“Are you going to be ok?” she asks me.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll call you later, though. Thank you so much for telling me this. And for helping me.”
“Anytime, sweetie. Be careful, okay?” she sighs.
“Go back to bed. I’m so sorry I woke you.”
“I’m glad you woke me. I’m here for you at the drop of a hat, don’t ever forget that.”
After the call with Kayla, my heart is warmed by her kindness and the way she is there for me no matter what or when I need her. It’s incredible to have friends like that in your life, people you can rely on through anything.
Staring down at the notepad scribbled full of numbers, my heart pulls tight in my chest.
There is only one way out of this—I have to confront Illyin.
He’s stubborn, and he can be such an asshole, but he’s my brother. He has to listen.
I dial the number on the pad and press the phone to my ear.
It’s still before six, but I don’t care.
When Illyin answers, he doesn’t sound like he was sleeping. His voice is rough and aggressive.
“Who is this?” he snaps into the phone.
“It’s Izabel.”
“Iz?” he stammers in disbelief. “Where are you?!”
“We need to talk, Illyin. We need to talk about a lot of things, but let’s start with what happened yesterday.”
“When that fucking asshole walked intomybuilding and thought I’d let him walk out without—”
“Did you try to kill him?” I demand.
“Yes, and if I see him again, I won’t miss next time!” he snarls.
“Illyin, please, this isn’t helping anything.”
“Helping what, exactly? He has you brainwashed into thinking, what? That you want to be with him? The mankidnapped you, Iz!”
I sigh loudly, fighting my impatience and stress.
“I do want to be with him, though,” I tell my brother.
He growls angrily into the phone. “I’m going to fucking cut his balls off and make him choke on them….”
“Stop!” I snap angrily. “What did you say to him on the phone last night?”
He laughs bitterly. “I told him the truth,” he says coldly.
“What truth?”
“I told him that he was worth nothing. That he’s never been worth anything. I told him that a man like him doesn’t deserve to be with my sister, and I will never, ever allow it to happen. He’s scum, Izabel. Open your eyes and see it. Everyone knows Josiah walked all over him and sent him into hiding like the little bitch he is. Everyone knows he’s weak and pathetic and doesn’t deserve—”
“How can you speak to someone like that?!” I demand, furious at Illyin for his cruel words.
He laughs again, amused by my shock. “Can you believe it…he tried to tell me I didn’t deserve to have a sister like you. He actually fucking dared to tell me he would never let me see you again because I didn’tdeservea sister like you. That fucking asshole tried to tell me I couldn’t see my own family.”
