell you. You’re the only person I can trust. The only one I wanna talk to.”

There was a flash of curiosity in her eyes. Brief, but I still caught it. I was winning her back. “More what?” she asked.

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