Page 22 of Cruel Devotion

“It’s weird, though, isn’t it?” He inspected his cuticles as he spoke, enjoying every second of making me squirm. “I’ve always disagreed with the rumors about her. You know the ones.”

I glowered at him expectantly. “Which ones?”

“That she’s a whore like her mom was.”

Mrs. Feldstone had no excuses. She’d singlehandedly tried to break up as many marriages and families that she could. I remember the day that Haley’s mother ran out of town. My mom came home in a fit, talking about how Mrs. Feldstone laughed when a woman confronted her at the salon, crying that she’d slept with her husband. Ever since then, I’d been trained that Haley’s mom was no good.

“Like her sister was,” Preston added.

That was old news too. Natasha Feldstone got knocked up when she was sixteen and left Marsten because of the shame.

I wasn’t proud of my parents, and I loved not living with them and having to be oppressed under their strict rules and expectations, but I’d never envied Haley’s family drama.

“Because you just have to look at her and know she’s not getting laid.” Preston cracked his knuckles. “She’s too frigid, like an icy bitch. She’s too ugly, hiding in all those baggy clothes. She’s too?—”

I held my hand up. “Yeah. I get it.”

He snickered, getting up to walk toward the front of the room since his name was called.

The second he left, I let out a long breath.

“Dude, this isn’t a good start,” Finn whispered.

“No. It’s fucking not,” I agreed.

It was the first day I had to work on winning Haley over, and she hated my guts more. I shouldn’t have dismissed her and mocked her about our grade. I had to grovel and get on her good side now, but even that sounded impossible.

Whenever she narrowed her green eyes at me, pinning me on the spot with her loathing, I was drawn in to needle and poke and piss her off even more. Seeing her happy or relaxed was the catalyst for me to make her suffer. It was a balance I’d never understand, and I'd stopped trying to.

She’d looked so furious, I was surprised her glasses didn’t fog up with the heat of her anger. She’d bit her lip so hard, keeping in her retort, that I wanted to revel in the satisfaction that she’d do it so hard to potentially make it bleed.

Having this power over her was a sick and twisted hold, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop. Pushing her buttons was a high I’d never tire of.

“There’s still time,” Finn said.

I heard the pity in his voice. “It doesn’t matter how much time. She’ll still act like that.”

“Then maybe you need to not act like that, either.”

I frowned at him.

“Maybe don’t be so combative. Act like a friend for once. It’d be a start to getting your end of the dare done.” He returned his gaze to his laptop and resumed working.

“Haley and I will never be friends,” I told him as my phone buzzed.

“So, you’ll give up?” he asked.

I checked my phone, seeing that it was just another text from the overlord.

Dad:Don’t forget about your mother’s birthday dinner Wednesday night next week.

I groaned lightly.

Eli:I haven’t forgotten. But can’t we do it on the weekend?

Dad:No. Her birthday is Wednesday, so we’ll go on Wednesday.

Dad:Too busy to make time for your mother?

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