Page 134 of Sinful Lord

“Do you think you can tell me the truth?”

“I can do better than that,” Tytus says. “I can tell you all of my hopes and dreams. I can explain my plans and my schemes. I’ll reveal what I’ve only ever held inside.”

“So do it.”

“I think I love you.”

Whatever I was expecting to hear, it wasn’t that.

Tytus’ words spark the tense air between us, growing thicker and thicker until I finally find the sense to breathe again.

“That… that’s not an explanation,” I tell him, flabbergasted.

“It is,” he replies. “From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I’ve been unable to think of anyone else. It cost me my family. It cost me my empire. It might cost me my sanity. But it will be well worth it.”

“… How?” I swallow.

My brain swims against the storm Tytus has just unleashed upon me.

Love.

How can he say such a thing?

Why would he say such a thing?

“All my life, I’ve been the brains behind the operation. The planner. The schemer. My big problem was that I never thought for myself. Someone needed to tell me the goal, then I would tell them how to achieve it. But what happens when the family who gave you direction falls apart? First, Gabriel left. Then Rozalia. Krol. Drago. I was left to fend for myself. I was left to find meaning in an endless void. And then, just like that, I did. You. Melina Kilpatrick. You gave me meaning.”

I feel a tear well up in my eye as I’m returned to that vision of little, lonely Tytus. His siblings have gone. The emptiness has returned. He stares at his feet.

Then, he looks up.

Our eyes meet.

He smiles.

My heart clenches.

“At first, I didn’t understand it,” Tytus continues. “And the more I tried to make sense of it, the less I understood why you seemed like the answer to all my questions. So, I tried to approach you as I always approach my problems. With a cold calculated assessment. With a plan. You were my plan, Melina. And you were supposed to be nothing more than that. But you’ve made me understand the warmth beneath all of my decisions.”

The first tear falls down my cheek. Tytus starts to step forward, but he stops himself.

“What was your plan?” I ask quietly.

“To seduce you,” Tytus bluntly states. “To corrupt you. To make you mine, no matter what that took. You were right. In the past, I’ve used women and cameras for blackmail. If you didn’t play along, I was going to do the same to you…”

Closing his eyes, Tytus shakes his head.

“But I can’t. I won’t. You aren’t a pawn, angel. You aren’t a piece in a bigger plan. No matter how hard I tried to turn you into something I could understand, you never changed. And I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that. Because it’s made me realize the truth. It was love at first sight, Melina. I’ve been your captive ever since.”

A second tear joins the first. The floodgates threaten to open.

I believe him.

How could I not?

But the conflict raging inside of me doesn’t vanish. No. There’s still so much baggage. So many questions.

“What about the tapes?” I sniffle. “If I ask you to take me home, will you still use them to blackmail me?”