Page 66 of Traitorous Lies
Because when he called her princess, it had never seemed like an insult.
Except for this time.
This time it was definitely an insult.
He was a liar.
From the very beginning, he’d lied to her, and she’d been stupid enough to believe that a man like him could ever fall for a girl like her. What was worse, though, was she’d learned he was a liar, gotten her heart crushed, and still decided to give him a second chance because he’d seemed so sincere.
An act.
That was the only explanation.
The idea had crossed her mind that he’d only followed her back to her rescue because he still had information he needed from her. Now she had to believe that was all he’d ever wanted from her because he’d said he saw her, the real her, not the spoiled, immature, socialite princess the media always portrayed her as, but that wasn't true.
Okay, so she still believed in fairytales and tried to look for the good in life. It wasn't because she wasn't aware of the dark, she’d learned the hard way when she was fourteen that evil existed even in places that ought to be safe. Just because she wanted to have her own happy ever after didn't make her spoiled, stupid, or a child.
It just made her … her.
Something Jax obviously didn't see.
Driving his fingers through his hair, Jax shot her a helpless look as though it had dawned on him that he’d taken his tirade too far.
“Monique … damn … that came out all wrong.”
Actually, it was probably the first honest thing he’d ever said to her. In his moment of frustration—ironically, when she was trying to do the one thing that had led him to her in the first place—he’d let slip how he really felt.
His brutal honesty might have hurt, but now she knew. Her need to look for bright spots in life because there hadn't been a whole lot of them in her twenty-six years was always going to be interpreted as her being flaky, stupid, andspoiled.
So what was the point?
Maybe she should just accept the world was the cold, dark place Jax pronounced it to be and stop fighting against it. Stop wanting more.
“I know you don’t believe it yet, but your dad is not a good guy. Heisinvolved in what happened not just to my stepmom all those years ago, but to my family now. These last few months, he’s helped engineer attacks on my brothers and the women they love. He is a dangerous man, and the thought of him being anywhere near you …” Jax trailed off and stalked across the room toward her.
No.
She didn't want him near her.
Didn't want to see him ever again.
If there was any way to leave this place, to go back home and hire her own security if Jax’s problems had spilled over into her life, then she would do it. But the truth was, she couldn’t hire anyone better than Prey Security. They were world-renowned, the best of the best. And while she was sure Lion or one of the other Delta Team members would fly her out of there if she insisted, she didn't want to be a bother.
Didn't want to be anything really.
Just wanted to sink down into the ground and allow it to swallow her whole.
It seemed like the easiest option.
Sidestepping out of the way when his hands reached toward her, she watched as disappointment flickered across his features, and his hands dropped listlessly to his sides, his fingers curling into fists.
He was doing all the right things if he was trying to convince her that he cared, but the thing was, she no longer believed anything he said or did.
Jax was supposed to be the one who saw her. The real her. All animal-obsessed, introverted, somewhat awkward, dreamy, fairytale-wishing her.
But he didn't.
He was like all the others.
