Page 111 of The Heart of a Villain

“Since your birthday. He attended it, remember?” She rubs her arms, sadness lacing her tone, and I wonder what this asshole did to hurt her this much. “We made out in my room.”

“Right under your father’s nose, huh?” Pierre finally speaks up, only to get an angry glare from his girl.

It seems Elena’s birthday was a significant evening for all of us because that was the first time I kissed my Rush too.

Anguish spreads through my veins, sending prickles of hurt all over my system as thousands of memories appear in my head, each pulling at the strings of my soul.

Pain I’ve hidden in my heart all this time because in my opinion I didn’t have the privilege nor the right to show it in my own house after what he did to my father.

And yet right now, with my friends around spilling all their secrets, I cannot contain it all, and the truth just pours from me. “The man I kissed during your birthday party was someone who hated my dad and planned to kill him. He kidnapped me to his island, and I lost my virginity to him.” All three of my friends look at me with horror in their eyes, and their jaws drop. “I fell in love with a man who almost killed my father and still love him and wish to be with him. But for the first time in his life, he decided to be noble and dumped me.” I wipe away a tear cascading down my cheek. “I don’t think I’ll ever see him again.” Hollow laughter echoes through the space and it takes me a moment to realize it escaped my throat. “I hate him for giving up on me and hate myself for still wanting to be with him, even though I know my dad would never, ever approve.”

Silence falls around us after our confessions, the wooden clock hanging on the wall ticking loudly while seconds trickle by without anyone saying anything.

How can we, if we don’t understand our behavior anyway?

Elena despised lies of any kind and never went behind people’s backs. Caroline laughed at any girl falling for an older guy, thinking their romances were doomed from the start. And me? Well… I was always the good girl who followed all the rules and never went against my parents’ wishes.

I guess falling madly in love makes one break all the rules and change in ways they never anticipate.

Love is a curse poisoning one’s mind until nothing sane remains, as only then can we freely follow our hearts without fearing the judgment and backlash of society.

“Let’s focus on one problem at a time, shall we?” Pierre breaks the silence, always the peacemaker. “I love Elena. We’ve been dating for the past three months and practically live together. I’m crazy about her, and while I love you as a friend, she is my priority. Are you okay with us being together? Because if you’re not, this friendship won’t survive it.” Elena jerks in his arms, wanting to spin around and say something, but he doesn’t let her. “So what’s your answer?”

“Of course I’m fine, and I’m so happy for you guys.”

Elena sighs in relief, and Pierre just grins, winking at me and reminding me once again that he has always been a good guy. Yet I was never destined to fall for anyone good.

“As long as you’re both happy, I’m happy. And I love you as a friend too.”

He holds back Elena, who wants to rush to me and probably give me a hug. “It’s settled then.” He addresses Caroline, “Does Dante know about the baby?” She shakes her head. “You need to tell him. He deserves to know.” A beat passes, and she nods. “Do you love him?” She freezes, clearly refusing to answer, but her reaction is an answer itself. “Whatever you need, we will be here. And whenever you want to tell your parents, we will be there.”

“Yep, I’ll fly to Houston with you,” I tell her, stepping around the cake and moving closer to her while Elena finally frees herself from Pierre’s arms.

She takes Caroline’s hand while I take the other one as we create the familiar circle around us that we always made whenever one of us got into trouble. “We support you.” Elena runs her palm over her hair. “And we will face the backlash together.”

“Dad will kill Dante once he finds out,” she deadpans and inhales deeply. “And Dante will kill anyone who stands in his way to get to me.”

Elena laughs at that, rolling her eyes. “Let’s not be so dramatic.” Except I know how much truth these words hold.

Once an obsessive and possessive man sets his eyes on you, literally nothing and no one will stop him, so if they try to keep Caroline away from him… he’ll probably burn the whole world.

“And we’ll be the best aunts this kid has ever seen.” I poke her stomach, and a smile curves her lips despite the sadness still present in her gaze.

“Dibs on being the godmother!” Elena exclaims, and then the sisters look at me, studying me. “You fell for a bad boy after all, huh?”

“I guess it was inevitable.”

“He really kidnaped you?”

“Yes.”

“And he is a bad guy… like a true bad guy?”

“Yes.”

“Babe, that sucks.”

“I know.”

---