Page 53 of Paper Thin Love

His chest puffs out as he takes a dominant stance.“Are you threatening me?”

“No.”Yes!“I’m going to practice. When you’re ready to be the old Jared I used to know, who cared for our friendship, then you can join me.” I turn and begin to walk away. Lifting up the bag of art supplies, I hug it in my arms. A part of me wants to skip practice, find a dark corner, and purge all my emotions into the art, just like Dash suggested.

“You know what I think is going to happen, Mila,” Jared shouts.“I think he’s going to shatter you.” My steps falter before I begin to add speed to them.“And then I’m going to be the one who has to piece you back together again.”

I keep walking, but it feels like I’m walking a plank. Jared might be correct.

Chapter 21

Dash

“There are two ways you can handle this, Dash,” Dante’s voice purrs, smooth and controlled, his Italian accent adding an air of effortless authority that I’m sure works on others, but not me. He leans back in his chair, fingers drumming lightly on the table, a picture of calm dominance, every gesture deliberate and composed. I admit it is hard to hear him over the roar of my thoughts as I watch Mila run away from our table, hand in hand with some other guy.

It shouldn’t make me mad.

It does.

She is mine. My toy. My future.

Why the fuck do I care?

“They all know he’s her dance partner. It’s fine, just chill.” Cillian adds, but it does nothing to calm me.

“Dash,” Dante speaks again, this time with a hint of sharpness.

I am seeing red, and I’m sure everyone knows it. Who the fuck is that guy? He approaches our table with the audacity of someone who thinks he belongs there!

Mila didn’t mention she has a boyfriend when she agreed to fake date me, yet that prick thinks she is his. I could see it in his stare, his challenge.

Maybe that’s why I want her so badly. This challenge makes it a game and Mila is the prize.

Dante remains poised, his fingers tapping lightly on a melody that sounds hauntingly familiar, his eyes never leaving mine.“Okay, I’m going to continue to speak and hope my voice reaches through your fog of fury,” Dante snickers, his calm demeanor a stark contrast to my barely contained rage.“If you react to a scholarship kid approaching our table, then that will show those who do have power that you’re easily offended. He,” Dante leans forward, his voice dropping to a more menacing tone,“doesn’t matter. He’s nothing to you. If you react to every threat, you will exhaust yourself. Pick your battles wisely.”

Slowly, deliberately, I turn to face Dante. He picks up his white napkin with the same measured grace, letting it float down onto his lap as if we are merely discussing the weather, not my seething anger.

“Who is he?” I demand, my voice a low growl.

“So, you do care about her?” Cillian raises a brow, his tone laced with curiosity and a hint of mockery.

“She’s my responsibility now, whether I like it or not,” I hiss, my words biting and sharp.“I’ll use her as I see fit. That doesn’t involve some scholarship prick coming up to our table and taking her from me.”

Cillian stills, his usual easy demeanor replaced with a rare seriousness.“She doesn’t deserve to be hurt, Dash.”

“I didn’t say she did, but when my father tied her future to mine, everything changed. I promise you this, big man: I might be using Mila, I might be breaking her free of her mold to piss off my father, but the last thing I want is to have her body dropped off at my dorm room door.” I brace my elbows on the table, my knuckles white.

Cillian shoots a quick glance at Dante, a silent exchange of understanding passing between them.“I will do everything I can to keep her alive. That means keeping her by my side. I don’t know that guy. He could be working for my father or he could be working for my enemy.” I add.

Cillian’s green Irish eyes hold mine, a silent, intense communication. Finally, he nods, accepting my stance.

“His name is Jared. He’s a scholarship kid. He’s a dancer. He’s nothing to you or us. He’s Mila’s partner. Actually, she is his meal ticket. The dance program was added here when Mila enrolled, or so I have heard. He needs her. That’s the leverage you have over him,” Dante says, feeding me the information with a calm precision that makes my anger lessen.

I rake my fingernails over the rough texture of my cast. I don’t have options. I’m alone and broken, but Dante and Cillian are the only ones I can truly trust here. That, and I like what they stand for. I’m so fucking tired of being a pawn for my father. One day, I want to be the chess player and not just a piece on the board.

Slowly, I nod, a dark resolve settling in. Dante and Cillian share a slow, predatory grin.“Your training starts today. We train before dinner. Your leg is broken, but your fists aren’t. Get ready to use them, brother,” Cillian says, his voice dripping with a sinister pride that seeps into my bones.

A shiver runs down my spine as I realize this is what I’ve been craving—a chance to turn the tables, to reclaim my power. I thought I didn’t want to live after my mom died. I was wrong, confused.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to live. I wanted to find power, taste it.

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