Page 140 of Devious Kingpin
The girl with a pink scrunchie saved me. She gave me strength as she handed me that little pink piece of cloth and elastic. If a girl could promise to save me, I could surely save my brother and myself too. From the ghosts of the past to the terrors of the present. It was your simple strength that gave me mine to do something I should have done a long time ago. I made sure that my mother could never hurt us again. I killed her for all the wrongs she had done.
To my little brother. To me.
But certain wounds were too deep. Christian has been dealing in his own way. And I… well, you were my way of dealing. You became my obsession but also my love. It started as a fond kind of affection for a little girl. But then, it matured into a deep love, slowly but surely, as our paths kept crossing, like fate was making sure we’d find each other again.
This will be my last letter. I want to enjoy every second of you. I’ll enjoy this taste of heaven for as long as I can, so I’ll remember it through the days of hell that I know are bound to come. Some things are inevitable—like the truth.
I hope at least part of you will know that I never intended to hurt you. You’re my most cherished possession even though I can never own such a magnificently independent woman. But know this, you own my heart.
I love you. Remember that when the times are hard.
Your Dante.
P.S. That bedroom furniture will never arrive. I bought out the company and canceled your order.
I swallowed, then folded the letter back up—carefully—like it was the heart of a fragile little boy. Maybe it was. My eyes traveled to my husband and saw an entirely different man sleeping on the couch. He looked the same. He smelled the same. But there was something fundamentally different.
Not something. Someone.Me.
I slid out of the bed and padded barefoot across the room toward him. The closer I got, the stronger his scent was. Calming. Soothing. I leaned over and put my hand on his shoulder and he jerked, reaching for his weapon.
“It’s me,” I murmured softly.
He blinked, sleep still heavy in his eyes. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “The bed is big enough for both of us.” I tugged on him, his eyes suspicious as he looked at me. Maybe he thought I’d kill him. We’d probably end up killing each other in the end, so he probably had reason to eye me warily. “I haven’t forgiven you for drugging me. I haven’t forgotten that you asked my father rather than me for my hand in marriage.” I tilted my head pensively. “It would have been nice to just date for a while. But we’ll deal with that tomorrow. Or the day after.” I pulled on his arm again. “For now, let’s just get some sleep.”
It was the least I could do.
CHAPTER57
Juliette
Aheavy floral scent lingered in the air.
It smelled nice but not as good as the rain and forest one that I had grown accustomed to. I blinked against the sunlight pouring through the windows and slowly the hotel room came into focus.
“What the—”
Yellow daisies filled my hotel room on every conceivable surface. It felt like the sun had crawled into this space and just decided to shine in here. I inhaled deeply, my eyes fluttering shut. It used to be my favorite scent until I ran into Dante. Now I longed for the green, herbaceous scent that lingered on his skin.
“Are we ready for breakfast?” came a familiar voice.
My eyes shot open to find Dante leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets, watching me with that glimmering gaze I had grown accustomed to.
The boy who’d kept my hot-pink scrunchie. The boy who saved me.
But also a boy who drugged you, my mind warned.
My brows furrowed. I didn’t want to think about that right now. I wanted to enjoy the gesture.
“Did you do all this?” I asked instead.
He nodded. “Your favorite flower.”
“Stalker,” I murmured, but I couldn’t keep the smile from my face.
He grinned. “You know it.” Then his expression turned serious. “It’s the first day.” When I raised my eyebrow in question, he continued to explain, “It’s the first day of the rest of our lives. I’ll court you.” I couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle to which he rolled his eyes. “I’ll wine and dine you. We’ll take it slow, and I’ll show you that we fit. You and me, we were meant to be. You belong to me and I belong to you. Like cacti belong in the desert. Like flowers belong to spring. Inevitable.”
