Page 31 of In the Midst of Chaos

“I’m sorry I didn’t come back right away… I tried, but—”

“But because you fucked Nash, you couldn’t do it.”

My eyes widened, and he threw his head back and groaned.

“Shit, you’re not denying it.”

I also wasn’t going to apologize for it. At some point, having Nash was precisely what I had wanted. He was a dream turned into a nightmare.

I fell in love with one brother but was set to marry another.

At the bottom of one of my father’s drawers, I found the hidden compartment he had mentioned in his journal. It has a small lockbox. Slowly, I typed in the keypad code for it to open.

“What do you want me to do? It’s not like I can turn back time and unfuck him,” I said sarcastically as the box opened, revealing a black folder with no label.

Duncan rolled his eyes at me.

“This is so fucked-up…” he said mostly to himself.

I took the folder and put it on the desk, stacking more papers on top so it wouldn’t look suspicious.

“Why? Because it was decided a decade ago that I would marry Huxley? Because the word of a child should not be taken into consideration. Don’t get me wrong, I love him, I do, but it doesn’t go beyond familial ties.”

Grabbing the paperwork, I stood up, ready to get out of this place.

Duncan followed me out of my office.

We stopped where Axton was scolding Riley. She must have caused another scandal. She knew she couldn’t get too close to the spotlight or she’d burn us all.

Cold fingertips touched my cheek. I looked up, and Duncan smiled sadly at me.

“I don’t think you fucking Nash is going to matter much to him.”

My throat constricted. “I know.”

“You became an obsession.”

I also knew that too. I was just a means to an end to Huxley. He didn’t want me, not really. He wanted Finley Primrose. He wanted what I brought to the table because, when it came down to it, he never got to know me like Nash did.

He didn’t know that I was scared of thunderstorms, that I used to kneel at my parents’ graves until my knees would go raw, or that I’d been to the meadow and seen things no little girl should have. He didn’t know that although I might be a girl, I had more balls than some boys.

Axton stopped scolding Riley, and they both turned toward Duncan and me.

“Nice show,” Axton said.

I raised a brow since he wasn’t giving up the information if my little plan had worked.

“So should I pick my casket or what?”

His lips curled in mock disgust.

“Your father would have been proud,” he said as he fixed his suit. “For that, I’ll take what you said the other day into consideration.”

It took all my control not to gloat.

“They canceled the vote?” I asked Riley.

“It was my father’s legacy for me.” She winked at me. “Maybe next time, drop a tear or two.”

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