Page 73 of Her Cruel Empire
“Monsters.” The word falls between us like a stone. “I know that’s what you think of me—and so you should. Or did you think your sweet little innocent act would somehow transform me into someone worthy of love?”
“That’s not?—”
“No?” She steps closer, and I can see the sharp edges of her smile. “Was it pity, then? You felt sorry for me? Poor, damaged Eva, who just needed the right woman to show her the light?”
“What are you talking about?” I gasp. I’m getting angry despite myself, despite all my best intentions. And the worst thing is, I know she’stryingto anger me.
She wants a fight. It’s easier to rage than to grieve.
“You want to know what I think?” She’s close enough now that I can smell her perfume, the same scent that used to make me dizzy with desire. “I think you’re exactly like all the others. You saw a wealthy, powerful woman and you thought you could wrap her around your little finger. Make her dependent on you. Make her need you.”
“That’s complete bullshit,” I snap.
“Is it, though?” She reaches out and strokes my shoulder, the gesture almost tender. “You played your part perfectly. The innocent little lamb, so pure and good. So different from everyone else in my world. But you’re not really, are you? You’re just another whore who spread her legs for money.”
I don’t think. I just act. My hand whips out and I slap her across the face.
Hard.
She regards me coldly, a red mark on her cheek the only sign I hit her. “I’ll let you compose yourself.” She turns and walks to the door, but she pauses in the doorway.
For a crazy moment I think she’ll apologize. That she’ll tell me she didn’t mean any of it.
“This is all your fault,” she says over her shoulder, her voice dropping to something poisonous.
“Myfault?” I choke out, astonished.
“You disobeyed me. You opened that door I told you never to open. Do you know the story of Pandora, little bird? How she opened the box she was told to leave alone? Everyone thinks hope was left behind in that box to comfort humanity. But they’re wrong.” Her smile is more of a sneer. “Hope is the worst evil of them all. And you—you inflicted it onme. You made me think my father might wake up. You made me think I might find a companion in the darkness.”
Her amber eyes are no longer cold. They’re blazing now, wild with fury.
“But you were lying the whole time, weren’t you? Because I will always be alone—that’s the only guarantee this world gives any of us. And my father...” Her voice cracks for just a moment before she regains control. “My father willneversmile at me again.”
“Eva—”
She turns back around. “Don’t make this into something it wasn’t, Robin. We both got what we wanted. You got your money, and I got my entertainment. Now it’s over. Your transport will be here in one hour.”
The door closes behind her with a soft click, leaving me alone with the wreckage of my heart.
I stand there for a long moment, my legs shaking. The maid returns and continues packing, her movements gentle and apologetic. I watch her fold up clothes—the beautiful dressesEva bought me in Paris, the silk nightgowns, the designer shoes. Everything that transformed me from a struggling teacher’s aide into something worthy of a woman like Eva.
But none of it was real. None of it mattered.
I told myself I wouldn’t get attached. I told myself this was just a transaction, a way to save my family. But somewhere along the way, I forgot that Eva Novak doesn’t do love. She does possession. She does control.
She does cruelty.
“No,” I say to the maid. “No—I don’t want any of it. Stop packing it up, I don’t want it.” I start pulling the clothes out of the suitcases, throwing the suitcases themselves aside. The maid skips out of the way, frightened by my anger. “I’m sorry,” I say helplessly, catching myself before I really melt down. “I’m sorry—but no.” I’m too shaken to find the word in her language, but she seems to understand, giving a slight nod and leaving the room.
I dress quickly in a pair of jeans and a simple sweater, the plainest things I can find.
And I leave the room.
An hour later, waiting in the foyer for a car, I catch sight of Leon, who approaches me with his arm in a sling, and holds out my phone to me silently.
“Are you alright?” I ask, taking it. He gives a single nod. “Leon…watch over Eva, won’t you?”
“I always do.”
