Page 30 of Ink Deep Devotion

Years ago? Did…did Dash know about this?

Dad pours a drink from his private stash and quickly finishes the glass.“You should have waited. I already told you Mila acted out. She could have made a scene.”

My shoulders ache as they press against the wall, hoping it would just engulf me.

“Mila is stronger than you think,” Marcus states, as if he knows me better than my father.

I’m right here!I attempt to let out a scream, but silence fills the air.

Running his hand through his hair, Dad gazes over at me in the corner.“The marriage won’t take place till you finish school.”Is that meant to comfort me?“You knew this was coming.” He mutters softly.

“Let’s give them time to get to know each other. Dash is home now, and he will attend Empire University. A good marriage is built on a friendship. Why don’t we let them talk?” Marcus adds.

I brace my hands on the wall, and in horror, I watch as Dad and Marcus leave the office. A fever engulfs me while my knees quiver. Dash keeps his back to me as the walls of the office close in on us.

Is he waiting for me to make the first move?

Tipping my head back, I close my eyes, not having the strength to speak with them open.“Did you always know?”

“I knew many things.” Finally, the devil graces me with his voice—such a deep, alluring voice he has. The memory causes my thighs to tense up, trying to suppress the new pulse emerging deep within me while my eyes search to confirm his presence.

“Did you know we were engaged?”

His short, sharp sigh makes it seem like my voice vexes him.“I figured it out the moment you entered the office to be my tour guide.” He runs his fingers over my father’s desk like he just conquered a war against my family, and he’s assessing his spoils.

I feel like such a fool. My bottom lip trembles, eyes chase the exit of the door, knowing his guards are standing behind it.“Why didn’t you tell me?” My voice has more cracks in it than a used and abused Texas road.

He taps his index finger on his thigh, as if deciding whether to stay still or flee without looking at me.“It was more fun to trick you.” His answer is as nonchalant as a barista adding a touch too much cream to your coffee. Now it’s too cold and has no taste.

An utter waste.

That is exactly how I feel.

“That’s all we ever were, right?” I challenge him.“One huge game of trickery?”Tell me it’s a lie, and you spoke those vile words to push me away.

Silence.

I push off the wall, stepping into the center of the office.“Dante came to me in the hospital. He told me where you were. He told me I gave you fuel to stay alive.”

Dash shakes his head in disgust as he huffs,“Dante is a hopeless romantic who will never admit it, so he pushes his deep desire onto others.”

“And what are you?” I ask, my tone defeated. I know he can look me in the face and lie, but I can’t help the hope that still clings to my mind. Wishing he wouldn’t lie and would tell me the truth. It feels like we’re swirling in a tragically beautiful ballet with me at the center stage.

His tense back arches, then he pivots to meet my gaze with eyes as icy as the void of deep space.“A man that never loved you.” His eyes are like a chisel that etch his wicked words into his stony, lifeless heart.

Wow!

Why am I shocked the devil relishes in seeing me in pain?

Because you knew the devil was once an angel, so you tried to make him good again. A fall as great as the one from heaven breaks a part of the soul, fractures it so deep it can never be fixed.And the black ink covering his wing? Those stains are never coming out.

You have to stop trying to fix him, Mila.

He follows my tears as they stream down. Maybe I can cry a puddle large enough to drown in.“That’s a lie,” I mutter.

A slight tip of his head has him studying me deeper. What he finds, he loathes.“Is that what you told yourself when you fucked Dominic?”

A sensation like a bullet tearing through my heart makes it jerk suddenly. I feel dirty and ashamed.“You left,” I whisper in a plea for forgiveness.

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