Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Promise you won’t say a word of it to another soul—especially your father. Not only can you not tell him, but you have to act like there’s nothing to tell, like everything is exactly the same between you. Promise me.”
My eyes flicked back and forth between his, my heart practically jumping out of my chest at this point. “You want me to keep a secret from him?”
“Yes.”
“Will this secret cause anyone harm—”
“This secret has nothing to do with the present or the future. It’s in the past. No one is at risk of harm. Well, except for me.” He took a breath as he stared at me. “You may not believe me, but regardless, I need you to keep it to yourself. Can you do that?”
“If it’s so risky, why even tell me—”
“Because I love you. And I’m not losing you. Not over this.” He shook his head. “So, promise me.”
A part of me wanted to wash my hands clean and walk away from this. I suspected this was something I was better off not knowing. But Axel’s plea had me hooked to the spot. “Alright…I promise.”
He dropped his chin and took a breath, both relieved and overwhelmed that I gave the answer he wanted. “Alright.” He straightened, his eyes focused just a few inches below mine before he found the strength to look at me. “Remember when we pretended to break up to throw your father off the scent?”
“Yes.”
“It worked. But when we went to that art gala, he caught me staring at you across the room.” He grabbed his tie and pulled it from his neck altogether before he tossed it aside, missing the armchair because the material was so floppy. “It was just a look, but…it was enough. He told me I wasn’t good enough for you and if I didn’t leave you, there would be consequences.”
I felt my chest expand to allow for bigger breaths. My pulse quickened, pounding in both my neck and my temple. The only thing I had in this world was my father, a man who loved me so much that he made every sacrifice with a smirk. I couldn’t believe the accusation Axel was making. “What consequences?”
“He’d kill my father.”
I took a step back, as if Axel had just threatened me. “No…”
“I tried to end things…you remember.” His eyes dropped. “But you held on to me because you knew…you fucking knew that I didn’t want to go. You believed in us so deeply, and it was fucking agonizing to try to shake you.” He clenched his jaw. “Nothing has ever hurt so much in my damn life.”
I shook my head, unable to believe it.
“One night, I went to see your father…and he had my father there…with a gun to his head. Said if I didn’t do it, he would put him in the ground.”
“No…”
His eyes lifted to mine. “I told him I loved you, and that I suspected you loved me, but that changed nothing.” He shook his head. “Nothing at all. I told him I’d tried to shake you, but you wouldn’t let me go…so he forced me to do something despicable.” He swallowed. “Cassandra.”
My arms folded over my chest as a protective barrier, but they couldn’t protect my heart from his words.
“He shot my father in the arm anyway, just because I’d taken so long.”
I pulled my gaze away from his face entirely, the adrenaline pumping through my heart so potent that I started to feel dizzy. My fingers squeezed my arms like a crutch, but I was too weak to support my body. I opened my mouth to speak, but hardly anything came out. “No…”
“I wouldn’t lie to you.”
I wouldn’t look at him. “My father would never…” I shook my head because I just couldn’t believe it. “He would never do something like that.”
“Baby.”
My eyes were determined to avoid his.
“You know I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this. I wouldn’t lie to you about anything.”
“My dad wouldn’t hurt an innocent person—”
“He did.” Now his voice was no longer gentle, but callous. “What little hope I had left that my parents and I would reconcile disappeared that night. My parents barely tolerated my presence before, but now they refuse to be in the same room with me. My father’s arm will be fucked up for the rest of his life, and he blames me for that…as he should. But I still walked away from the love of my life to keep him alive. I let her think that I would replace her with someone else as if she meant nothing to me…just to keep him alive. Keep alive a man who despises me.”
I stared at the floor, trembling. “I…” I didn’t know what to say. Where to start. What to believe.
“He said I wasn’t good enough for you. That I’m some barbaric criminal. But I think that was all an excuse. He just wanted to use you to further his gains, and setting you up with the Skull King was the perfect union. If Theo and I weren’t close, your father would have forged an alliance with the most powerful kingpin in Italy. Just like the princesses who were married to princes of other powerful kingdoms…all to increase their territory and power. He says I’m barbaric, but he treats you like a fucking bargaining chip.”