Page 63 of A Twist of Poison

An ominous feeling crawled over me, it better not be one of my men.My men? Fuck’s sake, Milla. They’re not your men.

I waited her out. After she’d changed back into her normal clothing and paid for the dress, she linked her arm with mine as we walked to the coffee shop.

Lizzie spoke, “It’s Adam. I know, I know… he’s one of the legacy kings at the top of the tower, blah blah. And I’m just the daughter of business associates linked to them.”

“Important business associates,” I pointed out, forcing myself to brush aside the rest of her proclamation while seething inside. Her parents weren’t legacy, but they were important and prominent business owners within the community. I hated that she put herself on a lower bar because of that.

“So, what’s going on with all of those three? Hollis, Preston, and Texas? Spill.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me playfully as we grabbed our drinks and sat at a free table.

“Eh.” I shrugged, hoping she got the hint to leave this subject alone. But I should have guessed that she wouldn’t. I’d been brushing her off with this conversation for a while. It surprised me she’d lasted this long before pulling the best friend card and pulling rank on me.

“Oh no, you’ve done that long enough, Milla Julia Rossi. You will tell me,” she demanded.Dammit, she middle named me.

You knew it was serious when your middle name was brought into the battle.

I pulled up my big girl panties and told her the truth, well a part of it. Taking a sip of my tea, I contemplated my response carefully. “There’s no denying I feel a certain pull towards those three. Who wouldn’t?”

We both snickered, because every single woman and man with decent working eyesight would feel it too.

“But it’s not that. It’s just some fun to pass the time for all of us. They won’t want me long term, three of them and one of me. It’s not realistic.”Even though it feels like one of the only real things in my life.

“What you’re saying is, that someone hurt you while you were away, and it made you more sceptical of men and love. Therefore, you’d rather have fun and not take it seriously. So, you don’t get hurt again,” she summarised, and I wondered why she wasn’t sitting the psychology degree with me instead of the English she’d chosen. I mean, she was right. Just not in the sense that she could draw a correct conclusion.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” My attention drifted to look out the window, taking another sip of my hot drink, not wanting to look her in the eye while lying to her once again. I was sick of it. However, at the end of the day, I’d keep on spilling it.

* * *

“What the hell is this?” I demanded. He pulled me discreetly into an empty classroom and I flashed the messages from him on my phone. This must be one of the few times I’d sought him out, so I knew it was either serious or I’d lost my mind. This was worth it though, not for my sake. For hers.

“Little angel, are you jealous?” He smirked, running his hand through his shortened blonde hair.

I gave him a disbelieving look.He wished.

“Tit for tat.” He shrugged.

“What?” My eyes widened in disbelief.

“It’s a fair enough trade. You decided to take three men, so I took one of the closest people to you.” His eyebrows raised. “How does it feel to be responsible for that?”

No. No way. My hands trembled. The meaning behind his words became crystal clear. My fault. This was on me. My lapse in judgement, following a selfish streak, had led another innocent falling under his spell.

“Remember what I told you?” I recalled exactly the words he said;your actions hurt others.

“This is on you! You’re fucking delusional,” I sneered, losing my patience with this man.

Instantly, I regretted it. I was slammed against the wall; my backpack fell off my shoulder and thudded heavily to the floor.

I’d protect those I loved with everything I was, and with that promise ringing in my head, my body relaxed, adapting into that safe space once more.

“Careful,” he threatened, running his hand down the side of my body.

The door opened, and I looked over at who entered. The blood drained from my body.This can’t be happening. I wasn’t even this unlucky… but clearly, I was. I knew what this looked like, and once again, I’d be playing the game to satisfyhim. To make sure he was happy.

“Showtime, angel,” he whispered to me. He set this up, he must have. It’d been too coincidental. Time for the full show to begin. And it would be in three, two, one…

“Care to explain?” Preston demanded, aiming his question at us both, with a forced smile on his face.

Panic sliced through me.

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