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Magnus stayed.
I shifted my gaze to him. “Leave.”
He resisted a moment. It took all his strength to force himself back inside the cabin and shut the door.
Her eyes never left my face. She sized me up the way I did with her. How could some ordinary woman cause me so much fucking grief? How could someone so ugly share the same blood as the most beautiful woman in the world? I stared at her just as hard as I stared at Melanie—but for a very different reason.
I stepped toward her.
She didn’t step back. She didn’t cower. She held her ground.
Annoyed me even more.
I stopped in front of her. “Let’s get something straight—because Magnus is unable to deliver a simple fucking message.”
Her eyes shifted back and forth as she looked into mine. Her breathing didn’t change, like she wasn’t the least bit scared of me.
“Melanie is twice the woman you’ll ever be. You think you’re brave for burning down this camp and releasing my prisoners, but where did that get you? Most of the prisoners were recaptured, and those who weren’t were replaced with new ones, and you’re still here—working for me.”
Her breathing started to increase, probably in anger.
“You know what Melanie has done? She’s saved your fucking life. The only reason you’re breathing right now is because of her. No, not Magnus. Melanie. Because my allegiance to my brother’s dick died the day he betrayed me—for you. Your sister made me promise to keep you alive, even after she broke her promise to me, and that’s why there’s air in your lungs this very second.”
She breathed deeper and deeper, nostrils flaring with every exhale. “Why are you telling me this—”
“I talk. You listen.”
Her eyes immediately lit up with flames. Flames from hell.
“Stop making her feel like shit. Stop making her cry. Stop making her feel like she’s inferior to you—because she’s not. You think you’re better than she is? You’re sleeping with the enemy too. He’s guilty of shit you don’t even know about. Get off your fucking high horse. She accepts Magnus. You know what else she said? She likes Magnus. Because he’s there for you. Because he looks out for you. Because he’s always preferred you to her.” My voice rose and rose, echoing through the entire camp because I despised this woman with every fiber of my being. “She loves me—so you will accept that.”
Fury exploded all over her face. “She doesn’t love you—”
“Yes, she does.” I didn’t believe it just because Melanie told me. I believed it because I felt it. I fucking felt it every time she touched me, every time she looked at me, every time she pulled me deeper inside her. “Because I see who she really is—unlike you.”
Twenty-Three
The Father’s Sins
Melanie
Every time he left, it was hard.
It was harder now.
The guards at the gate weren’t enough to dim my fear. The location of the safe room wasn’t enough either. Gilbert’s dead body was forever ingrained in my mind. His pretentious voice still echoed in the hallways. His soul was probably still here, doing things for Fender without anyone knowing.
But Fender would return in the same condition as when he left.
And this time, my sister would come with him.
Gilbert knocked on the bedroom door before he poked his head inside. “Mademoiselle, you have visitors.”
I gave him a blank stare because no one ever came to visit me. “Who?”
“Magnus and Raven.”
I was on my feet instantly, eyes wide, excitement in my blood. “I’ll…I’ll be right down.” I grabbed my heels and slipped them on before I fixed my hair in the mirror. Then I took the stairs, holding on to the rail so I wouldn’t trip, and hurried to the parlor.
She was there—beside Magnus.
The work clothes were gone, replaced with a nice sundress with her hair done, looking just the way I remembered during the good times. I sat on the couch beside her, looking at her with the same deep look that she gave me.
She was free.
The stare continued. She gave me a slight smile, showing that same loving affection with her eyes that she always gave me—even when I was a pain in the ass.
My arms wrapped around her, and I embraced her for a long time, knowing that this journey was finally over. Neither one of us had to return to the camp. It was terrible that it lived on, but at least we’d escaped its clutches.
She pulled away and looked me over.
I looked at her, disagreeing with Fender so deeply. He spoke of my sister like she was unremarkable, but to me, she was the most exceptional woman who ever lived. I’d do anything to be more like her. “You look nice…”
A bit of disbelief moved into her gaze, but there was still a hint of gratitude that I’d said it. “Never as nice as you.”
