Page 50 of Stone

Slam.

“I’m begging you.”

Slam.

She’s crying for him.

Slam.

“You don’t understand.”

Pleading for him.

Slam.

“You’re going to kill him!”

I lift my fist again, and his unmoving body becomes the target for my raw anger, as to dispel my hurt on someone other than her.

“Keenan. Stop!”

Ice freezes my veins and stills my movement.

The foreign sound of my birth name on her lips is a testament to her traitorous actions. A sneer slides from my lips as I slice my gaze toward her.

She stands there with the loose tape in her hand and tears streaming down her face. “You don’t understand. Let me make you understand.” It comes out as a plea, one I’m not ready for. Her betrayal has gone too far.

Just what the fuck does she know?

Did she know all along we weren’t related?

Was this all a part of an elaborate act to control me?

Manipulate and degrade me?

“He doesn’t love me. He never did,” she whispers, and I cast my eyes down to the piece of shit beneath me. “He loves her.” She tilts her head toward the woman in the chair. “I married him because he loves her.” Her eyes implore mine to understand. “It was an act, Stone. It was all an act.”

“All an act,” I repeat almost robotically, but she doesn’t miss the undertone of my words.

Shaking her head, she swipes away the fresh tears flowing down her pretty little face. So perfect yet so messy, and the sight of her has my cock stirring. “Not that. Never that.” She clutches at her heart as if it pains her to say it. “It’s only ever been you.” I shake my head, refusing to believe her. Why the fuck would Iwhen she’s lied so much? When they’ve all lied so fucking much. My hands find my head, and I clutch it as pain surges through me.

“H-he loves her, S-Stone.” Her chest heaves. “He only ever wanted her, and I only ever wanted you.” Snapping my eyes open, I take in the beauty of her standing in the doorway, so disheveled, but never has she looked so free, as if admitting her truth has finally redeemed her from her lies.

Well, good for her, but what about me?

Anger flares inside me so strong the pain in my head feels catalytic.

What about the lies, the deceit?

She let me live through hell, knowing I was never out of reach. That the thoughts twisting inside my gut were not so disgusting after all. I wasn’t a monster.

What about the torture, the trauma, the depths of hell I’ve been through?

The burns on my body feel as fresh as ever, like someone is pouring salt into those open wounds once again. Her compliance in this, her utter betrayal, feels like my heart that only beat for her has been torn from inside me, ravished so brutally that my vision blurs and my body trembles. “You lied to me.”

Her face pales.

“You lied to me!” I bellow louder.

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