Page 56 of What Doesn't Kill Us

The question comes out of the left field, and when I look at Jayme, he’s looking at me with mischievous eyes.

I glance at Agatha, who smirks as she says, “Yes, Darius. Why don’t you tell us all about your new girlfriend?”

I glare at her, then turn back to Jayme. “What do you wanna know?”

“I want to know how it is you got yourself tangled up with the spawn of the enemy.”

I shrug. “They sent her to destroy me. I decided to keep her.”

Jayme laughs, shaking his head as he replies, “You’re telling me that all we had to do to bring down the beast was send the right woman?”

“It’s not as simple as that, asshole.”

He raises his brows at me, his hands coming up as if he’s asking for some evidence as he says, “Well, that’s how it looks. They sent a woman to destroy you, and rather than kill her, you start of a relationship with her. How is that even possible?”

I narrow my eyes at him, sitting back in my chair as I contemplate my answer. I’ve spent so much time over the last year pushing back any truth concerning our relationship; sometimes, it’s hard for me to refocus. And it’s difficult to put it into words because no one else will ever understand. Finally, I say, “Yes, they sent her to take me down. They had groomed her from a young age to focus on obligation, family loyalty, and the job. But I changed all that for her. And we changed each other.”

Jayme scoffs, his fist coming out and knocking on the table. “Bullshit. There’s no way the Beast gets taken for a ride by some duplicitous bitch and he allows her to live. That just doesn’t happen.”

“You watch your fucking mouth. You say whatever you want about me, but you shut your fucking mouth about her.”

His eyes widen in surprise. “Well, shit. It really is serious.”

I grind my teeth together, my urge to leap over the table and pound the shit out of him extreme. No one has to understand anything about my relationship with Antoinette. All they need to understand is that I will literally burn anyone and anything that threatens her. “You could say that. She confessed, and I forgave her. That’s all you need to know.”

Agatha interjects, “She confessed? She told you who she was and why she was sent to destroy you?”

I shake my head, sighing deeply before I reply, “She confessed they sent her to set me up. But we never had time to go into any of the details.”

“Didn’t have time? What the fuck does that even mean?”

“She was taken shortly after I found out.”

Agatha and Jayme both frown at me. They keep staring at me expectantly until, finally, I say, “It’s a long fucking story.”

Agatha and Jayme look at each other, then Agatha turns to me. “We have time. Start at the beginning.”

As much as I don’t want to fucking talk about it, I don’t see them letting me off the hook. It’s been so long since I thought about that time. So many months, twisting the tale, always adjusting the different variations of the story to suit whoever was listening. I’ve run through the story so many times as a lie, it’s difficult for me to piece it back together in real time.

Just the thought of it makes me tense, and I feel the heavy weight on my chest.

My words catch in my throat. I clear it a few times, then look between them, and take a few deep breaths.

Then I open my mouth and let the words fall.

About a year ago

I’m so fucking bored I’m considering stabbing myself just to feel the racing of my heart.

I look across the table at my so-called date. Her mouth is moving. It hasn’t stopped fucking moving since we got here. I’m sure she’s talking some nonsense about an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever. I could not care less.

I’m only here because I’m waiting to lay eyes on the only woman who does it for me. I brought the fake date, though she doesn’t know she’s a fake date, just to make it look like I wasn’t spying.

But, of course, I’m fucking spying.

After our night of revelations, Antoinette told me she’d have to continue to date to keep up her end of her cover story. And she definitely would need to keep this date, given the short notice.

I didn’t like the plan at all, but it’s difficult for me to argue, not knowing the full extent of what’s been going on behind the scenes. She said she’d meet up with me afterward to give me the full story, but I couldn’t just sit back and wait around for her. So, here I am. Creeper Central.

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