His hands slammed against the table, chips and cards scattering everywhere as he surged to his feet, yanking the contract from his pocket. “You little—”
I didn’t give him the chance to finish as I stepped between them in an instant, my patience finally snapping as I blocked his path, ready to kill this motherfucker if he didn’t cooperate.
“Give her the contract,” I demanded, leaving no room for argument. “She beat you fair and square, and the contract is null and void now. That was the deal, if you recall.Signed in blood.”
Hugo hesitated, and I saw the exact moment it hit him—the realization that he’d lost, that he’d gambled and come up short, and with that loss, the contract meant nothing anymore. He had no claim left, and I was sure he was already imagining all the trouble he was about to be in with Zavier, and honestly, fucking good!
His grip loosened just enough for Kara to snatch the contract from his fingers, and before he could react, she tore it in half, then again, and again, until it was nothing more than scattered pieces at her feet.
“I belong only to myself now, and you can go tell Zavier that you’re the one who failed.” A smirk tugged at her lips. “I don’t belong to him anymore. He doesn’t get to touch me and he doesn’t get to control me.” Her gaze hardened. “He doesn’t get me atall. Now get the hell out of my house.”
I stood there, ready to tear him apart if he so much as moved wrong, every violent instinct in me straining to be unleashed. But beneath all of that anger, there was something stronger.
Pride.
Because she had survived this. She had won. And she had done it on her own, in her own way.
And damn... I didn’t think it was possible to fall for her any harder than I already had.
Chapter 17: Kara
IWATCHED HIM LEAVE, tracking every step he took out of my cottage and out of my life for good. The second he disappeared from sight, I shut the door, and my legs gave out almost immediately. I sank to the floor right there in the middle of the living room, surrounded by the remnants of what had almost been the end of everything.
My chest heaved as I tried to breathe. And then the tears hit.
“I’m—” I let out a broken laugh. “I’m free.”
The words felt surreal, like if I said them too loudly, something would come crashing back in to take them away again. A sob tore through me, and I pressed a hand to my mouth as everything collapsed all at once.
Years of fear, of being watched, of being controlled and trapped—it was all just... gone.
“Kara—”
Octavius was there in the next second, crouching in front of me, his hands coming to my arms gently, like he wasn’t sure how to touch me. “Are you alright?”
I nodded my head quickly, laughing through my tears. “I’m free,” I said again, because it was the only thing my mind could hold onto. “I can’t... I can’t believe it.”
Something in his expression softened as he took that in, and then he pulled me to my feet, his tentacles wrapping around me like he thought I might fall apart again if he didn’t holdme there.
“I’m not going to lie,” he admitted, a quiet breath of a laugh escaping him, “I was getting worried there for a minute.”
I pulled back just enough to look at him, my brows lifting slightly despite everything still rushing through me. “Why?” I teased softly. “Did you doubt me?”
“It wasn’t that I doubtedyou, I just didn’t trusthim. And when you kept folding perfectly good hands—”
