Page 14 of Beautifully Damned

---

“You dragged me in.”

“You tripped me!”

“You splashed me.”

“You deserved it!”

I step forward. She shuts her mouth instantly.

“You’re lucky I haven’t thrown you in the basement yet.”

She rolls her eyes, but I see how tightly her fingers grip the comforter. No matter how strong she pretends she is, she’s still scared. And she should be. “Then why haven’t you?” she asks.

I don’t fucking know, and I leave before I say something I’ll regret.

The second I slam the door to her room, I go straight to my office. I shove a stack of folders off my desk. They crash to thefloor, spilling open. I knock over the decanter next, amber liquid spilling over the edge.

I breathe. Try to breathe.

It doesn’t help.

That girl.

That fucking girl.

Touching my men. Smiling at them. Splashing me. I press my fingers to my throbbing temple, bracing my arms onto the desk. I need to get her out of my system.

Instead, and without thinking, I bark, “Elena.”

The door creaks open. She peeks in, eyes wide. The damage in the room speaks for itself. She wrings her hands in front of her apron and bows her head slightly.

“Da… Pakhan?”

“Go upstairs. To the girl’s room,” I hiss. “Check her back. See if she hurt herself when she fell.”

“I… Yes, Pakhan.”

“If she’s bruised, put something on it. Cream. Ice. Whatever you need.”

“Of course.”

“And don’t speak to her. Just do your job and leave.”

Elena nods, face pale. “Yes, Pakhan.”

The door shuts behind her. I stand there, staring at the mess I’ve made. At the spilled liquor. The scattered files. The shards of what little control I had left.

I. Fucking. Hate. Her.

?ChapterX?

Ayla

I try to breathe through the sting on my back as Elena spreads the cream. Her touch is firm but careful. Neither of us says much. Her fingers work the ointment into my bruised skin with diligence.

I don’t know how long we’ve been sitting here like this. My eyes sting more than my back does, but I’ve been holding the tears in like a dam.A full one.

“Sorry,” I whisper eventually. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble with him.”

---