Page 117 of That Sik Luv

I’m referring to us as the ‘we’here, begging him to pick up on the message I’m throwing at him. I feel he’s wrong about Saint. And maybe he is and knows it. Maybe his overall goal of destroying the chosen son has been his mission all along. Vengeance for a life he saw handed to Saint from the shadows.

There are ways to achieve revenge, but not by destroying the innocent. Whether Aero believes in Christianity or not, I still have my own morals as a decent human that I can’t rid myself of.

Aero runs his free hand down his abdomen, nails trailing his scars as if they suddenly itch with memories of his past.

“You see, Saint, sex doesn’t destroy Christianity,” he says, ignoring me entirely, turning his hard glare on him. “Sex is natural. It’s genetically programmed into us as a biological motivator in which we live our everyday lives. It’s pleasurable, organic, and a primal need our bodies constantly seek, whether or not you’re aware. You fight it because you’re told to. For no other reason than the idea of control. Control of the masses.”

“Fornication is a sin—”

“Sex doesn’t destroy Christianity,” Aero repeats calmly but with annoyance, interrupting Saint entirely. “Men do.”

Saint's eyes narrow, both of their heated gazes burning a hole through the other.

“So you’re going to fuck her like you’ve been imagining, and show your father who you truly are; a man with no attachments other than the eternal love for his God alone. You are going to use her, take from her, and throw her away as planned. Just ashedid with his mistress. Just as they all do when the time comes for them to prove themselves.”

Bile rises in my throat at his statement.

Saint shakes his head, his nostrils flaring. Standing from the bed, he takes a step towards Aero, and I suck in a breath of terror.

“You think you can scare me with these threats? What are you going to do? Shoot me? Kill me? Bury me in the dirt? You think I’m not ready to die for my religion?!”

He’s standing up to Aero, unknowing of the craziness that sits casually before him.

Aero lazily tosses his head towards me, a eerie smirk on his face like he holds some sort of secret. Like he’s cluing me into the pieces of the puzzle he’s forming.

“You may be ready to risk your ignorant, privileged, irrelevant little life for another man’s rules, but are you willing to allow her to die because of it?”

Saint doesn’t answer, and Aero’s knowing eyes narrow at him.

“The ultimate sacrifice. The ultimate test. He was preparing you for this. The brick. The writings on the wall...”

My stomach churns, my heart raging with fear only the dead silence of this room could create. Both men stare at each other. Unspoken words flirt between their gazes, and I’m left feeling utterly dazed in their presence. Could Saint truly know who his father is?

“Are you aware of what she’s been doing behind closed doors?” Aero tips his head.

My mind swirls with thoughts of ultimate betrayal and deception as my nausea tears away at me.

“Trust me, the blackmail was only the tip of the iceberg.”

Saint stares at him with betrayal and uncertainty dancing dangerously together in his eyes. Aero’s smirk deepens at the realization.

“She’s noSaint,” he gloats humorously. “I assure you. Her devious little mind surprised even me, the devil himself.”

“You’re lying,” Saint retorts. “She had nothing to do with that!”

“No? Why wouldn’t the only female Magnus Princeps want to bring down her competition? Your father knows it. You know it. Everyone sees it. She’s always desired and gotten off on being above you. Above your religion. Above your beliefs.”

Saint listens intently, staring into Aero’s eyes that burn with deviance.

“Maybe if you knew the truth, you’d think differently of your sweet, innocent little church girl. Maybe your father is testing your obsession with the only stain meant to ruin you. You thought you could really do this on your own? You thought Callum Westwood was going to let his son take matters into his own hands when he developed a school-boy crush on the woman meant to destroy the sacred structure of the church?”

Realization hits me then, that I don’t know anything for certain anymore. I’m blind to these twisted endeavors. Was I entirely wrong about Saint and his motives? My heart threatens failure with how hard it’s pounding within my chest.

Aero stands from his seat, making his way over to my nightstand. Opening the drawer, he removes my rosary, tossing it on the floor out of reach of Saint. His perplexed expression rises from the floor and finds Aero’s. A simple gun pointed at his head has Saint bending down to retrieve it.

“Tie her to the bed,” Aero demands.

Saint’s eyes land on mine.

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