Page 46 of Bloodstained Wings

“More than anything.”

“So why do you make these careless remarks and think I won’t be jealous? You think you can parade around with the brother of my enemy, and I won’t find out about it? The election may be over, but this is my city, dove. If I want to burn this city down, I will.”

“I know that,” I say sadly. “Everyone knows that, Carter.”

“And you? What would you do, Isabella, if I took this city and flipped it inside out? Would you listen to me then? Would you see the monsters I’m trying to obliterate from your eyes, or would you still trust that there’s nothing wrong if that’s what I told you?”

My brows pinch. “Are there monsters I don’t know about?”

“More than you could ever fucking imagine. I promised to protect you from them, but if you think the lesson you should have learned before isn’t something that matters, then I will show you the repercussions of what can happen to you.”

I stare up at the shell of a man I thought I loved.

He’s not the same man right now, and it’s terrifying to see.

“What are you talking about?”

“Meet me in my office down the hall in five minutes, Isabella. I’ll show you who you can trust and who you should never believe is just being kind enough to lend an ear.”

He walks away from me quickly, and I have to stand straight against the wall to catch my breath. He’s naked still as he stalks into the bedroom, and I wonder briefly if he’s going to grab a towel or get dressed, but it doesn’t matter. I flip off the shower and hurry after him, naked and vulnerable.

I trust Carter more than I trust myself at times, but the thought of him exposing monsters does frighten me.

What is he talking about?

What have I sparked in the man I love to feel this passionately angry with me, a man who doesn’t yell, get his belt, and spank my ass before sending my body into wonderful waves of pleasure? No, this man is different.

He’s dangerously reserved, and I have a feeling that’s my fault.

Lesson learned.

Chapter Seventeen

Isabella

I wrap my wet, bare arms over my breasts and follow Carter’s wet steps into the office next door. I didn’t notice this stuff in here before, but it’s a nice office. It’s not finished and organized like mine is, but it has a big, sturdy desk and some file cabinets in the corner in case he wants to work.

For now, he stands naked behind the desk, clicking rapidly around the keyboard of his laptop that he has yawned open. Water gets on the screen, and some seeps through the keys, making me wonder if it will short out like mine had earlier today. But that’s the least of his problems, apparently. He clicks around the keys for a long time and then turns the computer to face me.

I can already sense the tone of the article before I get halfway through the first paragraph.

Thankfully, there is somewhere to sit because I melt into the chair slowly, covering my shivering frame with my hands that seem warm with humiliation—same as my warm and flushed face.

My eyes skim over the words typed out alongside every photo, portraying a scene that didn’t actually happen with how the writer spun it. Then comes the comments at the bottom of the page, filled with personal ridicule against me. They don’t even know who I am personally, but the worst accusations and assumptions are made about me.

It’s hard to keep track of them all.

There are new comments about every ten seconds, and they’re far from kind.

“What is this—”

“That’s what you get for seeking out a good listener,” Carter spits. He slams the screen down, but the damage is done. “Rich is no better than a Lacey, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he set you up, dove. You fell for it, too. You let that man set you up to look like a slut searching for a rich guy and betraying the man you love.”

“I would never.

I’m whimpering now, the tears pouring from my eyes, sliding down to the sides of my jaw and continuing down my neck. I hope they are masked with the shower water, but I don’t think they are. If anything, they feel like they are laced with highlighter ink, making noticeable streaks down my pale skin to show how weak and gullible I am.

And gullible I will forever be.

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