Page 45 of Ink Deep Devotion

“That fool was just my pawn. He thought Marcus King killed his father, but it was me!” His chest widens with pride.“He believed everything I told him. Some days, it was so easy to trick Jared that it was boring.”

“You…you…killed Jared’s father!”You tricked Jared…you’re a demon.

“Foryou.” He blinks as if I’m stupid and struggling to comprehend simple math. His eyes loom over me like a hook about to sink into my wide-open, shocked mouth. “You don’t understand what you mean to me, Mila,” He tries to soften his face, but there’s no hiding his madness. The Mad Hatter can add another hat, but we all know he’s already mad—it’s the hat that made him that way. Just like Dom’s obsession with me created the very thing he’s trying to protect me from. A predator.

His brows lift, as does his grin.“The lengths I have gone to in order to keep you safe…that’s love, Mila.”

What is he waiting for? Me to wrap my arms around him.

When I don’t react, his jaw grinds down.“You think Jared cared about you?” He runs his tongue over his teeth to swipe away a sour taste.“Jared was nothing but a puppet I made, and then I un-made! He only cared for you because I told him to.”

He shakes my shoulders, so I reply as best I can.“W…why would you do that?”

“Because I needed eyes and ears on you at all times. Your father was always so lenient, never wanting guards to overshadow you or watch you at your dance practice. He was a fucking fool! So I planted Jared, made him become obsessed with you. I helped him get close to you! Me! Then Jared told me about his obsession. You. He wanted to marry you. This made the game fun again. He told me everything you two did. I let him think he could have you. I told him once I take over, I’ll give you to him.” Dom snickers.“He actually believed me.”

“It wasyouwho got Jared entered into The Cleansing,” I reply, having pieced the puzzle together.

“He wanted it.” Dom replies,“He wanted to kill Dash, and how could I deny Jared that after he killed your ballet instructor so beautifully?”

“What?” I close my eyes, too scared to open them and watch as Dom reveals more. My instructor.Jared, you killed him?By the time oxygen flows back to my stunned mind, I realize Dom has dragged us to the school’s entrance. “What have you done?” I whisper.

“Whatever I needed to keep you safe,” he replies without missing a beat. “Because I care, why can’t you acknowledge that and thank me?”

“Fuck you,” The words come out from a deep, angry part of my soul.

A slow swallow makes his throat visibly move.“You did. Again and again.”

“I made a lot of mistakes.”

He lowers his face to mine. It’s like looking at a stranger, a demon. I see his eyes, but there is nothing behind them.“And I was not one of them,” He states.

Thump! Thump! Thump!Say it. Say it!"You...you were the worst."

I was wrong. Something does move behind his eyes. It's a monster slowly rousing. "You shouldn't lie. I don't like liars."

"Then how do you look in the mirror?" I know, don't poke a bear; it will bite, but he's already bitten me. I can't fight physically, so I will verbally.

Smack!

Did my neck just break? My head turned so suddenly that I think it did.

I cradle my cheek with my free hand. He just smacked me. He hit me.

I’ve been around monsters my whole life. I gave my heart to one, but Dom reminded me that monsters come in many shapes and forms. There are antiheroes, and then there are villains. Antiheroes have tortured souls like Dash. They lash out because they still feel; they care, but they try to conceal it because theydon't want to be viewed as heroes because they don't think they deserve it.

Sometimes, they don't, but that still doesn't make them villains.

Then there are villains—they don’t feel. They lie to manipulate you, trick you, lure you in, and when you’re close enough, they reveal their deception with a grin that would make a dentist proud. It’s calculated, like a pair of braces—preplanned so everything aligns perfectly.

“Why must you make me hurt you?”

I keep my eyes on the grass. It’s so green it looks artificial. It might be. Everyone here is fake.

“Look at me.” He huffs and puffs like a dragon, and I’m reminded that a knight in shining armor isn’t coming. We have to save ourselves, but I’m not used to fighting.

I'm scared. I'm scared to fight. Scared to remain standing by his side. I'm just so scared.

Sometimes, you have to duck and hide until you find a chance to escape. I just cocoon myself, hoping that I’ll emerge after this into a butterfly so I can fly far, far away from this life.

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