Page 45 of Kings of Cruelty

Yeah, like he looked out for me when he’d cheated on me. Or when he’d told me I should be happy with mediocre grades. Or when he’d stole my ideas and presented them as his own.

Why the fuck had I put up with him for so long.

“I don’t need you to,” I say. The urge to vomit has finally stopped being so pressing, and I slump down onto the floor. “If you want to help, find Yuri for me. You know, the Russian guy I’m dating now?”

“One of them,” James mutters darkly. He doesn’t move though, staring at me.

“What?” I demand.

“Did you get fat?” James asks. “Your face looks rounder.”

I stare at him, slack-jawed. I can’t believe he accused me of getting fat.

I shouldn’t care. It’s not like I’ve ever been obsessed with my weight, though his nagging little comments about what I was eating and wearing had gotten to me a few times. My cheeks flush, and I squirm. “No. I haven’t gotten fat. Go back to class and leave me alone. I don’t know how I can tell you to fuck off more clearly.”

“It’s those guys.” James takes a step closer to me, and I back away. “What are they doing to you? You’re letting go of yourself.” Then he stares at the trash can. “Do you have an eating disorder now?”

Exasperation is making the nausea return, and I contemplate letting him get closer so I can throw up on his shoes. “If I had an eating disorder, I’d be a little more discreet about it,” I snap. “And it still wouldn’t be your business. I’m not going to sit here and troubleshoot my nausea and apparent weight gain with you.”

I push myself up, gritting my teeth.

James makes that annoying sound where he pretends to be thinking. “You’ve been sleeping around a lot, you were missing from college for a while, you’re sick now, you’re getting fat…” His eyes narrow. “Are you pregnant?”

Fuck.

I’m going to rip Yuri a new one when he gets back. For the morning sickness, for leaving me alone with this… Hell, for getting me knocked up in the first place.

“No,” I lie as smoothly as I can, but it doesn’t work too well when my stomach threatens to lurch again and I’m stumbling back up to my feet. “Even if I was, it wouldn’t be any of your fucking business,” I manage to say instead of vomiting again.

“Jesus,” James says, giving me a nasty expression. “You really are a slut. Getting knocked up as soon as you leave me.”

“You’re just pissed I wouldn’t spread my legs foryou,” I retort. “That I found someone worth it.”

Did I find someone worth it? That’s not really the true story, but it’s the story that’ll drive him crazy—and he deserves to second guess himself for once after putting me through the same for so long.

He tenses up. “What? Who wants a loose cunt like yours anyway?”

“Obviously I found someone who does,” I snap at him even though the words sting. With all the use it’s been getting over the past few months, it probably is loose and sloppy—though Konstantin seems to like that, at least, and Nikolai and Yuri do too. They’ve made it feel almost like a good thing, but my cheeks burn with shame.

Before James can say anything else, I hear heavy boots thudding on the tile floor. I look over my shoulder to see Yuri jogging over to us, drink in hand and a thunderous expression on his face.

James backs up several steps before Yuri even reaches us.

“Sierra,” Yuri says, and I can’t believe how much I appreciate the fact that his pronunciation of my name is so distinct from how James says it. He gets between me and James. “What are you doing here, mudak?”

“Pissing me off,” I mutter. “He decided to?—”

I cut myself off. If I say what had really happened, there’s a very real chance that this will lead to a physical altercation. I don’t want to get thrown off of campus. I’m too close to getting my degree, and little clashes like this won’t happen again. Yuri and Nikolai will be so far up my ass that I’ll be wishing for space again.

“Anyway, he’s leaving now,” I say. “Right, James?”

James looks between me and Yuri. “Fine. Guess there are men out there who want washed-up whores.”

Yuri’s eyes flash in anger, and he reaches out for James but James had the foresight to storm away. Before Yuri can go after him, I grab his arm.

“Don’t.”

“He disrespected you,” Yuri snaps. “I can’t allow that.”

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