Page 109 of Bared Betrayal
“Kallie, just sit down and let the professionals handle this,” Elenor scolds. “You have done enough damage.”
I look at Sebastian for help, but he’s merely staring back at me, silently begging me to accept all of this.
“This is exactly why I didn’t tell you. Why I didn’t want anyone to know, because I knew this would happen. I knew people would want to exploit my past and turn it into some fucking spectacle.”
“That’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid here. It will only turn into a spectacle if we don’t get a handle on it,” Sebastian tries to assure me.
“Can we continue now?” Ashley grows impatient. “We have limited time here.”
“Go ahead, Ashley.” Sebastian keeps his gaze on mine. He wants me to cooperate, to fall in line with everything they’re discussing, to be their fucking puppet while they use my life as a marketing tool for his image.
But as Ashley continues to rattle off names of talk show hosts and ghostwriters and photographers, I can’t help but feel like I’m drowning. Like I’m losing control of something that was never mine to begin with.
“Oh, should we change her name back to Kalliana? It’s so much prettier. It sounds more European.”
“I’m not changing my name back,” I snap. “I’m not doing any of this. I will not be forced to relive the worst thing that’s ever happened to me just because you’re all desperate to have control over Sebastian’s public image. I am not a pawn. I am not a fucking marketing tool. This is my life!”
Tears run bitterly down my cheeks, and I’m struggling to breathe through the ache inside me that’s growing stronger and stronger with each passing second. I can’t take this anymore. I can’t be here.
I shoulder past Sebastian, desperate to get away from it all.
“Is she leaving?” Ashley asks through the speaker. “Someone stop her. We’re not done yet.”
As I rush out of the room, I can hear Sebastian calling after me, but I don’t stop. I just keep running down the hallway, my heart pounding in my chest. I need to get out of this place, away from everyone.
As I barge out the front door, I’m met with a tall frame, broad shoulders, and familiar blue eyes. “Gabriel,” I breathe, and I just rush straight into his arms, and I feel shielded the moment he hugs me close. He holds me as I cry, his hand rubbing soothing circles on my back. It’s like everything that’s been building inside me finally comes pouring out in one big sob-fest.
“I got you, baby girl,” he rasps against my ear, and I wish I could melt into him and stay there forever, never needing to face this world again. “I got you.”
“What are you doing here?” Sebastian’s voice is stern, and Gabriel eases his hold from around me, moving forward and guiding me behind him.
“You little fucking shit,” he bites out between clenched teeth, stalking toward Sebastian. “Tell her what you did.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Tell her…what you…did.”
I’m staring at them, confused. Sebastian is frowning as he looks at his father. “You need to leave. This has nothing to do with you.”
Abruptly, Gabriel grabs Sebastian by the collar, slamming his back against the wall. Elenor is shouting, screaming for Gabriel to let go, but he doesn’t listen. Instead, he tightens his hold on Sebastian, causing his heels to lift off the floor. “It was you. You’re behind all of it.” Anger rolls off him in violent surges.
“It was me, what?” Sebastian gasps, fear lacing his every word.
Gabriel peels him from the wall, only to slam him back against it, and I flinch, pinching my eyes closed for a second.
“The notes. The texts. It was you,” Gabriel sneers, and my world comes to a painfully screeching halt. “You were the one who leaked this to the press!”
“That’s absurd,” Elenor yells. “Let go of my grandson right now, or I will have you arrested for assault.”
But Gabriel doesn’t move an inch. He doesn’t even spare a glance in her direction, his fury entirely focused on his son.
“You knew who she was all along,” Gabriel continues to seethe in Sebastian’s face. “You fucking knew!” With a final shove, he releases Sebastian, who immediately rights his collar, his eyes furrowed and lips pursed, his eyes filled with hatred as he glares at Gabriel.
“This is none of your fucking business.”
“It was…it was you?” I whisper, stepping closer. “You were behind this all along?”
Sebastian clams up. He merely stares at me for a few seconds before looking away, his jaw tight and lips pressed together into a thin line. He doesn’t say a word, yet his silence is a confession.
