Page 121 of The Sinner: James

“No? Really? And do what instead? Live with Mom and Dad? Have a cushy life but no life? Do you think that going to college is my fucking dream? Do you think that waking up in a mansion, getting fucked around the clock, and attending receptions every fucking week is something I’d sneeze at?”

“And do you think telling Mom and Dad will get you what you want?” I snap.

“No. But I won’t see it handed to you by the stud of the county. Even if you get it for a week, it’s still a lot. Besides, I’m doing you a favor. Make no mistake about it. He’ll fuck you and ditch you like all the sluts he’s railed before. You think he’ll change for you?” She chuckles, amused, searching my eyes. “If you do, you’re a bigger idiot than I thought. Anyway, if you don’t want Mom and Dad to know about him, you stop seeing him. Otherwise, I have no problem telling them. It sits well with me either way. I can’t wait to hear Dad roaring and Mom crying because her precious little girl fell for the most dangerous man in the county,” she mocks.

“What makes you think they’d be against him?” I ask.

A grin stretches across her lips.

“Oh, dear Rain. How can you ask me something like that? You already know the answer. That’s why you didn’t tell them in the first place. They wouldn’t have a problem with his money, but they surely resent his reputation and hate to have him in our family.”

“And yet you were obsessed with him.”

“Yes. I was. And I still am,” she admits. “I’m certain he’d have more fun with someone like me than you. That’s why––like you––I wanted to get a shot at him.”

“You think that’s what it was? Me getting a shot at him?”

“Honestly. No. I don’t think so. You’re too dumb. Idealistic. It was an accident for him and stupid luck for you.”

A soft rustle makes us whip our gazes to the stairs.

“Ma’am, you can’t be here,” Veronica says, making a beeline for us.

Daria moves her eyes to me, unsure whether the woman talked to her or me.

Veronica’s eyes go to Daria.

“I’m sorry. Guests are not allowed in this part of the house,” she says, gripping Daria’s arm and nudging her to a different flight of stairs.

“What about her?”

“She’s not a guest.”

Daria’s eyes look like they’re about to fall off her face.

“Fucking bitch,” she growls at me as Veronica hauls her down the stairs.

As they vanish out of sight, I suck in a shaky breath and lean against the doorframe.

Footsteps make me raise my eyes.

“What was that?” James asks.

“My sister had followed me and figured things out. She knows everything, and she’ll tell Mom and Dad.”

I look at him, waiting for a reaction.

“Good. Don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine,” he says, self-assured, bringing his hand to my hair.

“Okay?” he murmurs.

I nod.

I’d love to have his confidence.

“Let’s go out. You have no reason to hide or feel bad about it. It’s done.”

He laces his fingers through mine and leads me down the stairs.

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