Page 55 of Tainted King

Standing up, I grabbed the contract off the desk. “You tell me.” The paper shook in my hands as I held it up. “What the hell is this?”

Liam’s eyes went comically wide when he saw what I was holding. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Okay. So this isn’t a contract stating that you’re marrying a girl named Vanna? One that has your signature on it?”

Oh God, I’m the other woman.The thought hit me like a truck, making me sick. I bent over the side of the desk, aiming for the wastebasket I’d seen there earlier.

Heaving into it, I was glad it wasn’t one with holes but rather solid metal. Warm hands touched my back, and then my hair was pulled out of the way.

Once I was done, a tissue appeared in front of me. I wiped my mouth, then stood up, shrugging off his touch.

I’d dropped the contract to the ground in my haste to not get sick all over his expensive-looking carpet, but for all I cared it could stay there. Crossing my arms in front of my body, I shivered.

“I don’t even know my fiancée.” His voice came out strangled, as if he knew this was the end for us. His chest rose and fell with his deep inhales, his face a mask of granite.

I was going to be sick again. He didn’t even try to deny it. He was engaged. Hearing the words “my fiancée” come out of his mouth, referring to someone who wasn’t me, sent a sharp pain through me, nearly bringing me to my knees.

Swallowing down the bile in my throat, I took a step back. “You must know her well enough to want to marry her.”

“It’s business. I didn’t have a choice.”

Taking another step back, I stood up straight, dropping my arms to my sides. “There’s always a choice. You had a choice whether or not to invite me here. You had a choice to not take things further with me. And you certainly had a choice when you didn’t tell me you were engaged.”

Then I turned on my heels and ran for all I was worth. Ignoring his calls for me to stop, I went down the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator. I raced down the steps, taking them two, sometimes three at a time.

This was the worst thing to ever happen to me. I’d fallen for a liar. A cheater. And I still wanted him.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Pushing through the door into the lobby, I sprinted across the marble floors. My only thought was to escape.

The taxi gods were on my side for once, and a taxi pulled up as I stepped outside.

They dropped someone off, and I slid in as soon as the door was clear.

What am I going to do?

16

Liam

“Get the fuck off me, you motherfuckers.” My voice was muffled, since both my brothers were holding me down.

“No way. You need to let her go. Running after her like a lovesick fool will accomplish absolutely nothing.”

Since when is Gabriel the fucking voice of reason?

“I need to explain.” This couldn’t be how we ended. I wanted to talk to her. Make sure she understood that this was bigger than both of us. That it wasn’t my choice to marry a stranger. That what we’d had was real. More real than anything I’d ever had.

Jude slapped my cheek, and I gritted my teeth to stop myself from biting his finger off. “I think she understood that you’re engaged. Not sure what exactly you need to explain to her.”

Gabriel shifted his position and dug his elbow in my back, the fucker. “Calm your ass down and look at it from your position as head of the Olysses family. Just because you’ve not officially been sworn in yet doesn’t mean anything. You’re still the boss now. You can’t go chasing after some girl who doesn’t want you anymore.”

Jude leaned down so I could see his stupid grinning face. “Smile.”

Then the fucker took a selfie.

Roaring, I bucked underneath them again, but all that accomplished was my brothers shifting position and my cheek pressing harder into the scratchy carpet.

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