Page 39 of Scattered Glitter

Koen scoffs, and I can sense him stepping closer, his presence a shadow creeping over me. “You could steal your way through life easily if you just sold what you take.”

“I’m not selling anything.” I look up at him and frown. “Listen, I can give you your watch back, or you can call the police, but this game is getting boring.”

“You could do anything else.” Levi’s touch moves again, this time brushing lightly over the curve of my shoulder, fingers toying with the pink wig I wear while working. He gives a playful tug on a strand to make me look at him again. “You’re worth more than this.”

What is that supposed to mean? That strippers aren’t worth anything?

I knowI’mnot worth shit, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the girls here aren’t. I shake my head, that truth coming out in an angry breath. “I’mnot worth more than this. I’m only good to be looked at or used.”

Levi shifts beneath me. “Used? Like in—”

“Fucked,” I snap, cutting him off, the words burning my throat as they escape.

Damn, this truth shit. It’s going to ruin me.

Levi’s hands stop me mid-motion. “Are you prostituting yourself?”

His tone is harsh, but it’s Koen’s voice that cuts through me as he asks at the same time, “Who made you believe that?”

I bite my lip, struggling against the truth that wants out. It wasn’t someone else. It was me.It’s always been me.My actions, my consequences.

So, I decide to answer Levi’s question and sidestep Koens.

“I’m not a prostitute.”

“You never wanted more than this?” Levi gives me an out while his hands stay firm on my hips, and his thumbs start to trace slow circles again. “A different life?”

I hesitate, the words barely making it past my lips. “A long time ago.”

“Whatchanged?” Koen’s gaze sharpens, refusing to let me off that easily.

The chasm that opens up in my chest at his question makes me flinch.

I can’t seem to refuse to answer him altogether, so I stick to vague, to what’s safe.

“Everything.”

“Why are you even here?” Koen is so close now I can feel his warmth. “When you don’t want anything?”

“Because I have nowhere else to go.” A bitter laugh escapes me before I can stop it, the sound harsh even to my ears. I shift my weight, trying to put some space between us, but it’s useless. They’re everywhere. “What doyouwant? Leverage? Something to hold over me?”

“Yes.” His answer is sharp and steady as is the look in his eyes.

My pulse hammers against my ribs.Fuck.

I’m so fucking done with this.With them.

“Just call the fucking police,” I snap, my body tensing as if ready for a fight.

Koen doesn’t flinch, keeping his eyes locked on mine like he’s peeling away my layers one by one.

Fucking mentalists.

“What are you living for,Glitter?”

The truth slips out raw, unfiltered. “Nothing.”

It feels as if the word echoes back at me, and I see something shift in Koen’s expression, a crack in that cold exterior. “What does that mean? Do you want to die?”

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