Page 92 of Poison Vows

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being buried so deep in unrequited love all these years, it’s that actions speak louder than words.

Some acts have the power to fundamentally change one’s soul to such an extreme degree, so much so that one’s perspective of such things likefeelingsbecome… skewed.

The thing about a scorned heart is that no matter what comes after, whether it’s authentic or made-up, or a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, it’s all like pouring water into a chasm, hoping it’ll fill up.

So, I clear my throat and change the topic.

“How long has your father been friends with Senator Hughes?” I ask.

Vaughn looks at me strangely. “For a few decades now,” he answers. “Why?”

“Just checking if you’d be truthful.”

Vaughn stares at me and it dawns on me that he’s still holding my hand. Feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden, I pull away.

Vaughn’s expression falls a bit, but he quickly recovers and smiles again.

“Like I told you that night we met, I’ll always tell you the truth,” he says softly. “I’m not my cousin.”

So he keeps pointing out.

Vaughn might be honest with me, but so far, he hasn’t revealed his real intention.

For example, I know Emmett’s goal. He’s never hidden or lied about it to me, ever.

Of course, Emmett’s moves are severely unpredictable, and it’s impossible to know the many contingencies he has in place even with seemingly mundane things, but all of that is for one goal: revenge.

Emmett using me is to that effect, but Vaughn… is he only after power?

What drives this man to make him say such things to me when we barely know each other?

Is it to weigh me down? Use my broken heart to his advantage?

Anyone who is unaccountably solicitous is likely hiding malicious intentions… Emmett taught me that.

There’s no way I’ll take Vaughn’s words seriously, nor will I take them at face value either.

“Thank you for your sincerity,” I say calmly, my head still pounding like crazy.

“Of course,” Vaughn says kindly. “You can always trust me.”

Trust? I’d be an idiot to fully trust anyone ever again, but I can’t tell him that, so I just smile.

With his hand at the small of my back, Vaughn leads me farther into the room.

Senator Hughes is talking animatedly with two other men standing beside Vaughn’s father.

One of them being the one who was staring at Vaughn when he was laughing.

All four men look chummy and close. An alarm goes off in my head.

Is Senator Hughesthatclose with most members of the Easton Family?

When Vaughn and I get closer, Vaughn’s father suddenly looks at me with a huge smile.

“Senator, is that your lovely daughter?” he says loudly.

My eyes almost bulge out when I hear that familiar question from a couple of weeks ago.

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