Page 78 of Maddening Fixation

Strong hands lifted me away from Romeo despite my weak protests.

“I have to stay with him...”

No one listened.

The last thing I remembered was catching one final glimpse of Romeo coughing up lake water...

Before darkness swallowed me whole.

The memory dissolved, pulling me back to the present.

To this day...

Romeo Flynn had no idea I was the one who had risked my life to save his.

He believed it had been Yarina.

She had claimed the credit while I lay unconscious in the hands of the medics.

He believed her.

From that day forward, they grew closer with each passing month.

And I could do nothing except watch from a distance as the boy who unknowingly owned a piece of my heart gave his trust... and eventually his affection... to someone else.

Yarina let out a quiet laugh, the sound carrying an unsettling confidence.

“You still don’t understand, do you?”

She crossed one leg over the other, completely at ease.

“The Romeo Flynn I knew ten years ago died the day he walked into Ravencliff. The man who walked out...” She smiled. “...is something far more dangerous.”

“I was at Flynn Manor earlier today. I watched him wipe out almost an entire generation of his own family without blinking.”

“Men begged. Women screamed.”

“He didn’t care. Only his grandfather was spared.”

She tilted her head, studying my reaction with unmistakable satisfaction.

“He controls the Flynn empire now. He commands an army. He has more money than most governments. And when Romeo Flynn gives an order...”

“...people die.”

A slow smile spread across her face.

“So let’s stop pretending this ridiculous arrangement has any chance of succeeding.”

She rested an elbow on the armrest, her expression almost admiring.

“Romeo doesn’t love you. He has never seen you. He has never wanted you.”

Her voice softened, becoming almost cruel.

“But he has loved me for years. I’m the woman he came back for. I’m the woman he would burn kingdoms to protect.”

She looked directly into my eyes.