Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“I didn’t do anything to you,” I whisper back. “So don’t blame this on me.”
“You didn’t do anything?” she asks with a harsh laugh. “Are you serious? You’re the reason I’m in this mess.”
“No,” I counter. “You’re the reason you’re in this mess. Don’t put this on me.” I fold my arms and stare straight ahead as Prince takes us out of the development.
“How is any of this my fault?” she whispers. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” I am not going to engage. I refuse to engage. Enzo and Prince are silent, but of course, they’re listening. I don’t know why I care, but I would rather not have this fight in front of them.
Clearly, she doesn’t care. “What did I do to you? All I’ve ever tried to do is be your friend.”
That’s it. That’s the last straw. “Oh, really? For one thing, that’s bullshit. A friend doesn’t walk into another friend’s house and flirt with their husband.”
“Please. You’re that insecure?” Suddenly, the car swerves, and she falls against the door because she can’t balance herself with her hands and ankles tied. There was no reason for Prince to swerve. I think he did it on purpose.
“You admit that’s what you were doing. And I was just supposed to sit there and take it?”
“So you set me up like this? Because I can’t help but respond to somebody I think is hot?”
“That’s not what this is about.” And if she wasn’t such a thirsty slut, she wouldn’t have come to my house with the intention of fucking my husband. “Are you really that self-absorbed that you think anybody would go to this kind of trouble for something like that?”
“Then why? How could you lie to my face and pretend we were friends?”
“Are you serious? I mean that. Do you honestly have to ask me why? Are you that clueless?” When all she does is gape at me, I can’t help but growl my disgust. “You got me into this mess. You sent me to that damn warehouse and left me for dead. Or have you forgotten all about that? Because you never once asked me. You never once texted, you didn’t call, and you never followed up in any way. And when I finally saw you at school, what did you do? You deliberately avoided me. You ran away from me before I could catch up with you after class. That’s not how somebody acts when they’re someone’s friend. So stop pretending.”
“I figured you were fine. What, you couldn’t even handle a simple job like that?” The car swerves again, more sharply this time, and Elena cries out in pain when her shoulder hits the door. I should be ashamed of the satisfaction that ripples through me, shouldn’t I? Yet I’m not. I like the sound. I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
“Do you honestly believe what’s coming out of your mouth? Or are you only telling yourself that to feel better? Because that was not a simple job. And when I didn’t show back up at school, you should have known something went wrong. A friend would’ve cared enough to reach out. But no, because we aren’t actually friends. You don’t care about anybody but yourself. So drop the act.”
“Is that really what this is about?” She jerks her chin toward the front seat. “Are you even married?”
“Yeah, I am, and that’s your fault, too. This is all your fault. You thoughtlessly sent me into that warehouse and acted like it was no big deal, then you don’t even have the nerve to check and make sure I’m okay? No, you would much rather try to steal my husband from me. And you’re sitting there acting like a victim? It’s pathetic.”
“You would know all about pathetic. Maybe if you had your life even slightly under control, you wouldn’t have been in a shitty situation in the first place. Ever think about that?”
“No, you’re right. I should have been born into a mafia family, so I could grow up thinking the whole fucking world revolves around me while never having to work an actual day in my life. Yeah, you definitely made the smarter decision.”
Even now, in the position she’s in, she tosses her head. “What, am I supposed to apologize for how I was born?”
“No, clueless. But you could try realizing you didn’t earn a single thing you have. At least I could say I took care of myself and did the best I could. Nobody gave me anything I had. And, of course, somebody like you would look down on that.”
“You’re such a crybaby. You always were. Oh, poor me, poor Alicia, what am I going to do?”
It’s like I’ve never known the real Elena before now. I may as well be sitting here next to a stranger. And all it does is rid me of any lingering sense of guilt I might have carried around.