Page 20 of Beauty & Corruption

Chapter 22

Reggy

“Stone, fucking run!” I called to him as soon as I saw him. “They want to use me against you all!” I didn’t know the real reason they took me, but I had to warn him. Saving him under false pretenses was better than not saving him at all.

Chapter 23

Stone

She stood, and I almost fell to my knees at the mere sight of her. Her hair was matted to the side of her face with dried blood. Her leg and hands were black and blue, and she was in bad shape, but she was alive. I told myself to remain calm, that she was alive over and over, hoping it would eventually sink into my thick skull. I had to touch her. Maybe then, my mind would believe it. I didn’t give a shit if she was mad at me. Hell, I didn’t care if she fucking hated me right now. I loved her, and I was a fucking idiot for ever letting her go.

“Stone!” She ran into my arms with such force it nearly knocked me backward.

“Bird, I’m sorry. I am so fucking sorry. You almost… You could have… Fuck, I’m sorry,” I rambled while my fingertips ran all over her body.

“I know. Me too,” she cried.

“I love you, Regina.”

“I love you, too.”

Chapter 24

Reggy

“Ilove you, too,” I told him the truth. I never questioned my love for Stone but did question his for me. Saying the words out loud made me feel like a snake, though. I hadn’t lied to him, but it wasn’t the whole story either. “But…” my voice trailed off, not having the strength to break his heart. If I continued my statement, it wouldn’t only be painful for him, it would fucking gut him.

When Stone encouraged me to give my body to his brother by seeking out endless nights of pleasure and exploring the blossoming feelings that I was too stubborn to accept I had; it wrecked me. The not-so-subtle offer to seduce his brother was far beyond temptation but was something I never would have thought I would have pursued, much less lost myself in.

Stone didn’t berate me for moving across the hall into Mordy’s room when I was beyond pissed and stormed out of his. He thought the freedom would be cathartic for us—that it would give our relationship the chance it never had. But, by denying our past, he destroyed our future. He denied us the chance to take the sought-after blind leap of faith that most couples get. There were so many possibilities of paths we could have takentogether that he prematurely closed off. He had given life to our love and snuffed it out in the very same breath.

Neither of us could have predicted the outcome to land us where we were now, the very least of all me. I wasn’t prepared to give any piece of myself that I was certain would always belong to Stone to another man. Yet, slowly, I felt myself slipping and questioning everything.

The one part of myself Stone never intended for me to give to Mordicus was my heart. If I was honest, I didn’t expect it to happen either. I didn’t want it to happen, but you didn’t rise to be in love with someone; you fell. I didn’t have a choice in much of my life right now, and loving Mordy wasn’t any different. My heart didn’t ask for permission when it switched frequencies and went from hating to loving him.

Honestly, while I continued to love Stone from a distance in the daylight, my heart gave itself to Mordy during the nights. I wasn’t a good person. My heart was torn apart, neither half in agreement about which man to love. I loved them both.

“You love him, too. Am I right?” Stone took the words right out of my mouth. He gave me an out, and I was thankful because I didn’t know if I would have ever found the willpower to say the words to him, knowing how much pain they would cause him.

My head nodded against his chest as tears poured down my cheeks. I wasn’t able to look at him. I refused. I did not want to see his heart shatter.

“It’s okay, Bird. I told you, it’s okay to love us both.”

My eyes lifted to his, knowing it was wrong of me to ask this of him but praying he meant what he said. “I didn’t mean for it to happen,” I admitted not only to Stone but to myself. Loving Mordy was never part of the plan. He took me by surprise when he stole his half of my heart, and I had an idea he would never give it back if he found out it belonged to him.

“Fuck! Mordy,” he yelled so loudly that my ears rang.

“Wait. Where’s Mordy?” I asked, fear climbing back into my body. I was so caught up with the rush of everything that I hadn’t thought everything through. Mordy would have never, and I mean never, let Stone come after me alone. He might have allowed Stone to think he was the knight in shining armor because that was who Mordy was. He let others shine in the spotlight; he preferred the night anyway.

“Stone, where’s Mordy?” I anxiously asked him again. His eyes widened, and he took off running in the opposite direction, and I chased after him.

The walls were splintered, and the smell of smoke was unmistakable. My eyes scanned the disastrous scene, frantically flicking from one body to the next, praying none of the motionless bodies were him. My legs turned to Jell-O when I saw him across the room, not moving. Stone followed my gaze, and he froze.

My feet moved as fast as humanly possible, but somehow, it wasn’t fast enough. He was dead.Don’t let him be dead!“Mordy!” I cried. He needed to know I was here. He needed to hang on. “Mordicus!” I sobbed, dropping to the ground and shaking his body. “You weren’t supposed to die! Remember? You were supposed to kill me. You owe me!”

Chapter 25

Reggy

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