Page 151 of Toxic

"No, don’t even finish that sentence. Don’t insult me with a proposal like that. ‘Friends with benefits’ again? We’re way past that stage, Soren. I don’t want leftovers anymore. I want it all, everything—everything you gave Anton, I want you to give to me and let me prove that I’m not him!"

Tears flowed down his pale cheeks, one after the other.

"Please, don’t make me choose, Skye! Don’t make me do this, I’m not ready, I’m too scared, I can’t hurt Liam again!"

"When you say that, you’re leaving me no choice. By not wanting to choose, you’re forcing me to make the choice for both of us."

I tried to move past him and leave the bathroom, but he grabbed my hand, holding me in place. Then he pressed his whole body against mine, and a loud sob broke from his throat.

"Liam saved my life."

I froze.

"When I was lying in the bathtub with my wrists cut. After Anton left. Liam couldn’t reach me by phone, so he drove over. He rushed into the dorm where I lived, came into my room, and found me unconscious in the bathroom, bleeding. He wrapped my wrists and called an ambulance." Soren's voice trembled as he spoke. "I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for him! We never brought it up or discussed it, and he doesn’t use it against me or remind me that I owe him. But we both know—if not for him, you wouldn’t even know me."

I stared at him for a long moment, then slowly nodded, feeling a cold wave of total defeat.

"It’s a shame you didn’t tell me this before we slept together. I would’ve backed off. If you have such a huge debt to him, and you feel obligated to stay with him because he saved your life, I wouldn’t have gotten between you two. So maybe it’s a good decision for me to transfer to another company."

"No!"

"Soren, you can’t leave him. You owe him your life—I now understand that’s how you feel. In your mind, he owns you, your life is his, right? So no matter what I do, I’ll always lose. I didn’t save your life; I don’t have this card in my hand—"

"You held me in your arms when I had a miscarriage."

I closed my eyes tightly. "That’s nothing compared to what he did. We… we have to end this, Soren. We can’t keep going on like this. It’s killing both of us."

"No!"

I tried to pull my hand away from his grip, but he held on even tighter. He grabbed my shoulder so firmly, I couldn’t pull away without using force—and I couldn’t do that to him.

"Please, let me go… You know I would never hurt you, but I need to go."

"No, please agree to Liam’s proposal! We could be… a triangle. I’d be with him and with you, but I’d only sleep with you!"

Anger flooded through my entire system. I turned to face him, as much as his grip on me allowed.

"You know, Alvin and Archer used to call me a simp. They laughed at me, and I felt like that was my second name—someone who begs for scraps from someone else’s table, never having anything for himself, because he doesn’t feel he deserves it. Settling for crumbs! But I’m done with that, dammit! I’m like you in that—it’s all or nothing. This is goodbye, Soren. Please don’t try to stop me—it’s over."

Soren trembled. I could see his pupils dilate with fear. "No, I won’t let you go; I don’t agree, fuck! No way! Never! Do you understand? You’re not allowed to leave!"

Our eyes met, his were full of panic and anger.

I clenched my teeth. "Fine. Then here’s the deal. I’m taking you to my car today, then we’re going to your place, and you’re packing your stuff. After that, I’m driving you to my apartment, where you’ll stay with me as my boyfriend. Liam is out of the picture. That’s my final offer. I’ll be waiting by the elevator after work."

He stood there like he’d turned to stone, pale as a ghost, staring at me in shock.

"If you don’t show up, I’m putting in a resignation letter to Winter on Monday. This ends either way. I’m tired of your indecisiveness. For once, I’m going to act like a fucking toxic alpha jerk in our relationship because being the second beta and a fucking simp for you… isn’t working! It’s bringing us misery! So it’s either now or never. That’s my final word."

Soren let out a sharp breath.

He hit me with his clenched fist on my chest and pressed his head against my neck. His scent enveloped me again—the pregnancy vanilla but also… dahlia, mint, and a hint of lime—a part of my scent. Was he mated to me? He was a beta, how was that even possible? But if it was true, if he was mine now… wasn’t this the ultimate proof of…?

"I might be a toxic whore, but you’re a fucking asshole!" Soren groaned out.

Finally, I managed to gently pried his hand off my T-shirt, without hurting his fingers. "Then this’ll be the first time being an asshole solves an impossible dilemma."

Fuming, I turned and walked away.

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