Is he serious? “Why am I upset?” My voice rises as I throw my hands up. “I’m upset because you never gave me a choice.”
“It all worked out in the end, except you fell in love with him,” Storm states.
“You did what?” My father gasps.
“I heard her tell him as she left the island that she loves him.” Storm smirks. “It was heartwarming, the fucking fool is gone for her.”
“He is?” My father smirks at my brother.
“Very much so. You should have seen his face when she left him.” My brother laughs darkly.
“Really? This is good.” My father nods.
“I’m standing right here,” I say as they converse around me like I’m invisible.
“We know,” my father snaps. “You did well, sweetheart, making that fool fall in love with you. This is perfect,” he says gleefully.
“No, it’s not. I was starting to be happy there,” I continue, stepping closer. “With him, I was starting to feel. And you … you took that away from me again by making me question everything.” Tears burn in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.
“You needed to know the truth, Summer,” my brother tells me. “You have blood on your hands, and you needed to know that.”
I don’t know if I can ever forgive Kairo for this, but I also don’t know if I can stay away from him.
My father’s smirk deepens, slow and satisfied, like he just won the lottery.
I feel sick.
“You’re using me,” I whisper, the realization hitting like ice water. “Both of you, again.”
My father waves a dismissive hand. “Don’t be dramatic. We are family. This is how we survive. You play the loving wife, getclose to him, and learn his weaknesses. When the time is right, we’ll take everything from him.”
Storm nods like it’s the most reasonable plan in the world. “You’ve already done the hard part. He loves you, that’s power, Summer. Real power.”
I stare at them, these two men who are supposed to be my blood, and I feel nothing but disgust and a deep, aching emptiness.
“You sold me,” I say slowly, voice shaking. “And now you want me to go back and play whore for you so you can steal from him?”
My father’s eyes narrow. “Watch your mouth.”
“No.” I step back, shaking my head. “I’m done with being your pawn.”
Storm’s expression hardens. “Summer, think about this. He’s a murderer but we are your family.”
I laugh, bitter and broken. “At least Kairo never pretended to love me while stabbing me in the back.”
The silence that follows is heavy.
I turn toward the door, my hands trembling.
“I’m leaving.”
“Summer …” Storm starts, but I cut him off.
“Don’t follow me. Don’t call me. Don’t ever speak to me again.”
I walk out without looking back, the sound of the door closing behind me echoing like a gunshot. And for the first time since I left the island, I realize I have nowhere left to go and that maybe leaving was the worst mistake I’ve ever made.
I should have known walking away from my family wasn’t going to be that easy. I don't make it to the elevator before I hear footsteps behind me, then suddenly something slams into the back of my skull. The pain is white and blinding, the hallway floor rushes up to meet me, and then nothing.
