Page 135 of Mark

CHAPTER THIRTY

Mark

I finish applying the last butterfly stitch to the wound, when Esther rasps, “Too hard.”

I roll my eyes at her comment. If she stopped pulling at her flesh to see the wound, it wouldn’t have kept reopening. If she does it again, she can bleed to death for all I care. I have places to be.

After pressing on a dressing, I kneel back and look up to find she no longer has her bikini top on.

“What the fuck!” I yell.

“Whoops, sorry,” she giggles. “Must have come undone.”

Yeah right. “Get out,” I bite out. “I don’t know what kind of fucking game you’re playing, but I don’t want any part of it.”

“Jesus, I know my sister has small tits, but a guy like you has seen plenty,” she remarks as she gets back to her feet. “Stop being a drama queen.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that it came undone? Do I look stupid?”

She arches her perfectly plucked eyebrows at me. “It was an accident.”

“Your mum not swallowing you was an accident. This shit is intentional. I’m with your sister.”

She grunts, losing her smile. “My sister will never truly be with you. She’s so in love with my husband, she won’t give anyone else a chance.”

I burst out laughing. “She wouldn’t piss on your husband if he was on fire.”

“No? Then tell me why she was trying to get him to feel guilty about leaving her last night, or why she was flirting with him?”

My brows pinch together, which causes her to smirk. She truly thinks I believe the shit spewing from her mouth. What I’m confused about is why she would think that story of the event happened. “You mean when she bumped into him last night?”

Surprise lights up her eyes, and I’m willing to bet she thought she knew something I didn’t. What she doesn’t know is, Freya doesn’t hide shit from me. I’ve given her no reason to, and I never will.

She shakes her head as if to clear her thoughts. “So she’s already spun you a tale?”

“The only one spinning tales is you and your husband. Freya overheard your friend and cousin talking bad about her in the girl’s toilets last night. And she realised that none of that would have happened if it wasn’t for you or your husband. But mostly your husband in her eyes. But me…” I state, stepping closer. “I think it could have all been avoided if you weren’t so insecure.”

“I’m not insecure,” she hisses.

“Yes, you are. You are so insecure you bully your sister to make yourself feel better. You do it so Danny never truly listens to the voice in the back of his head that tells him he messed up when he fucked you. You do it because you know she is twice the woman you are. You don’t give a fuck what it does to her emotionally, or the toll that it takes on her. You’re selfish and self-centred. You won’t get between Freya and I, so don’t waste your time trying. It won’t work.”

A smug smirk flits across her mouth, and the hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end. “Are you sure about that?”

I narrow my eyes on her, wishing one of my cousins were here to lay into her. “What have you done?” I grit out.

Her smirk turns into a smile. “Turns out I didn’t need to do anything,” she replies sweetly. “You should have locked the door.”

I spin around, noticing the door is slightly open, and glance back at the bed where Esther had been sitting. “You stupid fucking bitch,” I growl.

She laughs, moving towards the door. “Guess you two weren’t as strong as you make people believe. I didn’t even have to touch you to break you up.”

“I can fix what has happened,” I bite out, lowering my voice so she can hear I mean every single word. “But what you’ve done is unforgiveable. She forgave you once, but this time, there’s no going back.”

She shrugs without a care. “I’ll never forgive her so I don’t give a shit.”

“Forgive her for what? For the scenarios and paranoia you built in your own head? Are you really that fucking stupid? I’m going to tell you what she’s never been able to tell you. You weren’t his first choice. He never broke up with Freya to be with you. He thought breaking up with her would force her to give in to what he wanted. Which was to move in, get married and start a family. She didn’t want that. So he went to the one person who told him she would give him those things. Then used your insecurities and jealousy as a way to make Freya hurt like he did when she didn’t fall for his gaslighting. You want the truth, here it is: he traded down when Freya didn’t want him. He knows it. You know it. And deep down, Freya knows it. But she’s too damn fucking kind to say it out loud. She could have told you he was still messaging her, even after you two went public. She ignored every single one. When he read her poem as his vows, she still smiled for the cameras so you could have your farce of a wedding. She could have told you he went to her cabin but she didn’t. And never once have you asked yourself why she’s never retaliated. Or maybe you have and it makes you even angrier.” I take a breath, gripping the door handle tightly to rein in myanger. “Freya is mine, and I can tell you fucking now, this is the last fucking time you get to hurt her.”

She steps out into the hallway, smirking smugly. “Are you sure about that? My sister doesn’t give second chances.”

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