Page 27 of The Consequence of You
The way he smeared my lip gloss across his mouth.
I glance down at where he tugged the ribbon on my dress.
Myreddress.
The dress he goaded me into wearing.
He knows the kind of people his parents are. How they’d react to my presence.
He deliberately set this up to get this reaction from them.
Was this payback for me running out on him?
I squeeze his hand hard, and he lets go in surprise.
And then?
Then, I bolt.
ASHER
“Calliope. Wait.”Goddammit.“Calliope. Please wait.”
She’s fucking fast, considering her footwear and the fact her legs are so much shorter than mine. I follow her through the hotel, calling after her, while trying not to look like a complete madman. I might be royalty, but security will have me thrown out of here in seconds if they think I’m chasing a woman.
She manages to get to our limo before I get close enough to stop her. The driver moves to shut the door after her. He looks between us, seemingly unsure of what to do. He’s on my family’s payroll, but it’s clear Callie is angry, and it’s directed at me.
“Open that door this instant, or this will be the last time you drive for my family, or anyone else for that matter.” I’d feel sorry for the guy if this wasn’t so important.
He widens the door, and I climb in.
The car pulls away slowly. Turning to Callie, I try to form an apology in my mind before I speak. She sits quietly but it’s like I can see her anger; such is the way the tension rolls off her. She presses a button on the console next to her, and the privacy screen between us and the driver slides up.
“What the fuck, Asher?”
“I don’t agree with anything they said to you. It was abhorrent,” I rush out, hoping she can hear the sincerity in my words.
“You didn’t correct them,” she points out. Shamefully, she’s right. I run my hand over my hair, heat rising on my neck.
“I didn’t, but for what it’s worth, I don’t correct them for much. They spout that shit daily and I don’t agree with any of it.”
“Ignoring racism and prejudice allows it to continue to breed, you know that right?” She glares at me, and all I can do is take it, because she’s one hundred per cent correct. “Don’t let the price of peace be your soul, Asher.”
She might only be talking about this moment, but I weigh her words. Is that what I’ve done? Bitten my tongue and let things slide for so long, it’s robbed me of my soul?
This woman sees me in a way I’ve never been seen before.
Instead of being glad of it, it makes me feel exposed, and it’s not a pleasant feeling.
“Soul?” I spit back at her. “You’re one to talk. Don’t see you fighting to keep hold of yours.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. Like me, you were born into this world with every opportunity and luxury money can buy. You’re talking about me losing my soul, yet I saw you tonight. You were having a good time. And last week? You enjoyed what we did. I saw it. Then you ran like you were ashamed. You know what I thin-”
Callie vehemently interrupts me,
“You don’t know what was going through my mind when I left the nursing home last week. You don’t know anything about me. And for the record, I know tonight was a deliberate attempt to hurt me, so I was right last week. It was a mistake letting your hands anywhere near me!”
